Everything ties back to mood regulation
I'm not sure how it is for other people, here, but all of my driving factors that bring me back to my addiction are tied back to my high negative emotion and general ineffectiveness at regulating my mood.
However, I've found something that works for me, and it might sound silly to some, but the best evidence is experience with these things, right?
So, I've found that mindfulness meditation REALLY helps me. I downloaded Headspace about a year ago, haven't tried other apps, but I suspect anything that gets you started with the right techniques is good. I have noticed an enormous difference even only practicing for 10 minutes a day. It's almost magic, for me, I can even feel my mood and hormones shift once I get into meditation and let my addictive thoughts and my anxieties fall away.
Has anyone else experienced this? When I talk to other people, I often hear them say either "yeah, it really works for me" or "I can't meditate at all", so it has me wondering if meditation is easier for certain personalities? I know I meditated naturally as a kid without realizing what I was doing, so maybe I have an easier time with it than others? I'm curious what other people's experiences with this are here on 7-Cups.
@navigator14 Hi navigator, thanks for the insightful post! Emotions can definitely tie in to relapse, and it is great that you have such self awareness of your habits. I'm so glad to hear that mindfulness meditation has helped you out! It really does help in regulating and recognizing one's emotions. I will have to check out the app you mentioned.
I myself love meditation and used to do it quite often, alongside yoga. I find it quite beneficial for my overall well-being especially mental health, not just addictions. You raise a valid point on the effectiveness of meditatation with different people. I suppose like with any coping mechanism, it has various impacts. However, I am sure that with enough practice and patience, anyone can get the hang of it.
Thank you again for the post, and keep up the awesome job! :)
@navigator14
I use to use Headspace as well, and I really did feel it helped me. For me it didn't help reduced my desire to take substances, at all. Hoewever it did help with my probamatic sustance use indirectly. For example, though the skills I learned though meditation, I found it easier to not overreact to arguements (which just make things worse). Instead I was able to deescalate things, and not let the sitation like that trigger me. It helps to learn how to keep your center calm and not get swept away by all the emotions that run high.
I haven't been keeping up with my mediation routine lately, but you've inspired me to give it a go again.
