Mindfulness and Recovery from Addiction by The Path Meditation Teacher Training student Jeison Azali

"In peace" by Doug Scortegagna is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

Mindfulness is defined as the practice of being fully present and fully engaged in the current moment, without judgement or distraction. In my opinion this is the best practice for recovering from addiction when used in tandem with other tools such as patience, meditation, kindness to self and others and accountability to name a few. Substance abuse leading to addiction has many causes, yet what I find to be similar in most cases is that there is usually an element of trauma, from the past, involved. In the event of trauma, without the tools to recover and process, it is easy to go to substance use because it is a quick fix. It can numb the body, relax the mind, and temporarily blot out the events replaying in the mind and make it easier to live with the effects of the trauma. Until it doesn’t. Substance abuse is a temporary fix to a long-term issue.

One of the many tricks of substance abuse is when the substance wears off the trauma is still present, and it is a never-ending cycle of reliving traumas from the past. Not because one wants to, but because the traumatic event is such an upheaval to the mind and the stress of it is also stored in the body. Think of the substance use as a band aid. It doesn’t go away. This is where the very important and healing practice of mindfulness comes in. In the face of unwanted loops of the past playing repeatedly in one’s mind, how do we free ourselves?

First, we must get the substance out of our body. This should be done medically depending upon how long and how much one has been using. After one’s body is stable from the substance, we can now start to work on easing the stress of trauma and finding daily relief in the moment. There are many ways to practice mindfulness and I will discuss a couple that I know are sure to work in such a case. Firstly, it is imperative that we bring the mind and body to a homeostasis of safety. This can be done by locating the body and the mind asking oneself questions such as where am I? What are my 5 senses experiencing right now in this moment? Am I in immediate danger? What are my surroundings? This is an effective way to bring the self into the present moment. The here and now. It tells the mind there is a feeling of safety and calm, as long as removed from traumatic events and triggers mitigated and begins to relax the central nervous system. Thinking will slow down; reason and practicality will come into play and a space will be opened to experience peace and safety.

Another tool that is sure to help is meditation. As is practiced in Meditation Teacher Training, taught by the very great Dina Kaplan, there are a number of meditations to employ. Some of those are mindfulness of thoughts and emotions, mindfulness of sounds (which is great to get a grip on triggers) and META phrases - which gives us a chance to practice loving kindness towards ourselves and others. META meditations are extremely helpful as they correlate directly with 12 step programs. In the 12 steps we learn to recognize causes of stress and come to the realization of forgiveness towards ourselves and others with the idea of letting go of resentments. When META meditation is practiced, we come to forgiving ourselves and others, even those who have done wrong by us, allowing us to release and the burden of resentment stored in the body and the mind. Meditation, in my opinion, is the premier way to bring oneself into the present moment. As the dharma teaches us there is beauty in living a life of kindness and tranquility as evidenced in the 8-fold path and realization of the 4 Noble Truths. In grasping the idea of these truths, we are able to better understand the process of life and how we can adapt to it and bring loving peace into our own lives. We find autonomy and equanimity.

These are simply two examples of how mindfulness can bring us out of the throws of addiction and cycles of the past into the present moment and with practice we can learn how to stay present. This is key in overcoming trauma, and of course also working with professionals. Trauma must be tackled from all angles. Having gone through Meditation Teacher Training with The PATH I am open to more avenues to effect successful, long lasting change in my life and also the lives of the clients I work with in recovery. I see the miracles every day by employing mindfulness. For anyone seeking to learn and practice being fully present I would suggest studying the teachings of the Dharma as I have, as presented by Dina Kaplan and The PATH . With this wisdom my life has changed.