The Benefits of Meditation for Addiction Recovery

Addiction recovery for most people comes with its own challenges. It can be stressful particularly if you are new to recovery as you will have to deal with constant cravings, cleaning up your addiction wreckage, and rebuilding relationships, all while trying to hang on to your new life in sobriety. Most parts of early recovery involve training you on how to cope with life struggles as a new way of dealing with addiction now that drug or alcohol use is no longer your option.

Doctors have to employ a wide range of skills and techniques to develop a personalized, well-rounded treatment plan. A great example of these techniques is meditation. If you just started your recovery journey or have been sober for a while but still struggle with addiction, consider practicing meditation to help you deal with depression, anxiety, and stress.

What Is Meditation?

Meditation is an alternative approach to addiction recovery that focuses on mind and body concentration with the goal of inducing relaxation and serenity. Meditation involves being mindful of your feelings, thoughts, and sensory experiences in the present surrounding. There are many ways of meditating, and methods differ based on the individual. It can be done in groups, alone, in silence, or with music and in a calm, serene area.

You also do not need to set timers to meditate. If you are a beginner, you can start meditating for a few minutes and work yourself up to longer sessions. You also do not need to be spiritual to participate – it is not a prayer session.

How Is It Useful in Addiction Recovery?

Meditation carries a significant value for individuals recovering from addiction to drugs and alcoholism. Generally, meditation promotes a sense of inner peace and calmness, improves mental health functioning, increases self -awareness and helps detect impulses and thoughts that make you have cravings, hence preventing relapses.

Improves self-esteem and acceptance

You are more likely to be harsh on yourself than on others, especially when you are on your journey to addiction recovery. Being mindful in meditation encourages attentiveness and observation of your feelings and thoughts, making it easier to be patient with yourself. After a few meditation sessions, you will be able to treat yourself better with the same acceptance and patience that you would likely extend to others in similar situations.

Improved mental and physical health

Meditation is not only good for your mental health but also excellent for physical fitness. When you develop self-awareness through meditation, you are likely to experience a positive impact on your anxiety and stress levels, which can significantly reduce the chances of developing medical-related illnesses like hypertension and heart problems. It has also been found to improve sleep quality.

Increases attention and resilience

Being mindful means not dwelling in the past or worrying about the future, but concentrating on the present. Mindful meditation helps you enjoy the current moment without getting distracted by the situation around you. People who practice meditation as a way of assisting them to cope with the symptoms of addiction recovery are known to be resilient. They have the power to bounce back even after a challenging situation, adapt to the new changes around them, and enjoy their new life in sobriety.

Tips to Get You Started

If you have never practiced meditation before, you may find it strange at first, but when you learn to be mindful and aware of your senses, thoughts, and feelings, you will reap wholesomely the rewards that come along with it. The practice will help you in your recovery journey and throughout your new life. You don’t need to be a pro to start meditating; you can begin with simple meditative exercises as you learn which ones work best for you. Here are a few tips you can use:

  • Progressive muscle relaxation: To bring awareness to every part of your body, you need to have your muscles relax from head to toe progressively.
  • Breathing practice: Relax and breathe naturally while focusing on inhalation and exhalation.
  • Mantra-based: This form of meditation involves repeating a phrase or word out loud or internally. This helps to bring your mind back to meditation in case it wanders, and you lose attention.
  • Movement meditation: This involves incorporating physical activities such as hikes, yoga, walking, or surfing while still being mindful of your body movements.

Meditation is a personal treatment plan. That means that what may work for you may not work for someone else. Trying new techniques is the best way to identify which ones work best for you.

Let Us Help You

If you or a loved one is struggling to stay sober, it is essential to seek professional help from a holistic rehabilitation program like Soba Recovery Center. At Soba, we are a certified luxury detox and drug rehab program. Our expert doctors will review your medical history, ask you a few questions about yourself, the substance you have been abusing, and how long you have been abusing it to help us come up with a personalized treatment plan. To learn more about our services and how we can best help you, please contact our recovery support specialists today! We hope to hear from you soon.

Why You Should Get Sober

Drugs and alcohol negatively impact our mind and body. They throw our body off balance, can make us do things we wouldn’t necessarily do when we’re sober, and even though they may make us feel good in the moment, that feeling doesn’t last. One of the reasons you (or someone you know whose addicted to drugs or alcohol) can’t stop using is probably because you’re constantly chasing the high. That ‘feel good’ moment. Unfortunately, we can tell you that you’ll never feel 100% satisfied with getting high. You’re chasing something that can truly never be achieved. No one is going to feel good all the time, that’s just part of life.

Now that we’ve established that we can’t fill an emotional void with drugs or alcohol, let’s talk about getting sober. Trust us when we say, your life will change immensely. The unknown can be scary, especially without the aid of drugs and alcohol, but getting sober is the best thing you can do for yourself and everyone around you.

Why Should You Get Sober?

Whether we want to admit it or not, our actions affect other people. If you drank too much the night before your sibling’s graduation and don’t show up, your sibling will be disappointed. If your friend is counting on you to pick them up from somewhere because they don’t have a car, and you forget because you’re high, they’re going to be disappointed. Being able to rely on others for help or assistance is a fundamental part of modern-day society. If you spend most of your day getting high or drunk, you probably aren’t the most reliable. By getting sober, you can become a dependable friend and family member.

You also deserve to get sober for yourself. Addiction is totally consuming no matter what stage you’re at. Even if you only drink alcohol at night, you’re probably thinking about that first drink you’ll have all day. If you’re addicted to prescription pills, the thought of running out probably looms over your head like a dark rain cloud.

Benefits of Sobriety

Sobriety will improve your quality of life. Some ways your life will change by getting sober are:

  • You can reach your professional potential: When you get sober you can think clearly. Your thoughts are no longer hazed by drugs. While you’re getting high, you probably don’t care much about your job. A job is just a means to make money to spend on drugs and alcohol. After you get sober, you’ll see that a job is more than just a way to make money. A job is something you can be passionate about and progress in. Most jobs have goals and milestones set in place for their employees to achieve so they can get promoted and make more money. Sobriety will give you the ability to reach and exceed professional goals.
  • You will have a new purpose in life: A big part of sobriety is giving back to others. Becoming sober isn’t easy and it’s definitely something to be proud of. When you get sober you will have the chance to help others start a recovery journey. The knowledge you gain on your own journey can be passed down to others. By doing this you’re probably going to end up saving someone’s life.
  • You’ll feel much better physically: Addiction is mentally and physically exhausting. And let’s be real here, you’re probably not going to the gym or meditating when you’re getting high. By getting sober you’re giving yourself a chance to actually feel good (not the temporary getting high good). You’ll sleep better and have more energy to get things done during the day.

If you or anyone you know is struggling, don’t wait to get help. Your life will be so much better when you’re sober.

Let Us Help!

At Soba Recovery, we are excited to be one of the main drug and alcohol treatment services serving the Mesa, AZ and San Antonio, TX areas. Our professionals have an extensive amount of training and experience, allowing them to provide specialized services to patients. Our detox and inpatient treatment services help clients battle addiction and proceed on the road to recovery. Our specialized luxury addiction treatment program leverages proven, traditional treatment methods, and combines them with innovative therapies. The main goal of our program is to help our participants overcome substance abuse permanently. If you would like to learn more about our addiction recovery and treatment program, please contact us today!

What To Do When The Cravings Hit?

You feel like you’re at the end of the road. You’re tired, broke, and honestly annoyed at life. You’ve been using the same drug over and over again, and finally, want to stop. You want the freedom during the day to do whatever you want instead of thinking about how you’ll score more drugs. Congratulations, you’re ready to get sober.

During your journey in sobriety, you may experience cravings from time to time. This is a common part of recovery so don’t be scared if you feel one. Cravings are completely manageable with the right tools and coping skills.

What are Drug Cravings?

A craving is the term used to describe the urge to use alcohol or drugs once someone is sober. For certain people, the most severe cravings take place during the detox process. During detox, addicts will go through withdrawals. The symptoms of withdrawal will vary slightly from person to person as addiction impacts everyone differently, but common symptoms include fevers, shaking, chills, emotional lability, and discomfort. The urge to use drugs or alcohol to make these symptoms go away is a craving.

Once you’ve detoxed, the withdrawal symptoms are not going to be as severe but you are still at risk to feel the urge to use drugs or drink alcohol from time to time. Withdrawals will go away after the toxins leave your body but you can still experience cravings. Just because you feel a craving doesn’t mean you won’t stay sober, it’s a matter of how you react to the craving.

How to Handle a Craving

If you feel a craving coming on, there are a few steps you can take to combat the craving. Taking the proper steps will help keep you sober.

  1. Be aware: Before you can shake off a craving, you’ll have to know you’re experiencing one. Cravings can feel different for everyone but some common craving symptoms are irritability, feeling like you have an imaginary itch you can’t scratch, and frequent thoughts of using drugs or alcohol. If you experience these feelings it’s important to check in with yourself and identify the root of them. Maybe you haven’t attended a 12-step meeting all week and now it’s Friday, or maybe you’ve been around friends lately who drink and do drugs. After you identify the root cause, you’ll realize you’re having a craving.
  2. Ways to cope: Once the feeling is recognized, the next step is to find a way to cope. How you cope with cravings is totally up to you. There isn’t necessarily a right or wrong answer. Some people find it helpful to call a friend or sober companion and talk about the feeling. Other people find it helpful to meditate. Shifting your focus to something else like exercising or writing can be helpful as well. Just be careful to not distract yourself too much from the feeling because you may end up brushing it under the rug, instead of dealing with it.
  3. Seek support: One of the most effective ways to handle a craving is by seeking support from others. A huge component of drug and alcohol treatment is various types of therapies. If you’ve completed any form of treatment, you probably engaged in group therapy, individual therapy, and support groups types of therapy. Therapy and support groups shouldn’t just be isolated to treatment as recovery is a lifelong battle. Completing a comprehensive aftercare program post-treatment will help immensely with cravings.

Let Us Help!

At Soba Recovery, we are one of the top drug and alcohol treatment programs based in the San Antonio, TX and Mesa, AZ regions. Our detox and inpatient treatment programs help clients overcome addiction and take back control of their lives. Our premier luxury program that combines traditional addiction treatment with modern therapies to help our participants in overcoming substance abuse for good. If you are interested in finding out more about how our team can help you overcome addiction, please contact us!

What You Should Expect When Making The Choice To Get Sober

Addiction: a commonly heard word that is often misunderstood. Addiction knows no prejudice and can manifest in many ways. Some people may currently be sliding down the path to addiction and not know it. Other people might be stuck in the cycle of drug abuse and addiction with no idea of how to escape.

The first step on the road to recovery is admitting you have a problem and ask for help. We know this is easier said than done. To help you get started, we want to let you know what to expect when deciding to get sober.

What To Expect During Addiction Recovery

Addiction recovery is a challenging and exciting journey for those who have been struggling with drug abuse or alcoholism. It’s normal to be nervous and anxious during this time. Using drugs has become your new normal and facing sobriety, the unknown is scary. Below are a few things you can anticipate on the road to recovery:

  • A New Life: One of the first things that everyone should expect during this journey is that there is going to be a new life. In order for people to truly conquer their addiction, they need to figure out the root of the problem and eradicate it. As a result of this, you’ll feel like your entire life has been turned upside down. And that’s ok.
  • Better Relationships: You can also expect better and stronger personal relationships. Many of your old relationships with friends will be left behind and that’s also ok. During this process, the bad friends will be weeded out and the good ones will stick by your side during recovery. You’ll also have the opportunity to meet like-minded people who will support your recovery.
  • Gratification: Finally, people who make the decision to get sober should also expect a hard but worthwhile challenge. Nobody ever said that beating addiction is easy but you’ll feel a sense of gratification once you achieve it. No one can hand you your sobriety, it’s something you earn on your own. You won’t regret making the decision to get better, find sobriety, and become happy.

How to Get Started on the Journey to Sobriety

If you want to get sober and don’t know where to start, a good first step is admitting you have a problem to someone and asking for help. There are friends and family members who are going to be there no matter what. They’ve been there through the good times and the bad. If you don’t feel like there is someone in your life you can currently lean on, you can turn to a trained treatment center professional. They can answer any questions you have and point you in the direction of the right course of treatment for you.

Allow Us to Help You!

At Soba recovery, we’re a drug and alcohol recovery program that offers treatment from our Soba Mesa rehab center in Mesa, Arizona as well as our Soba Texas rehab center in San Antonio, TX. We’ve expanded our capabilities to ensure we offer both detox and inpatient treatment for addiction. We are here to help people get started on the journey to sobriety. We offer a unique program that combines traditional treatment with modern therapies. We have found that this helps our clients overcome substance abuse for good. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help you!