Meditation as a Way Through Addiction

Alcohol, cigarettes and drugs cause untold damage, but their users derive some kind of pleasure from them, or at least relief from the massive stress that they would otherwise feel. But by exposing their minds to a greater source of satisfaction, the natural tendency would be to head away from the addiction, because the greater satisfaction is more appealing. Support for this new view has existed for almost 20 years.

Going back to the early 1970s, studies in the United States and Europe have repeatedly shown that when addicted people are taught to meditate, their level of anxiety decreases, pulling down with it their use of alcohol, cigarettes, and other drugs.

If the addiction is caught at an early stage, a large proportion of subjects will stop abusing substances altogether. This is a very important point, because the early stage is where most cures are possible.

By removing the distractions of stress, meditation renews the nervous system’s memory of balance. Repeated meditation, day after day, jogs the memory again and again, until in time the cells return to a normal state, exchanging their abnormal receptors for a more normal pattern. Once the pathways of intelligence are repaired, the cells will automatically select the body’s healthy signals, as once they automatically accepted the distorted ones. The circle broken by addiction has been repaired.

Adapted from Perfect Health: The Complete Mind/Body Guide, by Deepak Chopra, M.D. (Harmony Books, 1990).

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of
Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

Emil P.

7:04AM PDT on Apr 24, 2012

Its better to set aside few minutes for meditation .gain peace of mind
thanks for posting.a good article .

send a green star

Wild T.

10:59AM PST on Nov 12, 2011

cigarettes are an entrance drug to becoming addicted to meditation but one cigarette a day might keep the doctor at bay. There is a problem with meditation as sedation in the presence of a building military warfare state and our addiction to war, however.

Ordained t.

5:31PM PDT on Oct 28, 2011

Excellent!

12:34PM PDT on Oct 25, 2011

Moderation is another way rather than your mind trying to be the dictator over your body.. Everyone wants mutually assured annihilation as a solution. We are constantly sold over-consumption of pretty much everything on Earth including the addiction to war..

Past Member .

9:44PM PDT on Oct 19, 2011

Interesting thanks for posting

Gaby D.

8:37AM PDT on Oct 19, 2011

The only danger: you'll get addicted to meditation!!:-)) Nahnot really .....but it's true to an extent.....you do 'crave' your time out each and every day...once you start!
Always said...it would be so nice if we were to be delivered with a users manual when dropped into this eartlhy realm......in the chapter maintenance: meditation would take a prominent place!! Ooooohm! Oooohm! Namaste. And as Davidji says...."see ya in the gap'.

myra d.

3:18AM PDT on Oct 19, 2011

interesting

Andy K.

10:56PM PDT on Oct 18, 2011

In the 1970s that Kadir-Buxton Tension Sheet was curing the mentally ill, it is an easy way of meditating. All you have to do is find the correct colour that relaxes you, and then paint a room in your house that colour. Ex- Addicts say the effect is better than cocaine. I sent those treated to both their own Doctor, and local Clergy to prove they were cured. I thus had a 'halo' while still at school! Please see: http://www.kadir-buxton.com/page25.htm/ for further details. You will not be disappointed. It also treats high blood pressure.

Ralph F.

9:29PM PDT on Oct 18, 2011

Hopeful news. Thanks for posting the info.

Harsha V.

6:25PM PDT on Oct 18, 2011

These days a lot of research is done by neurologists about the benefits of meditation. It is proven each of our behaviors are due to certain neural circuits in our brains. AND with meditation we can change those circuits!!