Mindfulness in Addiction Recovery

What is mindfulness, and how can you seek to implement mindfulness practices into your day-to-day life?

Take that First Step

What Is Mindfulness?

The American Psychological Association defines mindfulness as the “awareness of one’s internal states and surroundings.” This means that you are focused on your moment-to-moment experience of what’s going on around you, without judgment. For example, if you are making coffee you are aware of every step of the process, the smell and sound of coffee beans grinding, the sound of hot water pouring, and finally the taste of the first sip of hot coffee.

Benefits of Mindfulness

Mindfulness can have a host of benefits when practiced regularly, including:

Stress relief - Multiple studies have shown that practicing mindfulness and meditation can help to reduce stress.
Reduction in rumination - In one study, participants who practiced mindfulness began to ruminate less and experienced fewer depressive symptoms than those who did not.
Improved memory and focus - Mindfulness can improve your ability to focus on tasks and increase your capacity for working memory.
Decreased emotional reactivity - Mindfulness can help individuals to better disengage from negative thoughts and emotions and re-engage in the task at hand.
Improved relationships - Mindfulness can help to facilitate healthy relationship communication skills.
Increased mental flexibility - Mindfulness can help to increase self-observation, which can, in turn, help you to better adapt to different situations.

How to Practice Mindfulness

You can practice mindfulness in your life in a number of ways, namely by engaging in mindfulness meditation. You can do this by:

Observing the present moment as it is - Pay attention to what is happening right now without judgment.
Noticing your body and breath - Breathe deeply and notice how the air fills and leaves your lungs. Notice how your feet feel on the ground and the position of your hands. Being mindful of your body can help to anchor you to the current moment.
Being kind to your mind - Don’t focus too much on your wandering thoughts, just gently try to bring your mind back to the present moment.

Mindfulness in Addiction Recovery

Mindfulness can be an important part of the recovery process and can help you to keep in mind why you are doing what you are doing. Sometimes, it can be easy to lose your “why” for sobriety in the midst of cravings and temptation, but it’s important to focus on the present. Let the cravings and feelings of temptation come, acknowledge them, and then let them go without judgment. They are a natural part of the recovery process, and not a sign of weakness or lack of willpower. Tune into your body and how it feels, and ground yourself in the current moment.

Contact Steps Recovery Centers

If you are seeking treatment for drug or alcohol addiction, contact Steps Recovery Centers today. We have an array of programs that will give you the tools to set you up for long-term success, including how to practice mindfulness. Come tour our beautiful St. George, Utah, location today and see if Steps could be the right fit for you.

Dialectical Behavioral Therapy

Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, also known as DBT, is a type of cognitive-behavioral therapy. Individuals suffering …

Mindfulness in Addiction Recovery

The American Psychological Association defines mindfulness as the “awareness of one’s internal states and surroundings.” ..

Treatment Center

Residential treatment centers are knownfor their success rate, so it’s important to research local ones that fit yours or that of the needs of your loved one. Ensure they are acredited and licensed, have access to emergency care services, offer aftercare planning, and have a credentialed staff

Nathan Frame

2019-10-12

Steps Recovery is the place you go if want a caring and understanding program. They have helped me gain knowledge about myself and what I want/need to do. The staff there can relate and help you through core issues and they push you to do better because being in this program you know you can do big and amazing things. Also the therapists there are awesome and walk with you through struggles of life and give you the tools you truly need. Overall this place is an amazing opportunity and you’d be missing out on a lot if you chose to not at least try this program. Definitely 5 stars

Shaylesa Stulce

2019-06-13

Steps Recovery in St. George has been amazing! I’m so excited to use the tools that I’ve learned here! The staff is amazing, and very understanding! I would recommend them to anyone struggling with addiction!

Gabe Peterson

2019-06-13

Extremely awesome staff. Shout out to Becky, Julie, Lacy, Tyler, Kami, Bill, Troy, Austin, Conner, Skyler. Its an incredible program

Adam Kelly

2019-06-04

What I liked most about my time at Steps is the atmosphere that was presented during my whole stay. I have done a lot of treatment centers and this one is by far the one i have felt i gained the most from. I would highly recommend Steps to anybody struggling with addiction!

The Steps Recovery Centers Guarantee

Steps Recovery Centers guarantee that any person who completes any of our programs are welcome to come to our weekly aftercare group for additional support at no charge for life.

Mindfulness in Addiction Recovery

Take that First Step

Take that First Step

What Is Mindfulness?

Benefits of Mindfulness

How to Practice Mindfulness

Mindfulness in Addiction Recovery

Contact Steps Recovery Centers

Dialectical Behavioral Therapy

Mindfulness in Addiction Recovery

Treatment Center

The Steps Recovery Centers Guarantee

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