The Benefits of Meditation for Meth Detox & Treatment

Meditation has been a part of meth treatment for several decades now. This practice often referred to as “mystical”, is actually a very simple thing that everyone can do. Meditation is all about awareness training and getting a healthy sense of perspective, something that is quite useful in meth treatment. At our drug rehab center Lake Ariel PA, we utilize meditation in almost all of our treatment programs, including meth detox and treatment. The benefits of meditation for meth detox & treatment include promoting mindfulness, achieving inner peace, improving stress response, and many others. In this article, we will explain what meditation actually is, and how can it help you throughout the recovery process.

What is meditation and how can it help?

For the longest time, people perceived meditation as “something some monks on some mountain do”. While there certainly are monks on mountains that meditate regularly, the practice is now widespread among the general population. To put it simply, meditation is all about taking some time off to relax and get to know yourself better.

There are three important things you need to know about meditation:

• Meditation is a skill
• It takes time to get good at it
• It can help you take control of your life

Furthermore, meditation is something you can do practically anywhere, at any time. While most meditation practices involve sitting in a comfortable position, you can practice meditating even while walking. This is what makes meditation so powerful and it is one of the reasons why meditation is included in almost every drug rehab Pennsylvania program. Additionally, everyone can practice meditation regardless of their race, culture, or other circumstances. Why is that? It is because:

Meditation is a skill

There is absolutely nothing mystical about meditation. It is a skill that you can learn and practice. The best way to think about meditation is that you are exercising a part of your body that you have never exercised before. In a way, you will be exercising your brain while meditating, so this is quite true. Being a skill, meditation also does not cost you anything to practice. Meth rehab can be quite expensive, after all, and anything that provides benefits without a cost is definitely worthwhile. If you are wondering does insurance cover medication assisted treatment Pennsylvania programs, and are worried about the added cost of meditation, don’t be. Meditation is absolutely free to practice and you can do so any number of times you like.

However, as with any other skill, the presence of a master can significantly improve the experience. Luckily, almost every meth treatment program features meditation masters who will help you get good at it. Just don’t expect to get good at meditating in a very short amount of time.

It takes time to get good at it

As with any other skill, meditation requires constant practice to get good at it. Depending on your mindset and circumstances, this can take you anywhere from a couple of weeks to a couple of years to master. Luckily, you don’t need to be a master of meditation to get most of the benefits. In fact, simply meditating for five minutes every day can reap considerable rewards. The more you keep at it, however, the greater the reward. Furthermore, meditation can help you remain calm and controlled even during the most difficult times. This is one of the main reasons why most outpatient detox rehab PA programs incorporate meditation in some shape or form. There will be challenges to overcome, yes, and that is yet another great aspect of meditation.

As you progress, you will slowly get better at meditating and feel more comfortable doing so. This may provide a sense of accomplishment and help you overcome other challenges as well.

Meditation can help you take control of your life

The simple act of getting to know yourself better and having a way to stop and relax in a meaningful way can go a long way toward helping you take control of your life. What meditation does is present you with small challenges to overcome, as your focus will inevitably wander at some time while you are meditating. By overcoming these simple challenges, you will learn that when you put in a bit of time and effort everything gets easier. This can be invaluable while in rehab, as the concept applies to virtually all the skills you may want to master. There is a good reason why most people choose to continue their meditation practice even when attending an IOP Pennsylvania program, after all. Once you realize how helpful it is, you will never want to go back to living your life without it!

While meditation is a great skill to learn for practically everyone, it is especially helpful when it comes to meth detox and treatment.

The benefits of meditation for meth detox & treatment

Recovering from meth addiction can be quite challenging. This is due to the fact that using (smoking, injecting) meth rewires your brain’s reward system as well as a number of other systems in the body. Once you stop using meth, both your body and mind will protest. Similar to the experience of partial hospitalization program rehab Pennsylvania, meth rehab involves a number of approaches, meditation being one of them. By meditating, you can ease the withdrawal symptoms, strengthen your recovery, and support your long-term sobriety.

To understand exactly how meditation can help, we first need to understand what meth detox and treatment are like, and what problems you might be facing.

What happens during meth withdrawal and detox?

Once your body adapts to any substance, meth included, it starts relying on it for normal functioning. Stopping to take meth, however, is much more involved than stopping to eat candies. During the meth withdrawal phase, you may experience a number of mental and physical symptoms, including:

• Insomnia
• Chills
• Mood swings
• Fatigue
• Anxiety
• Psychosis
• Depression
• Lethargy
• Heightened appetite

The longer you have used meth, the more intense the symptoms. Most people have a really hard time dealing with meth withdrawal symptoms, which usually leads to a relapse at some point. This is why undergoing a medical detox program in a residential treatment center Pennsylvania is usually the best idea, as you will have access to professional care and support. Similar to Adderall addiction rehab, meditation is one of the key tools in your recovery arsenal. While meditation might be different for each person, it brings quite a few universal benefits to the proverbial table.

How can meditation help?

Basically, meditation helps promote recovery and mitigate the symptoms of meth detox. As mentioned previously, the exact benefits will vary from one person to another but there are a few universal ones:

• Meditation promotes mindfulness
• You will achieve inner peace more easily
• Your stress response will be improved
• You will improve your self-awareness
• Meditation improves self-control

Even though meditation is quite powerful, don’t expect it to solve all of your problems on its own. Having access to professional care and support during the detox and treatment process is absolutely critical. Meditation will help during the process, of course, but it is not treatment. With that in mind, let’s take a look at some of the benefits of meditation for meth detox & treatment.

Meditation promotes mindfulness

In a nutshell, mindfulness is the ability to be fully engaged in whatever you are doing at the moment. It is the ability to rest in the here and now, and to be “present”. Since most people in meth detox have problems focusing on the here and now, it is natural that they turn to meditation. By learning and practicing meditation, you will slowly become more and more mindful of yourself and your surroundings. Once you achieve mindfulness, it will become much easier to deal with any challenges you might face throughout your meth detox and treatment.

Achieving inner peace is easier through meditation

Inner peace is one of the most difficult things to achieve, especially during meth detox and treatment. However, it is also one of the most important goals you can set out for yourself, whether you are living in one of the sober living houses in PA or on your own. Meditation can help you achieve that goal more easily, as it will provide you with a way to detoxify your fear, anger, and stress. By meditating, you will be able to relax and refocus your attention on something calming, allowing you to stay centered.

Improved stress response

One of the best things about meditation is that it can help produce a deep state of relaxation and create a tranquil mind. The very fact that you are focusing your attention inward and trying to eliminate all the “jumble” that your mind is serving you is helping you better deal with stress. In its essence, stress comes from within and you have the power to respond to it in the way that you prefer, you just need practice.

Meditation provides you with that practice. It also allows you to realize exactly where the stress is coming from, and why, because you are focusing inward. Understanding the sources of stress and how they manifest, and learning how to “shut them off” whenever you want is extremely powerful. Of course, this will not be easy at first, due to meth withdrawal symptoms, but it gets considerably easier over time.

Improving your self-awareness through meditation

Meditation, in its essence, allows us to see ourselves more clearly. This, in turn, can drastically improve our self-awareness. By being able to witness your own thoughts without judgment or other inner commentaries through meditation, you will be able to become more “real” with yourself. This will allow you to achieve a much higher degree of intimacy with yourself, your desires, limitations, and needs.

Meditation helps you train your mind in two awareness types: Focus awareness and Focus-less awareness. While training the former, you will usually be resting your attention on a particular focus, such as your breath or a particular part of your body. When your mind inevitably wanders off, all you need to do is bring the attention back to the focus and restore awareness. The focus serves as an anchor to help you get back to the present moment.

The other type, focus-less awareness training is somewhat more difficult. It is not something that you will be practicing from the get-go, but it can be extremely powerful once you learn it. This training involves simply being present in silence. As anyone who has ever meditated knows, mind silence is probably the hardest thing to achieve. Through training, we are capable of not only achieving it but slowly expanding the time our mind can rest in silence as well.

Meditation improves self-control

Aside from all the other benefits of meditation for meth detox & treatment, practicing meditation can also help you improve your self-control. The way in which meditating does this is by allowing you to pay better attention to what you feel and think when you have self-control issues. In fact, meditation is basically practicing self-control. This means that you don’t need to do anything special to increase your self-discipline, other than simply meditating. The practice itself will do all the rest!

Meditation for meth detox & treatment and beyond

Lastly, meditation can serve as a retreat from various difficult topics that may come up during meth detox and treatment. It can also help you step outside your immediate perception and allow you to see the bigger picture. In other words, by meditating throughout the detox process, you will be able to manage your withdrawal symptoms much better. Furthermore, meditation is also incredibly powerful when it comes to sober living. The benefits of meditation for meth detox & treatment do not stop once you complete the treatment program. You will be able to rely on meditation to improve the quality of your life for years to come!