Yoga's
Potential in Treatment for Substance Abuse
Tara Shugrue
Yoga: Theory,
Culture and Practice
Laura
Douglass
Fall
2012
Introduction
Addiction is “the out-of-control and aimless
searching for wholeness, happiness, and peace through a relationship
with an object of event”(Williams 2002). Addiction is a disease
that is unprejudiced in the type of person it infects. An addict or
alcoholic does not fit any specifications when it comes to physical
traits or cultural background. Our collective culture as Americans,
however, “a society that glorifies addiction and subtly and
incessantly pushes us toward it”(Williams 2002). Addiction has
become an element to popular culture within the past generation.
Celebrities cite “exhaustion” and check into glorified rehabs
that share more similarites to a five-star hotel than a clinic. It is
no longer taboo in our society to check into rehab for any form of
addiction. It has evolved to the point of reality television,
chronicling lower-rate celebrities as they work through the recovery
process. The definition of addiction in our society as Americans has
become twisted and warped into something that makes it appear as more
of a joke than anything. Addiction, in any form, is a serious disease
that can become fatal if left untreated.
The challenge with this population is that each
addiction, each recovery is a completely unique experience to that
person; thus treating addiction and maintaining sobriety is no easy
feat. The desired end result of the drug and alcohol recovery process
is to indeed stay clean and sober. There are numerous approaches to
treatment, because of the uniqueness of the disease. There is always
a need for an improvement to treatment, that may work for the person
that nothing else seems to leave an impact on. Yogic practices have
been added to addictions treatment as a result of that searching.
From the research I have conducted thus far, three
major practices have continue to stand out: Mindfulness Meditation,
Transcendental Meditation and Kundalini yoga. The first two practices
are significant elements to yoga, which goes beyond the western
persepective of simply a form of exercise. Meditation brings focus to
being fully present in the moment, completley aware of the mind-body
connection that develops through yoga. Meditation quiets the mind,
and brings peace to the body, a helpful practice for those going
through the recovery process.
Clinical
Issues Facing Addicts and Alcoholics
The
recovery process is challenging, because the individual has to face
their emotions and environment without their main coping device.
Addicts and Alcoholics are professionals at avoiding the negative
things in their lives, they use to block out the bad emotions,
situations, or mental state they were experiencing. Breslin et al.
address Experimental Avoidance, “defined
as the attempt to alter the form or frequency of unpleasant states by
ignoring or distorting bodily sensations, emotions, thoughts, or
memories”(2002).
The 12-step program, created by Alcoholics Anonymous, is also used in
recovery for Addicts. The first step is to admit that the addiction
has taken control over one's life, and that their life has become
unmanagable. That initial step is a challenge for a population that
functions on never being fully present or aware. Denial is an
obstacle each addict faces when they begin treatment, but the
underlying issue is dealing with the amount of shame that they feel
towards themselves. Holding on to their denial of the situation,
their addiction, themselves, that is what helps them to function with
their overwhelming sense of shame.
Mindfulness
Meditation
Incorporating
mindfulness practices into treatment does greatly impact patients in
recovery, and working through their experimental avoidance.
“Mindfulness
practices help prevent relapse through increased awareness of
overlearned patterns of thoughts and emotions that potentially lead
to relapse”(Dakwar & Levin 2009). Although practicing
mindfulness is a simple action, it does not make it in any way an
easy feat. Treatment is a fragile time, and bringing awareness to
thoughts and emotions that have been previously avoided can be
overwhelming. Especially when the learned response of coping has been
removed. Becoming aware is the first step, how reality is percieved
through that newly aquired vision is the next. Integrating the power
of positive thought into mindfulness practices is essential to
suceeding. “Present-moment awareness also facilitates a cognitive
focus on positive aspects of everyday life, rather than past or
future concerns”(Kissman & Maurer 2002). Being fully present in
the moment takes the focus off of the past and regrets it may bring,
and takes the focus off of the future, and the anxieties it can hold.
As Omar Khayyam famously said: “be happy for this moment. This
moment is your life.” To find contentment is the slightest detail
of the present is to enjoy your life for how wonderful it is, this
comes from practicing mindfulness.
Breslin et al. (2002) said this about the role
negativity has concerning relapse:
Negative affect
appears to be an especially important trigger for several reasons.
First, the majority of clients attribute their relapse to
interpersonal stress or negative emotions. Second, when alcohol
clients relapse, the more intense negative affect appears to
elicit a conditioned response (e.g., desire to drink) that
increaseses the risk for relapse
The above quote is supportive in my belief that
positive thinking is essential in addiction recovery. Addicts are
surrounded by negativity, from themselves and their projections of
how the world views them. O'connell and Alexander (2009) explain it
well, “the recovery process necessitates a fundamental change in
the patient's identity and conception of reality.” The addict needs
to change everything about their life in order to recover, they need
to step out of the darkness and negativity, into the light.
Being able to percieve the self and the surrounding
environment in a non-negative way is a significant change for most
people going through treatment. “One brings an attitude of
acceptance to the inevitable distractions that occur when one sits
still. Even when experiencing an unpleasant emotion or distracting
thought, one observes or investigates the experience rather than
avoiding or supressing it”(Breslin 2002). even for someone who is
not battling an addiction, simply observing thoughts and emotions is
hard. Unpleasant thoughts and emotions are triggers for addicts to
use, simply observing those urges and not acting upon them is a true
test of willpower, which can strengthen over time.
Mindfulness practice
work harmoniously with the 12-Step program, sharing essential points
of acceptance of reality, and reacting in a healthy way. Mindful
Meditation is applicaple to each of the twelve steps,“the eleventh
step involves engaging in prayer or meditation regularly”(Dakwar
& Levin 2009).
Alcoholics Anonymous is often associated with the idea presented in
the literature of a “higher power” which deters those that are
not religious. It is worded vaguely enough to give enough room for
options, meditation being one of them. Giving that option to those in
recovery is likely to bring higher results of success with sobriety,
by taking away a religious association to those not comfortable with
it.
To commit to becoming mindful and accepting of reality,
the person has to learn a completley new way of thinking. Addictions
form for different reasons, it really depends on the person. Some are
a result from some form of trauma earlier in life, some are
predisposed to addiction, and some just don't think they are good
enough. Addicts and alcoholics possess a unique sense of shame, a
heavy weight that they carry with them. This shame is not from a
single action, it is from simply existing. To dull that overwhelming
pain, they learn to cope with a substance, and to make themselves
feel better by self-medicating. As the addiction progresses, however,
they begin to feel shame for using, adding fuel to the fire.
Practicing
mindful meditation, although a great challenge, can reap many
benefits to those in treatment. They are able to develop skills to
help maintain their sobriety, “from the meditation componenet,
practioners also develop an increasing self-awareness of both their
psychological and physical state, which can lead to an increase in
self-control”(Khalsa
et al. 2008). Self-control is ultimately the deciding factor when a
patient is teetering between sobriety and relapse, which can be
defined as a single drink to an overdose. The threat of relapsing is
constantly present in recovery, meditation can be a great aid against
the cravings.
Dakwar & Levin (2002)
mentioned some benficial effects meditation has on cravings:
meditation has been correlated
with a reduced stress response and lower cortisol levels. This
finding suggests a role for meditation in addressing craving states:
it may potentially reduce stress-induced craving, dampen the
salience of drug craving, and increase craving tolerance.
Meditation
is known for reducing stress, a positive result for anyone, but for
this population, stress “may contribute to addiction by throwing
out of balance neuro and biochemical pathways”(William 2002).
Keeping stress at a minimum is important, especially for those early
in their recovery.
Transcendental
Meditation
From
the very beginning of recovery, starting at detoxification,
Transcendental Meditation is an effective approach to healing.
Transcendental Meditation or TM plays “a valuable role in the
management of withdrawel symptoms...patients who learn TM during
detoxification often report reduced feelings of irritation and
agitation and less physical pain”(O'Connell & Alexander 1995).
TM is an intense practice, that produces results if the person is
completley commited to the practice. For those who are truly serious
about obtaining and maintaining sobriety, commiting to TM will help
them reach their goals. An author of one of the articles I read
believed that Transcendental Meditation claimed to work too much and
too well, and that TM calimed to be the only treatment needed to get
clean and sober.
The
truth is, as with any holistic approach to healing, there needs to be
a combination of different treatments to create a succesful recovery
process; especially for this population. As I said earlier, each
recovery process is different, it depends on the individual. Finding
that perfect compromise of treatment is key, Kissman & Maurer
(2002) cite Dr. Seigel: “patients have higher recovery rates when
they take part in medical treatment and are involved in spiritual
practices and belief, such as the mental visualization of wellness
(Seigel 1998)”.
Kundalini
Yoga
Kundalini
yoga is a common form of yoga used in treatment centers around the
world; not only for addictions, but psychological diseaseses as well,
including Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, depression, and anxiety.
Yogi Bhajan, “a living master of Kundalini yoga, Hatha yoga, and
White Tantric yoga”(Shannahoff-khalsa
2004) claimed a specific posture would promote sobriety to those in
recovery. It involves activating the Pineal gland, where addiction
stems from in the brain, and regulating the balance to rid the mental
addiction from the mind. This is done by applying pressure to the
sides of the head while chanting a mantra that “puts your
consciousness through the cycle of-infinity, life, death, and
rebirth. This mantra cleanses and restructures the subconcious mind
to help live in a conscious state that is merged with the
infinite”(Shannahoff-khalsa 2004).
Conclusion
A
reoccuring statement made in each article was the lack of research
done on the subject of using meditation or yoga therapy to treat
addiction. The small-scale studies done yielded different results,
and although the benefits can be estimated, there does not seem to be
a strong foundation of evidence-based information. Further research
on a larger scale would make a hugr improvement on the amount of
scattered results that exist currently. Another reoccuring statement
was about the difficulty of gauging the results, as meditation is a
significantly unique and personal experience, as well as the process
of recovery.
It
is frustrating that the results found in any study cannot resolve to
any concrete conclusions. There can only be speculation or
assumptions made on the benefits of yoga with patients in recovery.
That seems to be a running theme in Holistic practices, each
individualized to work the best for each person; there is no way to
then apply those results to a larger scale. The individuality of
Holistic approaches to healing is both its greatest strength and its
greatest weakness. From what has been found, the results are
profound, to those that were receptive to these different approaches
to treatment. I believe that taking a holistic approach to treating
addiction is the most effective way, combined with standard
rehabilitation treatment as well. Because this disease is so unique
in each person infected by it, and this way of treatment is so
personalized, they seem to be able to fit together like corresponding
puzzle pieces.
I
am frustrated and even slightly saddened by the weight that our
culture has in deciding what is legitimate. Holistic practices,
though gaining popularity within the past decade or so, are still
treated with a sene of humor, and not taken as seriously or treated
with as much respect as traditional medicine. I have a holistic
psychology specialization with my counseling major, and it is
something that I plan on incorporating in my career in addiction
counseling. Because they are not scientific with solid results, and
because a good amount of faith is needed for them to work, holisitic
treatments and practices are looked at as not effective. Although
they can improve the overall quality of life, and can work better
than most medications, these treatments are not covered by health
insurance. I hope that one day our culture will evolve enough to have
an open mind about treatment options, so that they can be made
available to those lucky enough to have health insurance. I plan to
continue to research the role that yogic practices have in recovery
for addiction, and hopefully one day I will be able to use them in my
professional career.
References
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