The use of Mindfulness in addictions

Mindfulness can be a powerful therapeutic tool against addictions.

Addictions are a very current problem that affects millions of people, so it is normal that much is invested in researching ways to curb it through various types of therapy.

While there is no magic cure capable of eliminating the problem in a very short time and that works with optimal efficacy in all patients, promising forms of therapeutic intervention are emerging that do not have the disadvantage of side effects, typical of the use of psychotropic drugs.

Here we will look at how Mindfulness can help to cope with substance and non-substance addictions, and how they have a positive effect on the treatment of addictions.and the way in which they have a beneficial effect on the psychological state of patients with dependency problems.

What is Mindfulness?

First of all, let's see what is Mindfulness, usually called by its English name: Mindfulness. It is a set of practices based on vipassana meditation that has been developed through many years of scientific research by specialists in physical and mental health.

At the beginning of its existence (during the 70's), the main researcher on this subject, Jon Kabat-Zinn, used Mindfulness mainly to help people who needed help to regulate their stress levels, but as time has passed it has been seen that Mindfulness is useful to address other types of problems, such as the one that concerns us here, addiction.

Thus, Mindfulness differs from what we normally understand as meditation in that it is not a practice linked to religion or mysticism. (in other words, it is secular in nature), in that it has therapeutic purposes that can be objectively measured, and in that it has been designed so that it is systematized and everyone performs these exercises following the same guidelines, so that it is easy to study through science the impact this has on people's wellbeing.

Mindfulness is becoming more and more popular because it has several advantages that we will see below, and this makes that psychologists and health professionals in general have been incorporating this tool into their repertoire in recent years.. That is why today there is a very active line of research dedicated to studying the benefits that Mindfulness brings in the treatment of people with anxiety, although this is not the only therapeutic application of Mindfulness.

Mindfulness applied to addictions

Now that we have seen what Mindfulness consists of, let's see the different ways in which it helps to fight addictions.

1. Helps not to give in to impulses

One of the characteristics of Mindfulness is that it affects the domain on the attentional focus of the person, that is, it helps to choose what kind of stimuli or ideas and sensations to focus on at any given moment.

This is very important to resist the temptation to consume drugs or to fall into the behavior that has generated the addiction (e.g., gambling). (e.g., gambling money), and allows one to look beyond those impulses and think more about medium-term goals that include looking after one's own health.

2. Helps focus on projects

When it comes to regaining good health and gaining control over their lives, people suffering from addictions find powerful allies in hobbies that allow them to take their minds away from the routines that led them to fall into addiction again and again.

Mindfulness, combined with the existence of this type of hobbies or personal projects, allows to concentrate on something that motivates the person and that makes it easier for them to commit to the process of leaving behind the dependence on that harmful substance or habit.. It helps you to adopt a relatively neutral point of view in which you do not easily give in to outbursts when you know they are going to be harmful.

3. Allows you to keep anxiety under control

Many people who have developed one or more addictions suffer greatly from the anxiety generated by abstinence.. Mindfulness also helps to dampen this discomfort, since it is designed, among other things, to regulate the state of activation of the nervous system.

Are you interested in learning to practice Mindfulness?

If you think it is time to take advantage of the potential of Mindfulness to overcome addictions and you would like to get started in this practice or improve what you already know, we invite you to come to Centro Mindfulness Madrida reference entity in Madrid in terms of Mindfulness and linked to the therapy center IPSIA Psychology.

We offer both courses and psychological intervention by professionals, so that you are able to improve your quality of life from habits and practices that you can use in everyday life, in a variety of situations. You can see our contact details by clicking here.

Bibliographic references:

• American Psychiatric Association (APA). (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). Arlington, VA: American Psychiatric Publishing.
• Garland, E.L. & Howard, M.O. (2018). Mindfulness-based treatment of addiction: current state of the field and envisioning the next wave of research. Addict Sci Clin Pract. 2018;13(1): 14.
• Kauer, J.A.; R.C. Malenka (2007). Synaptic plasticity and addiction. Nature Reviews Neuroscience. 8(11): pp. 844 - 58.
• Kabat-Zinn, J. (2009). Mindfulness en la vida cotidiana. Donde quiera que vayas ahí estás. Barcelona: Paidós.