My son is very interested in meditation, but has difficulty following through. I attend a recovery group that emphasizes daily meditation as one of the most important tools in recovery. I know meditation helps other mental health issues such as anxiety.
I would like to know if there is evidence that meditation helps addiction recovery?
briar
#5
I teach meditation so may be able to offer some feedback on this one. There are many different types of meditation… I am sure all would help! But I teach a transcending technique which is called Vedic Meditation (very similar to transcendental meditation or TM) so I will speak from that perspective.
I have taught two friends who are in recovery and both have found it to support their sobriety. It has also helped them maintain their other healthy habits such as participation in twelve-step programs. On the most basic level, we simply feel better when we are meditating (more happy hormones, more clarity etc.) and are therefore likely to make better decisions naturally.
The TM organisation do reference multiple studies showing that over time, the use of substances among people struggling with addiction decreases in those who practice TM. Why it works is not clear yet. We can assume that as meditators feel less stressed, anxious, angry, or depressed, they are less likely to resort to addictive substances or behaviours in order to feel better.
I’d suggest you encourage your son find a teacher he resonates with and attend their meditation course… face-to-face instruction gives students the ability to ask questions and troubleshoot along the way so they feel confident and motivated to practice on their own. Many offer ongoing support. Vedic Meditation teachers offer life time support 
polly
#2
Not scientific evidence - but my experience: My husband loved the meditation and tai chi he did in rehab. Unfortunately, when he left and he didn’t have someone driving the practice it quickly fell by the wayside. Also struggles with follow through, and one of his major problems now is winding down at the end of the night and getting to sleep - we’ve tried some of the headspace sleep meditations (which he likes) and I really wish he would try meditation more before he gets to the end of the night, I’m sure it would help! I have a few friends in recovery who meditate and I have found it helpful myself, I started when my husband went to rehab in 2015!
Julie_Smith
#3
I love meditation for myself. It’s been a truly life-changing practice. Since I can only control my own behavior, I am trying to make meditation a daily practice in my own life. 
Mjiggity
#4
I believe in medications especially if there is a mental issue. Sure. Try meditation anything that helps
erica
#6
Meditation is a great tool to have in recovery, is starting to become a more research-based practice, and there is evidence that it is effective for not only addiction but other mental health issues as well. If the individual is able to stick with it and meditate regularly it can help rewire the brain (in a healthy way) as well as encourage an ability to sit with whatever is happening in the moment.
In active addiction our loved ones are trying to numb, in addition we may try to numb our own anxieties about their use (by eating an entire Betty Crocker cake, for instance). Meditation can help us and our loved ones learn how to sit with any discomfort that may arise, and gain understanding that the discomfort doesn’t last forever - if you can sit with it, you can observe it come and go without fighting it or numbing with substances. @Julie_Smith it’s great that your son is interested in meditation, and makes sense that he has difficulty following through. It’s a new habit that needs to be learned. I’d suggest he use an app that can be downloaded to his phone with short, 10 minute, guided meditations. A few other people have mentioned Headspace, and it’s my favorite as well.
My brother who is in recovery practices meditation daily and it helps him feel connected to himself and has allowed him to manage difficult or distressing situations in a healthier way! I also use Headspace, go to yoga with meditations, and have found a local class in NYC that offers guided meditation (paying for it gives me more of an incentive to show up and stick with it!). It has helped me manage my own emotions related to my brothers recovery, and just my own emotions in general!