Opiate addictions are the fastest growing segment of addiction even among the elderly.  Too often pain management can lead to relapse and/or to heroin use, which is one of the reasons underlying the increase of heroin use in the U.S.  More and more research is beginning to indicate that physical pain is often related to emotional trauma and stress.  The body holds on to this trauma and stress triggers pain as a way of signaling us that something is wrong.  Research is also indicating that mindfulness can help us to regulate and manage pain in a way that lowers our need for opiates.  We practice an exercise in mindfulness this week 

In this episode we look at cravings and triggers.  Feel free to download the file about how drugs actually hijack the brain and the craving mechanisms that occur from Harvard Medical school from my website as an additional informational resource.  Often addiction and cravings can come on quickly and be rooted in trauma. We also look at the intensity of cravings and try to educate families and loved ones about how this feels for the addict and the amount of courage it can take to resist.  Then we work on a mindfulness technique that is effective in trying to resist the cravings and simply sit with them knowing we can get through.  This exercise is also designed to help the addict begin to deal with themselves from a perspective of caring and compassion instead of criticism and feelings of failure. 

Often with Trauma and Addiction we can get quickly triggered and suddenly we are craving or we are back in a situation that generated trauma for us in our lives and it’s as if we are actually back there again re-experiencing everything in real time.  How does that happen?  Why does our brain throw us back to that place and why does it feel so real that we become anxious and panicked?  Today we look at the way the brain reacts to trauma and how the part of the brain responsible for protecting us shuts down our rational decision making processes creating anxiety and even panic states.  We also discover that it is possible to reverse this process.  By controlling our bodies we can slow down our heartrate and allow that rational part of the brain to re-engage for us.  We will go through an exercise designed to lower our day to day stress levels and look at how using the breathing exercise from last week can bring us back to a more regulated state where we can begin deciding with our wise mind how we want to be in the world.

In this episode of Mindful Recovery, I introduce you to what the general format of the podcast is going to be about.  A podcast dedicated to using mindfulness techniques in our journey of recovery from trauma and addiction as well as the mental health issues that often coincide.  You will be introduced to some of the topics I plan to cover in addition to an introductory mindfulness exercise to help you begin your journey into recovery and abundant living.