HOW MINDFULNESS CAN HELP OVERCOME PAIN PILL ADDICTION

There is an ever-growing body of research that indicates that mindfulness is a very useful treatment for addiction as well as for pain management.

In this interview—there is a transcript as well—Dr Eric Garland [pictured right], a clinical researcher and practising licensed psychotherapist at the University of Utah, describes how psychotherapists at the University are using mindfulness techniques to retrain the brain against pain pill addiction.

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MINDFULNESS MEDITATION CAN HELP REDUCE ADDICTION RELAPSE RATES

‘Self-centred attention and activity, positively or negatively, is the cause of strife and pain. ... We know how the self is built up and strengthened through the pleasure and pain principle, through memory, through identification, and so on. ... Is not craving the very root of the self? ...’ 
J. Krishnamurti.

A new study strongly suggests that mindfulness can be effective in preventing relapses of drug and alcohol abuse, by helping people understand what drives cravings and better deal with the discomfort created by cravings.

Researchers at the University of Washington studied 286 people who had successfully completed a substance abuse treatment program, and randomly assigned them to one of three groups: mindfulness meditation, a 12-step program, and a traditional relapse-prevention program.

The researchers found that a treatment program that incorporates mindfulness meditation was more effective in preventing relapses over the long term, compared with traditional addiction treatment approaches. One year after treatment, about 9 per cent of participants in the mindfulness program reported drug use, compared with 14 per cent of those in a 12-step program, and 17 per cent in a traditional relapse-prevention program.

About 8 per cent of participants in the mindfulness program also reported heavy drinking after one year, compared with about 20 per cent in the other two groups. The findings were published online on March 19, 2014 in the journal JAMA Psychiatry.

Researcher Dr Sarah Bowen [pictured left] noted about 11 per cent of people in the United States with substance abuse problems seek treatment annually, and between 40 to 60 per cent relapse. Many traditional relapse prevention programs include a 12-step program that emphasizes abstinence. Others are based on cognitive-behavioural therapy.

For my part, I don’t think I would ever have recovered from alcoholism without the 12-step program and fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous. I have sung its praises on my blog on quite a few occasions. I will continue to do so. Since my recovery I have embraced mindfulness. I strongly recommend a combination of the two when it comes to overcoming addiction, as well as seeking advice and assistance from health care professionals when necessary. Mindfulness is meditation, and the practice of meditation is consistent with the 12-step ‘philosophy’ which (in step 11) refers to the need to engage in ‘prayer and meditation.’ After all, it’s a spiritual program.

Addiction is a physical, mental, and spiritual disease. As respects the latter, the real bondage is to self. As Bill Wilson [pictured right], co-founder of AA, put it, ‘Selfishness--self-centeredness! That, we think, is the root of our troubles.’ And as I’ve said many times, only a power-not-oneself can free the addict from bondage to the self. The self can’t do that, because it is the damn problem. I often quote these wonderfully insightful words from Archbishop William Temple: ‘For the trouble is that we are self-centered, and no effort of the self can remove the self from the centre of its own endeavour.’ So true.

Mindfulness is a powerful proven means of breaking down the bondage of self. Mindfulness is true meditation because it is the most natural form of meditation and the only one that keeps you in direct and immediate contact with what is. ‘True meditation,’ wrote the Indian spiritual philosopher J. Krishnamurti, ‘is not self-expansion in any form. ... Only through your own strenuous awareness is there the comprehension of the real, the permanent.’

Resource: Bowen S, Witkiewitz K, Clifasefi S L, Grow J, Chawla N, Hsu S H, Carroll H A, Harrop E, Collins S E, Lustyk M K, and Larimer M E. ‘Relative Efficacy of Mindfulness-Based Relapse Prevention, Standard Relapse Prevention, and Treatment as Usual for Substance Use Disorders: A Randomized Clinical Trial.’ JAMA Psychiatry. 2014; 71(5):547-556. doi:10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2013.4546.

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IMPORTANT NOTICE: See the Terms of Use and Disclaimer. The information provided on this blogspot is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Never delay or disregard seeking professional medical advice from your medical practitioner or other qualified health provider because of something you have read on this blogspot. For immediate advice or support call Lifeline on 13 1 1 14 or Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800. For information, advice and referral on mental illness contact the SANE Helpline on 1800 18 SANE (7263) go online via sane.org  

MINDFULNESS MEDITATION FEATURES IN NEWSWEEK

Here's a link to a recent article in Newsweek on mindfulness meditation, which contains this good summary of the proven benefits of mindfulness meditation:

'[Jon] Kabat-Zinn’s work has inspired a host of mindfulness-based therapies, with offshoots focusing on depression, addiction, eating and sleep disorders, and chronic pain. Mindfulness itself is being applied in psychotherapy—for treating cancer survivors, PTSD, sexual dysfunction—and is now so legit it’s taught around the world in medical centers, hospitals, schools (from primary school to medical school), prisons, and corporations.'

Who could ask for anything more? (Of course, always keep an open mind - when practising mindfulness and otherwise - for mindfulness meditation is not a panacea for all ills.)

IMPORTANT NOTICE: See the Terms of Use and Disclaimer. The information provided on this blogspot is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Never delay or disregard seeking professional medical advice from your medical practitioner or other qualified health provider because of something you have read on this blogspot. For immediate advice or support call Lifeline on 13 1 1 14 or Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800. For information, advice and referral on mental illness contact the SANE Helpline on 1800 18 SANE (7263) go online via sane.org



GIVING UP SMOKING WITH MINDFULNESS

Giving up smoking is never easy. I know. I tried quite a few times to give up smoking before I was ultimately successful. Here’s one tip. Forget all about so-called ‘will power.’ You don’t need it, and assuming for the moment there is such a thing (which is a dubious proposition), it cannot assist in overcoming an addiction … for the simple reason that the will is captive to the addiction. Listen to what the great spiritual philosopher J. Krishnamurti had to say about craving---of any kind---and the will:

'Craving is the root of all ignorance and sorrow and there is no freedom from ignorance and sorrow save in the abandonment of craving. It is not to be set aside through mere will for will is part of craving; it is not to be set aside through denial for such denial is the outcome of opposites. Craving can be dissolved only through becoming aware of its many ways and expressions; through tolerant observation and understanding it is transcended. In the flame of understanding craving is consumed.'

Yes, the will is captive to the addiction. It is inextricably caught up in the incessant conflict between the 'self' in us that wants to smoke on the one hand and the 'self'' in us that doesn't want to smoke on the other. In Krishnamurti's words, 'will is part of craving.' In addition, self (which is only 'image' in our mind) cannot change self. Now, 'want power’ … that is something altogether different.

Dr Daniel Seidman (pictured left) is Director of Smoking Cessation Services at Columbia University Medical Center, where he is also Assistant Clinical Professor of Medical Psychology (in Psychiatry). For the past 20 years Seidman has done research on smoking cessation and operated a variety of clinics in community settings, corporations, and at New York Presbyterian Hospital and Columbia University, in which countless patients have learned to quit smoking.

Seidman is also the author of Smoke-Free in 30 Days: The Pain-Free, Permanent Way to Quit. In that book Seidman shows how mindfulness can help smokers reconnect with their senses and surroundings in ways that have been dulled and deadened by their physical and emotional preoccupations with smoking. Here is a link to a recent Huffington Post article in which Seidman lists, for the benefit of those who truly want to overcome nicotine addiction, five specific ways to ‘mindfully’ reconnect with their five senses.

Here is a short YouTube video in which Dr Seidman discusses the subject of smoking and its cessation:

In this blog I want to focus on just one aspect of the ‘challenge’ of giving up smoking … that of coping with thoughts of relapse. For weeks, indeed months, I carried round with me in my wallet a business card of mine on the back of which I had written the letters H E I S T. The letter ‘H’ refers to ‘health’. ‘E’ stands for ‘expense.’ ‘I’ is for ‘inconvenience.’ ‘S’ stands for ‘self-esteem.’ Finally, the letter ‘T’ refers to ‘taboo,’ that is, society’s increasing disapproval of smoking and hostility toward smokers. They were, at least for me, the five main reasons for my wanting to give up smoking at the time. Whenever I was tempted to smoke, I would take out of my wallet this card and interiorly say the word ‘HEIST’ several times before proceeding to recite, in a creed-like fashion, the various words represented by the letters.

Giving up smoking may not be easy, but neither is it all that hard … IF you really want to give up smoking. It is damn hard, indeed well-nigh impossible, to give up smoking if you don’t want to. Now, provided at least ‘51 per cent’ of you wants to give up smoking, it can be achieved. There will always be a part of you – it can’t really be quantified – which doesn’t want to give up smoking. That is normal. You have to work with that part of you which does. It’s your want power, and it is very powerful. Whenever you feel like having a smoke, go straight to the source of your power, that is, your want power, and go over the reasons why you want to give up smoking. (NOTE. The reasons you want to give up smoking may well be other than the reasons why I wanted to give up smoking. Choose reasons that resonate with you. That is extremely important.)

Another tip. When you feel like wanting a smoke, don’t react to that thought, feeling, image or sensation with panic or terror. No, that is not the way to react. Indeed, don’t react at all. Addiction is karma in the form of 'mental deed,' that is, a mindless reaction to thought, feeling, image and sensation. Now, know this … the thought, feeling, image or sensation is just that – only a thought, feeling, image or sensation. It has absolutely no power of its own to drive you back to smoking unless you choose to ‘accept’ or 'reject' the thought, feeling, image or sensation and thereby act upon it. The Shakyamuni Buddha said, 'Whatever suffering arises has a reaction [that is, 'liking' or 'disliking'] as its cause. If all reactions cease to be, then there is no more suffering.'

The important think, mindfully speaking, is to observe and watch the thought, feeling, image or sensation. It will not last all that long. Nothing does. Just observe … and watch … choicelessly, that is, non-judgmentally. Do not analyse the thought, feeling, image or sensation. Do not condemn it or try to drive it away. (Remember, whatever you resist, persists!) Also, do not, for example, try to substitute some ‘positive’ thought for a negative one. No, do none of those things. Just observe and watch. In so doing, the thought, feeling, image or sensation will lose its intensity and in time will disappear entirely from consciousness, and you will gain insight – yes, insight – into what is taking place in and around you. It's all about living mindfully ... as opposed to blind, mindless reactions in the form of cravings and attachments.

For more details on Dr Seidman’s book, go to his website. And good luck!

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IMPORTANT NOTICE: See the Terms of Use and Disclaimer. The information provided on this blogspot is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Never delay or disregard seeking professional medical advice from your medical practitioner or other qualified health provider because of something you have read on this blogspot. For immediate advice or support call Lifeline on 13 1 1 14 or Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800. For information, advice and referral on mental illness contact the SANE Helpline on 1800 18 SANE (7263) go online via sane.org

MINDFULNESS AND SHOPPING ADDICTION

A RESOLVE study has shed light on the use of mindfulness to combat shopping addiction.

Shopping addiction (oniomania), also known as  compulsive buying disorder (CBD), has the elements of both a mental ‘obsession’ and a physical ‘compulsion’ ordinarily associated with an addiction. However, some psychiatrists believe compulsive buying is more indicative of impulse control disorder. Others think it is more indicative of some sort of obsessive-compulsive disorder. Still others view the disorder as an impulsive-compulsive spectrum disorder, while there are some who see it as a mood disorder.

CBD is said to affect an estimated 5.9 (US), 6 (AUS) or 8-16 (UK) per cent of the adult population. There is now a twelve-step program to treat the condition, the program being called, appropriately, Shopaholics Anonymous.

My wife would say that I am a bit of a shopaholic myself when it comes to my regular frequenting of opportunity (thrift) shops and the like in search of that proverbial ‘white elephant’. Unfortunately, our house is now full of white elephants of various kinds and of all shapes and sizes ... in the form of secondhand books (lots of them!), CDs, DVDs, showbiz memorabilia, kitschy ornaments, icons, etc ... nearly all of which have been bought by, yes, yours truly.

CBD is a real problem, and it is often the result of other problems including depression, anxiety and unhappiness in relationships (not to mention boredom and negative emotional states such as anger and self-loathing). People suffering from CBD often have mental problems in addition to depression and anxiety, such as obsessive-compulsive disorder, alcoholism or other impulsive behaviours such as a gambling addiction or kleptomania.

‘Retail therapy’, as it is sometimes called, is essentially a form of ‘self-medication’ where the person in question seeks to elevate their mood by rewarding or otherwise compensating themselves for actual or perceived losses or negative emotional states. In time, shopping becomes the person’s main way of coping with stress to the point where they continue to shop excessively even when it is clearly having an adverse impact on other areas of their life (eg finances, familial and other personal relationships, and even physical and mental health).

As with other addictions, finances and relationships are damaged, yet the shopping addict feels unable to stop or even control their spending by the use of will power. (Will power may be able to break a bad habit but never an addiction, the latter being a bad habit with the added elements of mental obsession and physical compulsion, for the will is captive to the addiction. Simple as that. Only 'want power' can open the door to freedom.)

Yes, just like any form of addiction, things can very quickly spiral out of control. From a position of wanting to be in control, the person suddenly finds that they are completely out of control ... indeed, powerless (to use the language of twelve-step programs).

Retail therapy results in guilt and even more negative emotions, and the addictive behaviour can become secretive (‘closet buying’ or ‘closet shopping’) - just like alcohol and drug addiction - with the development over time of that pathological phenomenon known as ‘denial’.

The RESOLVE study sought to test the efficacy of mindfulness as a means of both curbing excessive shopping and attenuating negative emotional states that might otherwise be causing and/or ‘feeding’ the addiction.

It is well-documented that the regular practice of mindfulness can be effective in reducing depression and anxiety and increasing feelings of wellbeing.

Six self-confessed shopping addicts volunteered to learn mindfulness over an 8 week period.

All participants experienced lessening of the depression and anxiety that had driven them to shop, and reported feeling happier and more accepting of themselves.

The participants also reported feeling stronger, more able to understand the triggers for shopping urges, and more able to choose moment by moment whether they would indulge those urges.

Three months after the end of the mindfulness course, depression and shopping levels among those who attended the training had relapsed slightly, but not to the levels at the beginning.


(This blog sets out a simple form of mindfulness sitting meditation.)



RELATED POSTS

GIVING UP SMOKING WITH MINDFULNESS

THE USE OF MINDFULNESS FOR SUBSTANCE USE DISORDERS

 
IMPORTANT NOTICE: See the Terms of Use and Disclaimer. The information provided on this blogspot is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Never delay or disregard seeking professional medical advice from your medical practitioner or other qualified health provider because of something you have read on this blogspot. For immediate advice or support call Lifeline on 13 1 1 14 or Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800. For information, advice and referral on mental illness contact the SANE Helpline on 1800 18 SANE (7263) go online via sane.org