Holistic addiction treatment encompasses the mind, body, and soul. The focus on mindfulness encourages patients to fully engage in treatment and be in the right mindset. Mindfulness is being present, aware, and participating consciously in your experiences as they happen. Since drugs and alcohol alter the way a brain functions, a person cannot practice mindfulness until he or she goes through detox.
According to an article written by Eric L. Garland, Brett Froeliger, and Matthew O. Howard for Frontiers in Psychiatry (2013), mindfulness is described as “a mindset characterized by an attentive and non-judgmental metacognitive monitoring of moment-by-moment cognition, emotion, perception, and sensation without fixation on thoughts of past and future.” Addiction clouds the mind with substances that control the brain’s function physically and mentally.
We cannot control how we feel, but we can control how we respond to our feelings. People who enter treatment need to be fully engaged and be in the right mindset for a healthy recovery. Developing an open mind to treatment will allow you to accept the treatment and alter the central focus of addiction. An open mind will help establish a central focus on wellness, physical and mental health, sustainable relationships, and responsibilities.
Mindfulness helps people relate to discomfort in a different way. When an uncomfortable feeling like a craving, stress, or anxiety arises, the person is able to recognize their discomfort, and observe it with presence and compassion, instead of automatically reaching for drugs or alcohol to make those symptoms go away.
Mindfulness helps you:
- Listen to your body. Addiction silences your body’s physical, emotional, and mental needs and covers up what is really going on with your body. Clearing your mind is like unraveling layers of a concealed identity.
- Relieve stress. Keeping a clear, open mind helps to relieve stress and incorporate appropriate treatment to heal effectively.
- Understand where feelings and addictions come from. Mindfulness helps to identify any underlying mental health conditions, which are treatable.
Keeping an open mind to treatment allows a person to form new, healthy ways to cope with mental health conditions. Open-mindedness helps to embrace the efficacy of holistic treatments and removes all obstacles to a successful recovery. If you or a loved one is struggling with addiction, get help today. Addiction is complex but recovery is possible and does happen. You are not alone.
Cypress Lake Recovery specializes in addiction treatment and is located in a serene, remote, lush-green, oxygen enriched environment. The program encompasses holistic addiction therapy and offers yoga and meditation for the mind, body, and soul. The focus is on physical, mental, and emotional well-being by generating the balance of life-enriching treatment, wellness, and healthy, sober, sustainable relationships. Call us to get started: 409-331-2204
