Reduce Addictions with Mindfulness
By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.
“it’s tempting to conclude that mindfulness is the “best new thing” for addiction treatment, but that in reality, further study is needed. “It absolutely has promise, we have a lot more to learn. This is the beginning.” – Sarah Bowen
Substance abuse is a major health and social problem. There are estimated 22.2 million people in the U.S. with substance dependence. It is estimated that worldwide there are nearly ¼ million deaths yearly as a result of illicit drug use which includes unintentional overdoses, suicides, HIV and AIDS, and trauma. In the U.S. about 17 million people abuse alcohol. Drunk driving fatalities accounted for over 10,000 deaths annually. “Tobacco use remains the single largest preventable cause of death and disease in the United States. Cigarette smoking kills more than 480,000 Americans each year, with more than 41,000 of these deaths from exposure to secondhand smoke. In addition, smoking-related illness in the United States costs more than $300 billion a year. In 2013, an estimated 17.8% (42.1 million) U.S. adults were current cigarette smokers.” (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention).
Obviously, there is a need to find effective methods to prevent and treat substance abuse. There are a number of programs that are successful at stopping the drug abuse, including the classic 12-step program emblematic of Alcoholics Anonymous. Unfortunately, the majority of drug and/or alcohol abusers relapse and return to substance abuse. Hence, it is important to find an effective method to both treat substance abuse disorders and to prevent relapses. Mindfulness practices have been shown to improve recovery from various addictions. In today’s Research News article “.” (See summary below or view the full text of the study at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5907295/ ), Garland and Howard review and summarize the published research findings of the use of mindfulness interventions in the treatment of an array addictive behaviors, including drinking, smoking, opioid misuse, and use of illicit substances like cocaine and heroin.
They find that mindfulness training appears to alter brain structures that act to relieve the effects of addictions. They appear to strengthen the prefrontal lobe and its connection to lower brain structures. These alterations of the addict’s brain lead to changes in biological mechanisms underlying reward processing; increasing natural reward processes which in turn replace and reduce drug cravings. They also strengthen decision making executive functions and abilities to control behavior. This interferes with the automatic, reflexive, behaviors of addiction. In addition, the brain changes results in increased mindfulness resulting in improved acceptance and non-judgmental awareness of themselves. The changes also improve physiological and psychological responses to stress; resulting in the addict not reacting to stress with drug use. Also, the changes reduce the addict’s reactivity to the stimuli that usually signal drug use. Finally, they stop the addict’s tendency to try to suppress thoughts about drugs and rather deal with the thoughts directly producing more lasting reductions in drug use. All of this results in decreases in drug cravings and psychological distress, and improved sense of well-being, producing reduced drug use and improved recovery.
Garland and Howard review the published research and find that well controlled clinical trials of mindfulness-based interventions for a variety of different substance use disorders demonstrate that the interventions produce significant reductions in addictions, improved recovery, and reduced relapse. They note, however, the need for long-term follow-up to better elucidate the long-term effectiveness of the interventions. In general, the published research indicates that mindfulness-based interventions are a safe and effective treatment for a variety of addictions. They act by altering the brain which alters biological and psychological processes that underly addiction, improve psychological health and well-being, and thereby reduce cravings and drug use.
So, reduce addictions with mindfulness.
“It may not be possible for people to completely escape cravings, but they can learn to live with them. Mindfulness meditation is an excellent tool that allows the individual to have increased control over their mind. There is a saying that, the mind is a wonderful servant but a terrible master.” – DARA Thailand
CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies
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Study Summary
Garland, E. L., & Howard, M. O. (2018). Mindfulness-based treatment of addiction: current state of the field and envisioning the next wave of research. Addiction Science & Clinical Practice, 13, 14. http://doi.org/10.1186/s13722-018-0115-3
Abstract
Contemporary advances in addiction neuroscience have paralleled increasing interest in the ancient mental training practice of mindfulness meditation as a potential therapy for addiction. In the past decade, mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) have been studied as a treatment for an array addictive behaviors, including drinking, smoking, opioid misuse, and use of illicit substances like cocaine and heroin. This article reviews current research evaluating MBIs as a treatment for addiction, with a focus on findings pertaining to clinical outcomes and biobehavioral mechanisms. Studies indicate that MBIs reduce substance misuse and craving by modulating cognitive, affective, and psychophysiological processes integral to self-regulation and reward processing. This integrative review provides the basis for manifold recommendations regarding the next wave of research needed to firmly establish the efficacy of MBIs and elucidate the mechanistic pathways by which these therapies ameliorate addiction. Issues pertaining to MBI treatment optimization and sequencing, dissemination and implementation, dose–response relationships, and research rigor and reproducibility are discussed.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5907295/