Meditation & visualization

[Buckshot]

I’ve seen people have incredible results during physical withdrawals and as well as during general recovery using guided and personal visualizations, and/or certain types of meditation.

It should come as no suprise to you that the WD is so very psychological to addicts. We know for a fact people here have posted that they fear WD before it has even begun. I think people really build up WD's into something so unstoppable and scary that they stand very little chance of success. So many people including myself have viewed their withdrawal in hours or minutes, and have focused on the symptoms so much that each symptom is magnified to an incredible level.

This is where the visualization exercises come into play. For me I can relax myself and accept the way things are. I think there’s something of serious value here for addiction treatment.

I first learned about this when I was in a 6 month in-patient rehab. We did guided visualizations every week along with a white light healing exercise. Since then I’ve taken it further and I really know



Thoughts?

Buck

[nick]

Sure,I try and find the time to meditate everyday.

[Opiyum]

I have a hard time understanding how people could accomplish this during withdrawals or even the first week after.
My mind was so cloudy and easily distracted from outside stimuli or even just from the physical and spiritual pain.
I have a great deal of respect for someone who could accomplish this.
I too can see the potential but a great deal of people who go to rehab, being a product of this society which does not value this kind of practice, only see the one hour of meditation a week as a good time to nap, as a break from groups about triggers and relapse prevention and all that shit.
Gangsters (specifically the white ones that come from the suburbs or nice part of the city) are normally too immature...actually I don't want to start generalizing types of people I'll just say that stereotypes can be very accurate sometimes and when you take any addict and introduce them to something that requires a great deal of patience and honesty and self reflection and is completely foreign to them they are either just going to laugh at the whole thing or be too consumed with fear to ever open up to the idea. Especially when you have little cliques in rehab then group dynamics is going to get in the way.
There, of course, are always exceptions and I, of course, am being very very cynical but I'm just going be what I saw from the center I was at in Florida.
I wanted nothing to do with it the first two weeks because I could not focus or sit still but after that I did find some redeeming qualities in it. That and Thai Chi.
I'm not special and had some issues with it that came out of fear and cynicism and at first I wanted to poke fun at it (especially the Thai Chi) but I did come around to it and had always had an interest in meditation in the past and it was something I always wanted to get into I just wasn't prepared for it then and myself was too immature to actually sit and do it but I got over that.

[nick]

I have a hard time understanding how people could accomplish this during withdrawals or even the first week after.
My mind was so cloudy and easily distracted from outside stimuli or even just from the physical and spiritual pain.
I have a great deal of respect for someone who could accomplish this.

Yeah,I don't have the strength/discipline to meditate when in physical wd.

[Dan Steely]

Helps me a lot with mild bupe wd. Full on real deal wd's I don't know. Don't wanna find out either.

[digby]

Meditation can certainly provide some needed relief and the best ones can even leave their bodies during meditation. But you have to come back to your body sometime, and the pain is just sitting there waiting for you.

For me, meditation gives a break from pain but doesn't cure it. And how long can most people meditate anyway. Still, something is better than nothing....unless you're meditating....then nothing is better. ;)

[Buckshot]

I think the trick is to really believe it works. If the placebo effect can work why couldnt this?
I used it to quit smoking cigs and hardly had a craving.

but Im a big fan of The Secret so....

[Motown]

Buck, you talking about the movie "The Secret" the secret..... the secret.....
My old boss tried to get me to watch it.

As far as meditation, when in wd's it does help me with RLS and anxiety to
just start counting and think about the numbers. Only works for a minute, but
it does work with the RLS esp.

Very interested in researching this further. Thought provoking ideas Buck.

[dharma bum]

Yeah I try to meditate in the morning and evening. At least 15 min. It really helps me with my general outlook on life. Even controlled breathing or focusing the mind on repetitive and simple acts can help me relax.

[Dan Steely]

I like this one. Works like a champ for me. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XyeDidvpRZw

[digby]

Oh God....not The Secret! Somebody hold me down. Now there is one book that really causes in me the need to sit down, regulate my breath and calm down. There is no secret, never was a secret and the author in my mind is guilty of the worst kind of greed and hypocrisy. While I think it is fine to voice one's philosophy, ideals or helpful hints to others and be paid for the trouble, to pretend to have some special knowledge that was hidden for ages and is now willing to be dolled out for coinage is plain simple fraud.

The best knowledge has always been free and has always been known. Even the power of positive thinking goes back to before the birth of Christianity. More lately, like in 1948, Claude Bristol came out with a book called The Magic of Believing, which is the father of most of the positive thinking manuals coming after it.

Sorry if I offended anyone that loved the book. But honesty is honesty and this author seems to have a very poor relationship with it.