Mindfulness Tips for Addiction Recovery

There are many tools in the addiction recovery toolbox. Not all of them work for everyone, but it’s certainly worth exploring all the options available to you as you pursue your own recovery. A good example is mindfulness. Maybe you will try mindfulness and just not get it. Then again, maybe you will find it to be powerful in strengthening your daily recovery from addiction and its ill effects.

What is mindfulness, exactly? It is all about embracing the moment; being present, mindful of where you are right now. Mindfulness can also be described as a purposeful and nonjudgmental focus on your thoughts, feelings, and experiences as they appear to you currently.

When you practice mindfulness, you are not suppressing your feelings or greeting them with apathy. You are considering them thoughtfully and honestly, and responding to them strategically and by choice.

Mindfulness, like meditation or yoga, is something you can take with you anywhere—and for those struggling with addiction, it has some noteworthy ramifications. While addiction is sort of an automated behavior, mindfulness means you are stopping to make deliberate choices. While addiction is about seeking a replacement for the things in your life that are lacking, mindfulness helps you connect more deeply with what you already have.

Mindfulness also helps you break through cycles of self-denial and dishonesty—meaning you might become more honest with yourself about the real extent of your addiction and your need for recovery.

Note that mindfulness is nominally connected to Eastern religious practice, and to Buddhism in particular—but like yoga, it is really something that stands on its own, and is compatible with any other form of religious practice.

Maybe it is not for everyone. Maybe it is not for you. But for some people it makes a world of difference—and for that reason, mindfulness is worth learning more about.

[cta]Mindfulness is a helpful tool to use in your addiction recovery. Share any tips you have for incorporating mindfulness into your daily routine. [/cta]