While lawmakers, government entities, and therest of the country focus on combating the growing opioid crisis, there areother drugs that are as potently addictive that are still available in largequantities. One of these is cocaine. Sometimes used medicinally and legally, inmost cases, the drug is made into a powder and abused.
According to DrugAbuse.gov, in 2017, an older adult age bracket (26+ years old) had the highest lifetime cocaine addiction rate at 17 percent. That was followed by those 12 years and older at 14.90 percent (which is alarming), the 18-25 age bracket at 12 percent, and the 12-17 age bracket at 0.70 percent.
Cocaine addiction must be treated seriously for sobriety to be successful. In addition to withdrawing from the substance, the enrollee must also care for their spiritual and mental health. That’s a major reason some drug rehabilitation centers offer services like mindfulness training.
What Is Mindfulness?
Before we get into how mindfulness is applied at rehabilitation centers, we should define what mindfulness is. According to Mindful.org, we enter a state of mindfulness when we become wholly conscious of our space, activities, and surroundings. It’s not about sitting down, closing one’s eyes, and then getting carried away with the daily cavalcade of thoughts. Instead, it’s about presence. By immersing ourselves entirely in the moment, the background noise of everything else going on is tuned out.
In many instances, mindfulness is combined with other holistic practices, including yoga and meditation.
Can It Positively Impact Cocaine Addiction Treatment? The Findings
Does mindfulness have its place in a cocaine addiction center and even substance abuse aftercare? Absolutely. Per a 2016 article in addiction publication The Fix, UCLA did a study on mindfulness and addiction to substances like cocaine, methamphetamines, and more.
Dr. Suzette Glasner, who led the study, prescribed Mindfulness-Based Relapse Prevention (MBRP) for her 63 enrollees over a three-month span. What happened? Psychiatric severity decreased in the participants, especially rates of depression. The study also noted that “MBRP effectively reduces negative affect and psychiatric impairment, and is particularly effective in reducing stimulant use among stimulant-dependent adults with mood and anxiety disorders.”
Looking for a Cocaine Addiction Center with a New Approach?
Despite the proven usefulness of mindfulness in cocaine addiction treatment, not all cocaine rehabilitation centers offer this treatment. Holistic care centers like Elevate Addiction Services go about things differently, treating addiction while rebuilding an enrollee’s mental, spiritual, and physical health.
Holistic care includes using natural treatments over drugs when possible. There are no 12-step programs here. In fact, we call our treatments at Elevate Addiction Services non-12-step. Our enrollees follow the SMART Recovery method.
Both mental and spiritual health can benefit from mindfulness practices and other holistic care. In addition to mindfulness, Elevate Addiction Services also provides meditation, yoga, gratitude journaling, art and music therapy, and aromatherapy for the spirit and soul. Mentally and physically, enrollees can reboot themselves with a nutritional overhaul, experiential or outdoor therapy, regular physical activity, and one-on-one or group therapy.
With our aftercare and graduate program for enrollees, they never feel like they’re cut loose into the world after they leave our facility. Instead, they’ll be confident they have the tools and support they need from our staff as they enter this exciting stage of their lives.
Those who want to know more about mindful substance abuse aftercare or cocaine rehabilitation centers should reach out today.
