Can Meditation Help Keep You Sober?

There are many things that you help you stay sober, but do you think meditation is one of them? I wondered that myself some years ago. In fact, I wondered if meditation could help me crawl out of some pretty serious darkness, so I resolved to give it a try. I began reading books and listening to some spiritual gurus about meditation, thinking I better figure out how to “do it” before beginning.

What was great is that I discovered meditation was much easier than I thought. Actually, the hardest part was sitting still for more than 30 seconds without letting my mind wander. I’d heard that meditation reduced stress, so I knew at the very least that would be beneficial to my life. As you know, stress can make you do some crazy things if you let it build up.

The beginning of meditation
Keep in mind that when you begin meditating, 1 minute feels like an hour. One of the biggest goals of meditation is to quiet the mind and gain some control over the thoughts. I don’t know about you, but my mind is constantly entertaining thoughts. One after another after another, and sometimes I just want it all to stop! That’s why sleep is so nice, because when I sleep, I’m at peace mentally. Well, unless I’m dreaming some awful dream, but that’s another story.

I began meditating a minute or two at a time. I would just sit there quietly, take a few deep breaths, and then focus on my regular breathing. When a thought would pop up, I would acknowledge it and then let it drift away. I focused on my inhale and exhale, as this helped me to NOT think other thoughts. I began to get more comfortable with a couple of minutes and would increase the time periodically.

The results
I began to look forward to my meditation time, as it was a time where I could relax and I could literally feel the stress melt off of me. I didn’t meditate every day, as some days I just didn’t feel like it. I didn’t get down on myself about that. I just went with the flow. The results for me over a period of six months was that I felt like meditating helped me process and get through some pretty negative emotions like depression and anger. I feel like it made me stronger mentally and emotionally, which is a tremendous blessing in life.

Recovery involves mind, body, and spirit and meditation has been proven to help in all three areas. If you haven’t given it a try, why not do so? If you’re not comfortable with meditation, maybe try prayer or just sitting in complete silence using deep breathing techniques. Commit to this for a period of time and see how you feel.

Can meditation help keep you sober? Sure! It helps many people stay sober and offers many other benefits as well.