A Review of The Role of Mindfulness-based Interventions in the Treatment of Addiction

Lindsay Dragland

doi:10.29173/bsuj282

Abstract

Mindfulness involves the nonjudgmental awareness and observation of one’s feelings, thoughts, and behaviours. Mindfulness-based interventions are becoming increasingly popular, as the growing body of research suggests promising implications regarding mindfulness as an approach to treat a wide variety of health problems. Specifically, mindfulness practices have been utilized in the treatment of addiction, and are shown to significantly reduce the relapse rate for individuals struggling with addiction. This paper reviews the research on mindfulness and addiction, describing the conceptualization and measurement of mindfulness, as well as various mindfulness-based interventions. An overview of addiction, including its determinants and treatments, is also provided. The relationship between mindfulness and addiction is examined and conclusions are drawn about the effectiveness of mindfulness interventions, how these interventions address the essential components of recovery, and the extent to which mindfulness may be utilized as a preventative measure.

Highlights

Addiction is a chronic, relapsing disorder that has become a global epidemic contributing to millions of deaths per year, and drastically lowering the quality of life for several million individuals worldwide (Brandon, Vidrine, & Litvin, 2007)
Mindfulness interventions may address some cognitive, emotional, and behavioural aspects associated with addiction, but mindfulness alone cannot address the more complex factors associated with addiction such as genetic predispositions, psychiatric disorders, and personality traits
Mindfulnessbased approaches for addiction treatment focus on improving distress tolerance and coping skills, and help to eliminate maladaptive, automatic avoidance of negative affect and consequential substance use

Summary

Introduction

Addiction is a chronic, relapsing disorder that has become a global epidemic contributing to millions of deaths per year, and drastically lowering the quality of life for several million individuals worldwide (Brandon, Vidrine, & Litvin, 2007). Alcohol relapse is associated with cognitive, emotional, and behavioural mechanisms including attentional bias toward alcohol-related stimuli, thought suppression, poor emotion regulation skills, and emotional reactivity leading to compulsive drug-seeking behaviour; negative affect and perceived stress have been shown to increase the relapse risk for both alcohol and cigarette use (Khanna & Greeson, 2013).

Results

Conclusion