Mindfulness Based Interventions

Mindfulness Based Therapy

Written by Drew Redd. Mina Draskovic, B.Psy., reviewed this content for accuracy.

Relapses do not happen randomly. The two leading causes of this significant threat to your sobriety are personal triggers and stress. Stress is something none of us can entirely avoid, no matter how many therapies or programs we complete. Therefore, your best chance of lasting recovery includes mindfulness based interventions that help you get through your triggers and stress without relapse.

The Role of Stress in Addiction

Stress exists all around you. No one lives a life without these unexpected problems, such as illness, job changes, aging, death, or family problems. One certain thing in your recovery is that you will encounter stress. Therefore, you need to know how to best handle it without reaching for drugs or alcohol.

Being under stress causes your body to release hormones. When you do not deal with the stress as you should, the hormones build up. They even cause lasting damage to your body over time. Your heart, digestive system, and even your addiction all suffer under stress.

Many drugs, including alcohol, enable you to escape from reality. Also, many substances cause you to feel euphoria. Between this escape and potential for a high, it’s understandable that you turn to drugs to cope with your stress, especially if you suffer long-term stress. Even after treatment, intense stress can lead to cravings for those substances again.

For many people, the cravings lead to relapse. However, with the right therapies, including mindfulness based interventions, you can fight relapse. When you work with rehab professionals, you learn techniques for coping with your stress before you get to the point of relapse.

What Is Mindfulness?

Mindfulness keeps you present in what is happening around you, what you are doing, and the space you occupy at a given moment. Anxiety comes from focusing on “what if” type thoughts. So, mindfulness keeps you aware of what is real, the “here and now,” and keeping your anxiety at a minimum, so you function better through the stress.

You learn mindfulness through a therapist using proven methods. The therapist guides you, whether you sit, walk, stand, or move for your meditation. After your mindfulness based interventions, you learn to practice meditation mindfulness on your own and in everyday life.

Starting mindfulness and meditation proves awkward for some people at first. But soon you learn the methods and gain comfort in your practice. You then realize the benefits, such as stopping judgment, opening your mind, and feeling more warmth and kindness in your life.

How Mindfulness Based Interventions Keep Relapse Away

The mindfulness based interventions Utah provides offer a means of dealing with stress. This is important for your recovery, as you cannot avoid stress forever. For centuries, people have used mindfulness meditation to reduce stress. Today, mindfulness based interventions help you in the same way.

Although mindfulness meditation and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) are two separate and different therapies, they work well together. CBT teaches you coping skills for stress, helping you think positively and rationally. Mindfulness based interventions Utah operate with the same goal of giving you focus and positive thoughts to prevent relapse, even through bouts of life stress.

Other therapies mindfulness based interventions work well with include DBT and motivational interviewing. A quality rehab center adds other holistic therapies to the mix of methods and approaches in your treatment. At Ardu Recovery Center these include holistic therapies, such as Massage, Reiki, yoga, and other spiritual and emotional wellness activities.