In a world where being alive and working often means being constantly on – bombarded daily with content, questions, decisions, and stimuli – there is little room for peace in most people’s lives and over time this manifests itself as we continue to withstand the wear-and-tear of life.
Anxiety, depression, and even addiction – the numbers on these illnesses rise even above the expected increase caused by better diagnosing, simply because our world is now more conducive to the kind of emotional roller coasters that send people spiraling down fast due to stress and self-esteem issues. Making room in your life for something to counteract that, especially when recovering from addiction while looking for work/education, is important.
Those recovering from addiction have to make it a priority not just to find work, but to find a way to cope with the stresses of work in a way that does not involve their drug of choice. Here is why meditation is a great first step towards making that happen while drawing other useful skills from this simple little habit.
Here is how to get started with meditation for addiction recovery.
What is Meditation?
Meditation is a large and versatile collection of practices that promote focus. Meditation can be practiced in many different forms, in many different places, with many different personal techniques. Some people prefer to meditate by thinking of a sequential inner rhythm, like their breath, their heartbeat, or a count. Others think of a concept, or an idea, or even a physical object and try to hold it in their mind.
The ultimate objective of meditation is to think as long as possible about one single thing, returning to it when you have been distracted, to the point where you melt around it and forget your presence in your own body. You completely absorb yourself in thought and go from there as you please, doing whatever it is you want to.
Scientifically, meditation has shown to be immensely helpful in helping people beat anxiety and even improve the results of cognitive behavioral therapy by greatly increasing the mind’s potential to focus. Depressive thoughts, anxiety, and other such mental illnesses are pervasive – they penetrate your line of thinking and poison your perspective with a self-destructive brand of negativity. You pull yourself down, and repeat to yourself how something is impossible, or doomed to fail.
This is especially common in recovery, as the rate of anxiety and depression among those with a history of addiction is far higher than the average population. Actively fighting against the inner urge to use and the inner voice that puts you down requires you to have the ability to forcibly drown it out and regain control over your thinking – that is what meditation offers you. Through meditation, you can more easily make the switch from constant negative thoughts to new positive habits.
However, most people cannot simply jump into meditation and have it feel right the first time – most people are not even sure where to start, and how to get started. Here is what you need to know:
Start Small and Go Daily
It is far more important to meditate a little bit daily than it is to dedicate an hour or two to meditation once a week. This is a habit that needs to become second-nature to you, you need to think about meditation as something that requires daily practice in order to really get good at it.
The thing about meditation is that you cannot watch others – or yourself – attempt it. Often, any explanation towards how it should work or how it should feel will make little sense and sound more like trite gibberish. Half the fun of meditation is closing your eyes, and figuring out what exactly works for you – what gives you the best peace of mind while training your focus without you accidentally catching a nap.
It does not matter how small you start, or how long it takes you to ramp up. Even if you sit upright on your bed, close your eyes, and focus on your breathing for less than five minutes, it is better than doing a weekly session.
Starting off, remember two key things – eyes closed, and stay in a position that is healthy and comfortable. This does not mean slouching in a chair, but it also does not mean balancing in the warrior pose for half an hour. Just sit on a mat or in your chair in a way that lets you effortlessly stack your spine and maintain a neutral posture.
Keep It Simple
Meditation is not about changing into fancy clothes, reading a dozen mantras, and setting up the mood with colored lighting, burning incense, and a Buddha Bar playlist running on Spotify. If that is how you prefer to meditate, then be my guest – but for beginners, the best way to get into meditation is by simply doing it. Do not worry about your clothes, the location, or the ambiance – half the purpose of meditation is cutting yourself off completely from those stimuli anyways.
Next, start with the breath. The breath is life’s simplest and most constant rhythm, and it requires a lot of concentration to stay perfectly even. You will want to consciously keep track of the speed and effort with which you inhale, and the speed and effort with which you exhale. In order to have something simple to focus on, visualize and feel the air filling your lungs and expanding your rib cage and belly, and feel again as it passes through your nasal cavity and out through your nostrils.
Realizing the Benefits of Meditation in Recovery
In recovery, life is easily a mess – especially early on, when you are still getting used to living in sobriety. Stress is around every corner, and while therapy can help you come to terms with yourself and help you consider feeling good about life again, there are also plenty of reasons to feel trapped, scared, and restless. Meditation is meant to be an easy, effortless outlet for all these emotions, helping you turn them into dust in the wind, and helping you find a quiet peace of mind through breath and focus.
It does not work equally for everyone, and everyone has gathered their own unique experiences through meditation. However, with a little practice, you can find your own way to express and feel its effects in life.