Alcoholism

Religiosity Protects against Alcohol and Drug Abuse

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“Research investigating the relationship between religious commitment and drug use consistently indicates that those young people who are seriously involved in religion are more likely to abstain from drug use than those who are not; moreover, among users, religious youth are less likely than non-religious youth to use drugs heavily” – Gerald Bachman

 

Alcohol intake is a ubiquitous fact of life. In the United States 87% of adults reported that they drank alcohol at some point in their lifetime; 71% reported that they drank in the past year; 56% reported that they drank in the past month. If alcohol intake is tempered by moderation and caution it can be enjoyed and may be potentially beneficial. But as alcohol intake gets out of control it can lead to binge drinking and alcoholism. It is reported that 25% of U.S. adults reported that they engaged in binge drinking in the last month and 7% have what is termed an alcohol use disorder.

 

This is troubling as it can be very dangerous and potentially fatal. Nearly 88,000 people in the US and 3.3 million globally die from alcohol-related causes annually, making it the third leading preventable cause of death in the United States. Drunk driving accounted for over 10,000 deaths; 31% of all driving fatalities. Excessive alcohol intake has been shown to contribute to over 200 diseases including alcohol dependence, liver cirrhosis, cancers, and injuries. It is estimated that over 5% of the burden of disease and injury worldwide is attributable to alcohol consumption. So, clearly, it is important to control excessive alcohol intake.

 

Spirituality and religiosity have been shown to be associated with successful treatment and relapse prevention with substance abuse in general including alcoholism. Alcohol intake and binge drinking rates are higher in sexual minorities than in heterosexuals, especially women. So, it makes sense to further investigate the relationship of spirituality and religiosity with alcohol intake in sexual minority women. In today’s Research News article “Religiosity as a protective factor for hazardous drinking and drug use among sexual minority and heterosexual women: Findings from the National Alcohol Survey”

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Drabble and colleagues revisit a major national survey of alcohol intake patterns and investigate participation in religion and alcohol intake in sexual minority women.

 

They found that sexual minority women had significantly higher rates of drug use in general including alcohol intake, higher rates of hazardous drinking and lower rates of being lifetime abstainers from alcohol. Sexual minority women had significantly lower rates of high religiosity and participation in religions that had norms unfavorable to alcohol intake. This was particularly true with lesbian women. So, sexual minority women are more likely to drink and misuse alcohol and are less religious than heterosexual women. They also found that religiosity was associated with higher rates of lifetime abstinence of alcohol regardless of sexual orientation. But, religiosity and participation in religions that had norms unfavorable to alcohol intake were associated with lower rates of hazardous alcohol or illicit drug use in heterosexual women but not in sexual minority women. So, religiosity appears to have less of an impact on alcohol intake in sexual minority women than heterosexual women.

 

Why is religiosity associated with lower overall and hazardous use of alcohol? One possible reason is that religions in general have negative teachings about alcohol. Buddhism teaches that intoxication is an impediment to spiritual development. Other religions completely prohibit alcohol while many decry the behaviors that occur during alcoholic stupor.  This provides a cognitive incompatibility between drinking and religiosity. The recognition that drinking is not an OK thing to do might provide the extra motivation to help withstand the cravings. In addition, religious groups tend to be populated with non-alcoholics. So, increased religiosity also tends to shift the individual’s social network away from drinking buddies to people less inclined to provide temptation. It is very difficult to not drink when those around you are not only drinking themselves but encouraging you to drink. So shifting social groups to people who either abstain or demonstrate controlled drinking can help tremendously.

 

But, why does religiosity appear to have a smaller effect on sexual minority women than heterosexual women? One possibility is that many religions are associated with negative teachings regarding homosexuality. For sexual minority women, their rejection of these teachings may generalize to affect their adherence to the other teaching of the religion including alcohol intake. As a result, being religious has less of an impact on alcohol and drug use for these women. It would be interesting to investigate the relationship of religiosity and alcohol intake in sexual minority women who belong to religions that are very tolerant to homosexuality versus religions who are intolerant.

 

Regardless, protects against alcohol and drug abuse with religiosity.

 

“Religious involvement can protect against substance use by providing opportunities for prosocial activities, which themselves may promote antidrug conduct norms, and for interaction with nondeviant peers. Youth who are involved in religious activities tend to form peer groups with youth who are involved in similar activities, and they are less likely to form friendships with deviant peers.” – Flavio Marsiglia

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

Better Control Drinking with Mindfulness

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“mindfulness gives us the strength psychologically and neurologically to sit in discomfort, to lean into the void, as opposed to avoid it and jump to our addiction.” – Mindful Muscle

 

Inappropriate use of alcohol is a major societal problem. In fact, about 25% of US adults have engaged in binge drinking in the last month and 7% have what is termed an alcohol use disorder. Alcohol abuse is very dangerous and frequently fatal. Nearly 88,000 people in the US and 3.3 million globally die from alcohol-related causes annually, making it the third leading preventable cause of death in the United States. Drunk driving accounted for over 10,000 deaths; 31% of all driving fatalities. Excessive alcohol intake has been shown to contribute to over 200 diseases including alcohol dependence, liver cirrhosis, cancers, and injuries. It is estimated that over 5% of the burden of disease and injury worldwide is attributable to alcohol consumption.

 

Alcohol abuse often develops during adolescence and it on display with college students where about four out of five college students drink alcohol and about half of those consume alcohol through binge drinking. About 25 percent of college students report academic consequences of their drinking including missing class, falling behind, doing poorly on exams or papers, and receiving lower grades overall. More than 150,000 students develop an alcohol-related health problem.

 

Alcohol abuse can have dire consequences as 1,825 college students die each year from alcohol-related unintentional injuries and between 1.2 and 1.5 percent of students indicate that they tried to commit suicide within the past year due to drinking or drug use. But, drinking has widespread consequence to not only the students but also the college communities, and families. More than 690,000 students are assaulted by another student who has been drinking. More than 97,000 students are victims of alcohol-related sexual assault or date rape. 599,000 students receive unintentional injuries while under the influence of alcohol.

 

These facts clearly highlight the need to explore methods to control excessive alcohol intake. One potential method is mindfulness as it has been shown to assist in the control of alcohol intake (see http://contemplative-studies.org/wp/index.php/category/research-news/alcoholism/) and in recovery from alcohol addiction (see http://contemplative-studies.org/wp/index.php/category/research-news/addiction/). So it would make sense to further explore the effects of mindfulness on alcohol intake in college students.

 

In today’s Research News article “How to think about your drink: Action-identification and the relation between mindfulness and dyscontrolled drinking”

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Schellhas and colleagues do exactly that, examining the relationships between mindfulness, alcohol intake, difficulty in controlling alcohol intake, and their identification with alcohol intake in college students. Interestingly, they did not find a relationship between mindfulness and weekly use of alcohol. But there was a relationship between mindfulness and the ability to control alcohol intake. In other words, mindful individuals drink as much as those with low mindfulness but they are better able to control their intake.

 

They also found that mindfulness also had an indirect effect on alcohol consumption. Mindfulness was negatively related to the use of alcohol to escape emotional problems. This escape use of alcohol intake was strongly related to the inability to control alcohol intake. In other words, students high in mindfulness were less likely to use alcohol to deal with their emotional problems and this in turn allowed the students to better control, their intake.

 

The results suggest that mindfulness may help students control alcohol intake. The study, however, did not actively change levels of mindfulness, but simply measured existing levels and their relations to alcohol consumption. As a result, it cannot be concluded that mindfulness was responsible for the better control of intake. It could be that individuals who are better at controlling behavior are more mindful or that some third factor such as emotional maturity was related to both. Future research is needed where mindfulness training is implemented to increase students’ mindfulness and observe its subsequent effect on intake and ability to control intake.

 

Regardless it is clear the mindfulness and control of alcohol intake are positively related. So, better control drinking with mindfulness.

 

“mindfulness is likely an effective tool in helping people with addiction because it’s a single, simple skill that a person can practice multiple times throughout their day, every day, regardless of the life challenges that arise. With so much opportunity for practice—rather than, say, only practicing when someone offers them a cigarette—people can learn that skill deeply.” – Sarah Bowen

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

Be Mindful and Act with Awareness with Alcohol

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“I’m saying let’s bring mindfulness to the act of drinking. Let’s not overindulge; let’s work with our craving in a fashion similar to the way we work with it on the meditation cushion. Let’s enjoy the experience without falling into the trap of confusion. At the end of the night of a Right Drinking, don’t be surprised if instead of feeling woozy you feel refreshed by the experience.” – Lodro Rinzler

 

Alcohol intake is a ubiquitous fact of life. In the US 87% of adults reported that they drank alcohol at some point in their lifetime; 71% reported that they drank in the past year; 56% reported that they drank in the past month. If alcohol intake is tempered by moderation and caution it can be enjoyed and may be potentially beneficial. But as alcohol intake gets out of control it can lead to binge drinking and alcoholism. It is reported that 25% of US adults reported that they engaged in binge drinking in the last month and 7% have what is termed an alcohol use disorder.

 

This is troubling as it can be very dangerous and potentially fatal. Nearly 88,000 people in the US and 3.3 million globally die from alcohol-related causes annually, making it the third leading preventable cause of death in the United States. Drunk driving accounted for over 10,000 deaths; 31% of all driving fatalities. Excessive alcohol intake has been shown to contribute to over 200 diseases including alcohol dependence, liver cirrhosis, cancers, and injuries. It is estimated that over 5% of the burden of disease and injury worldwide is attributable to alcohol consumption. So, clearly, it is important to control excessive alcohol intake.

 

Attempts by society to make alcohol illegal have been dismal failures. So, it is important to find methods to prevent excessive alcohol intake and assist in preventing relapse in recovered alcoholics. Mindfulness has been shown to be associated with lower use of alcohol in adolescents (see http://contemplative-studies.org/wp/index.php/2015/10/28/lower-substance-use-with-mindfulness/) and to help with relapse prevention with alcoholism (see http://contemplative-studies.org/wp/index.php/2015/11/10/staying-on-the-wagon-with-mindfulness/). So, mindfulness may be useful in controlling alcohol intake and preventing relapse.

 

In today’s Research News article “Elucidating the Association Between Trait Mindfulness and Alcohol Use Behaviors Among College Students”

https://www.facebook.com/ContemplativeStudiesCenter/photos/a.628903887133541.1073741828.627681673922429/1146562698700988/?type=3&theater

Karyadi and colleagues measured mindfulness, self-reported alcohol use, and responses to alcohol related visual cues in college students. They found that the more mindful the students the less the problematic alcohol use and the lower the level of cued alcohol cravings. Of the different facets of mindfulness, they found that acting with awareness was the most highly related to lower alcohol consumption and cued cravings. Finally, they found that acting with awareness appeared to work through a reduction in cued cravings to produce its effects on alcohol intake. Hence, mindfulness, particularly acting with awareness, appears to reduce alcohol consumption by reducing the individual’s responses to cues for alcohol intake.

 

The mindfulness facet of acting with awareness involves focusing attention on what you are doing at the present moment. When an individual is acting with awareness they are fully engaged with their current activity and not acting automatically “on autopilot.” As a result, they do not respond to unconscious or subconscious signals, but rather are in complete attentional control of what they are doing. This would make it less likely that they would respond to cues signaling alcohol craving. Rather they would respond to the conditions and act on them with complete awareness and not act irrationally.

 

These results do not demonstrate that mindfulness is the cause of the reported altered consumption. It will require a trial in which mindfulness training is actively manipulated to establish a causal connection. But, these results are encouraging and suggest that such a trial should be conducted.

 

So, be mindful and act with awareness with alcohol.

 

“The sway of alcohol over mankind is unquestionably due to its power to stimulate the mystical faculties of human nature, usually crushed to earth by the cold facts and dry criticisms of the sober hour.” – William James
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/alcohol.html#VhlXCV71s87co30G.99

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

Lower Substance Use with Mindfulness  

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“Research has demonstrated that the age when adolescents first start using alcohol, tobacco, and other illicit drugs is a predictor of later alcohol and drug problems. More than 40% of youth who start drinking at age 14 or younger develop alcohol dependence, compared with 10% of youth who begin drinking at age 20 or older.” – Erik Laursen and Paul Brasler

 

Adolescence is often a time of rebellion and experimentation and drug use is often the result. In a recent survey it was found that 9% of 8th graders, 23.5% of 10th graders, and 37.4% of 12th graders used alcohol in the past month and 19.4% of seniors engaged in binge drinking. These findings are particularly troubling as nearly one in four adolescents has ridden in a car with a driver who had been drinking and car accidents are the leading cause of death for adolescents. Fortunately, alcohol use by adolescents has been decreasing over the last several years.

 

Unlike the decline in alcohol use, marijuana use in adolescents has remained steady. Marijuana use in the preceding month was reported by 6.5% of 8th graders, 16.6% of 10th graders, and 21.2% of 12th graders with around 6% percent of 12th graders reporting daily use of marijuana.  Marijuana was reported as easy to obtain by 81% of 12th graders.

 

These statistics are troubling and methods to reduce the use of alcohol and marijuana among adolescents are needed. Mindfulness has been shown to help with recovery from alcohol abuse (see http://contemplative-studies.org/wp/index.php/2015/08/28/kick-the-drug-habit-with-mindfulness/). This raises the question as to whether mindfulness might be useful in combating adolescent alcohol and marijuana use.

 

In today’s Research News article “When you see it, let it be: Urgency, mindfulness and adolescent substance use”

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http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4567253/

Robinson and colleagues studied male and female youths in the 9th through 12th grades and measured mindfulness and alcohol, substance use patterns, impulsivity, and urgency, the impulsive tendency toward rash action. They found that mindfulness was associated with lower urgency, impulsivity, and alcohol and marijuana use. They also found that urgency and impulsivity were associated with greater alcohol and marijuana use.

 

These results suggest that mindfulness may be useful for restraining alcohol and marijuana use in adolescents. The findings, however, are correlational and thus do not allow the conclusion that mindfulness is the cause of lower use. It could be that lack of drug use makes them more mindful or some third factor, such as attention problems is responsible for both. A study training students in mindfulness and looking at subsequent alcohol and marijuana use is needed. But, these results are an encouraging first step.

 

The fact that mindfulness was associated with lower urgency and impulsivity is very interesting as these traits have been previously shown to be associated with the initiation of alcohol and marijuana use in adolescents. It also may indicate that mindfulness lowers alcohol and marijuana use by lowering urgency and impulsivity which in turn results in a lowering of use. It is known that mindfulness improves emotion regulation in general (see http://contemplative-studies.org/wp/index.php/2015/09/10/take-command-and-control-of-your-emotions/ and http://contemplative-studies.org/wp/index.php/2015/08/20/regulate-emotions-with-mindfulness/) and the finding for urgency and impulsivity may be another instance. Further research is needed to clarify these ideas.

 

So, lower substance use with mindfulness.

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

Kick the Drug Habit with Mindfulness

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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 death annually and including all causes alcohol abuse accounts for around 90,000 deaths each year, making it the third leading preventable cause of death in the United States.

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 prevent these relapses.

In today’s Research News article “Relative Efficacy of Mindfulness-Based Relapse Prevention, Standard Relapse Prevention, and Treatment as Usual for Substance Use Disorders: A Randomized Clinical Trial”

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http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4489711/

Bowen and colleagues examine the ability of a 12-step program, a Relapse Prevention (RP) program, and Mindfulness-Based Relapse Prevention (MBRP) in preventing relapse over a one-year period.

The Relapse Prevention (RP) program attempts to prevent relapse by helping the abuser to identify situations that tend to precipitate relapse and teach cognitive (thinking) and behavioral skills to navigate through these situations. Mindfulness-Based Relapse Prevention (MBRP) employs some components of relapse prevention and adds mindfulness based components to increase awareness and behavioral flexibility in daily life.

They found at three month follow-up that all three programs were effective in preventing relapse. But at 6 months both the RP and MBRP programs were superior to the 12-step program in preventing relapse. The participants in these programs had significantly higher abstinence from drug use and refraining from heavy drinking. The superiority of the Mindfulness-Based Relapse Prevention (MBRP) program was evidenced at the one-year follow-up, reporting 31% fewer drug use days and a significantly higher probability of refraining from heavy drinking. So, all programs were effective over the short term, but over the long-term the mindfulness based program worked the best.

How can mindfulness help an addict to refrain from indulging over the long-term? Mindfulness training stresses present moment awareness of both internal and external stimuli. It puts the individual in better touch with their own feeling and thoughts in real time. The cognitive therapy components of the program help the individual properly interpret what their feeling and to change the way they think about themselves and others. This improves the addict’s ability to recognize and tolerate the discomfort associated with craving, interpret it correctly, not see it as a personal failure, and effectively employ an alternative technique to deal with craving.

In addition mindfulness is known to improve emotion regulation. The individual becomes better at recognizing and responding effectively to their own emotions. Thus the addict can better recognize emotions, particularly negative  ones, and feel them thoroughly but respond to not with drugs or alcohol, but with responses more appropriate for the current situation.

Regardless of the mechanism the fact that mindfulness training can extend the effectiveness of relapse prevention is very significant. The longer the addict remains drug or alcohol free, the greater the likelihood of developing more adaptive behaviors which can, in turn, spawn the kind of success experiences that can help to maintain the drug free existence.

So, practice mindfulness and kick the habit.

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

Spirituality Improves Recovery from Addiction

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In a previous post we described the relationship between spirituality and recovery from alcoholism. https://www.facebook.com/ContemplativeStudiesCenter/photos/a.628903887133541.1073741828.627681673922429/1032110166812909/?type=1&theater

This is great, but, what about other addictions? Is spirituality helpful with these also?

Substance abuse and addiction is a terrible problem. It isn’t just illicit drugs but includes many prescriptions drugs especially opioid pain relievers. It is estimated that there are approximately 17,000 deaths from illicit drug overdoses. Prescription drugs, however, exceed this total with overdoses of prescription pain killers producing over 22,000 deaths per year and over 500,000 visits per year to the emergency room.

These statistics, although startling are only the tip of the iceberg. Drug use is associated with suicide, homicide, motor-vehicle injury, HIV infection, pneumonia, violence, mental illness, and hepatitis. It can renders the individual ineffective at work, it tears apart families, it makes the individual dangerous both driving and not, It also degrades the person’s life expectancy, which is about 15-20 years from the moment of addiction.

An effective treatment for addiction has been elusive. Most programs and therapies to treat addictions have poor success rates. Recent research is indicating that mindfulness and also spirituality can be quite helpful for kicking the habit. In today’s Research News article, “NIDA-Drug Addiction Treatment Outcome Study (DATOS) Relapse as a Function of Spirituality/Religiosity”

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http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4455957/

it was found that high levels of spirituality/religiosity are associated with much lower relapse rates for drug additions. This was the case for cocaine, heroin, alcohol, and marijuana relapse. Unfortunately, prescription drugs were not investigated.

 Why is spirituality/religiosity associated with better outcomes? In today’s study it was found that the strongest association between remission and spirituality involved attending religious services weekly. Hence, it would appear that it is important to participate in religious/spiritual groups. These groups tend to be populated with non-addicts and abusers. So, engagement with these groups provides a social network of people likely to provide support rather than temptation. It is very difficult to prevent relapse when those around you are using drugs themselves and especially when they encourage you to join them. So religious/spiritual groups should help to make it easier to abstain as a substitute for a drug culture.

It has also the case that spirituality/religiosity is associated with negative beliefs about drug abuse. Buddhism teaches that intoxication is an impediment to spiritual development. Other religions completely prohibit drugs while many decry the behaviors that occur under their influence.  This provides what psychologists call cognitive dissonance; an uncomfortable feeling when there is an incompatibility between drug abuse and spirituality/religiosity. The recognition that drug use is not an OK thing to do might provide the extra motivation to help withstand the cravings.

In addition, spirituality/religiosity provides a source of comfort as the individual faces the challenges of refraining from drugs. The challenges provided in everyday life can be a source of motivation to use drugs. An addict often uses drugs to escape from the pressures, stresses, and emotional upheavals that occur during ordinary life. Spirituality/religiosity may provide another way to cope with the individual’s problems. The individual can take solace in the religion instead of drugs when upheavals occur.

It is not known whether the same pattern of results would occur for prescription drug addicts. But, it would seem that the same logic would apply. Hopefully further research will test whether spirituality/religiosity is predictive of improved outcomes with prescription drug addiction.

Regardless the association is clear that spirituality/religiosity is associated with more positive outcomes in relapse prevention with drugs of abuse.

CMCS

Spirituality and Alcoholism Treatment

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Alcoholism is a terrible disease. It renders the individual ineffective at work. It tears apart families, with one in every four families having alcohol related problems. It makes the individual dangerous both driving and not, with over 33 thousand deaths attributed to drunk driving in the US per year. It is associated with a quarter of all homicides worldwide. It also degrades the person’s health, reducing life expectancy by about 10-12 years.

An effective treatment for this addiction has been elusive. Alcoholics Anonymous has been as effective as any other treatment devised. Why is it somewhat effective, when many other programs fail? Why is it effective for some, but not all? One reason could be the emphasis on spirituality present in AA.

In today’s Research News article, “Spiritual Awakening Predicts Improved Drinking Outcomes in a Polish Treatment Sample”

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it was found that undergoing spiritual awakening while in AA was associated with much better outcomes, including increased abstinence or a higher likelihood of absence of heavy drinking.

Why is spiritual awakening associated with better outcomes? One possible reason is that spirituality provides a source of comfort as the individual faces the challenges of stopping drinking. The challenges provided in everyday life can be a source of motivation to drink. An alcoholic uses alcohol as an escape from the pressures, stresses, and emotional upheavals that occur during ordinary life. But the alcoholism tends to produce its own set of stresses that create a vicious cycle where the escape creates the problems to be escaped. Spirituality may provide another way to cope with the individual’s problems. The individual can take solace in the devine instead of alcohol when upheavals occur. This can help to break the vicious cycle, making it possible to deal with the alcoholism.

Spirituality can provide the recognition that they need help, that they can’t go it alone. It helps the individual recognize that they can’t control the drinking without outside assistance. The alcoholic then can allow fellow alcoholics, people close to them, or therapists to provide needed assistance when the urge to drink begins to overwhelm the individual’s will to stop drinking. The recognition that there are greater powers than themselves makes it easier to ask for and accept assistance.

It has also the case that spirituality is associated with negative beliefs about alcohol. Buddhism teaches that intoxication is an impediment to spiritual development. Other religions completely prohibit alcohol while many decry the behaviors that occur during alcoholic stupor.  This provides a cognitive incompatibility between drinking and spirituality. The recognition that drinking is not an OK thing to do might provide the extra motivation to help withstand the cravings.

In addition, spiritual groups tend to be populated with non-alcoholics. So, increased spirituality also tends to shift the individual’s social network away from drinking buddies to people less inclined to provide temptation. It is very difficult to stop drinking when those around you are not only drinking themselves but encouraging you to drink. So shifting social groups to people who either abstain or demonstrate controlled drinking can help tremendously.

Regardless of the explanation the association is clear. Spiritual awakening is associated with more positive outcomes for AA participants.

CMCS