Improved self control abilities due to using mindfulness meditation in both smokers and nonsmokers. Increased activity in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and adjacent prefrontal cortex (mPFC), showing an improvement in self control and emotion regulation as a result of practicing mindfulness.

University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

Mindfulness-Based Interventions utilized for addiction are similar to general mindfulness-based interventions in that they are multiple weeks long and are usually in a group therapy format. However, they tend to tailor mindfulness practices to behaviors prominent in addiction, such as craving, and foster discussions about how mindfulness can be applied to cope with addiction.  Open monitoring and focused attention are examples of techniques that are employed in such interventions. 

Mindfulness-Based Interventions for Addiction

Mindfulness meditation has been shown to lead to the development of skills that allow individuals to regulate their emotions effectively as they arise. 

Through fMRI and DTI, activity changes were shown in several regions, including: amygdala, insula, anterior cingulate cortex, and adjacent prefrontal cortex. 
Decreased activity in the amygdala and insula, paired with increased activity in the anterior cingulate cortex and adjacent prefrontal cortex, signifies both more stability in emotion regulation and better impulse control.

Effect of Mindfulness Meditation on Emotion Regulation

Tang, Y.-Y., Tang, R., &amp; Posner, M. I. (2016). Mindfulness meditation improves emotion regulation and reduces drug abuse. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 163. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2015.11.041 

Mindfulness meditation improves emotion regulation and reduces drug abuse

Open Monitoring is a technique utilized in mindfulness meditation. It involves observing reactionary emotions and thoughts that occur, while maintaining a non- judgmental state. 

Open Monitoring

Focused attention is a type of technique utilized in concentration meditation. This technique involves sustaining focus on a chosen object, which is what the mind is to be brought back to if focus strays. 

Focused Attention

Mindfulness-based interventions for addiction are  thought to work upon the dysregulation of cognitive processes caused by substance abuse. The usage of mindfulness techniques such as body scan, mindful breathing, and informal mindfulness can work upon certain biological and behavioral mechanisms involved in addiction.  

Therapeutic Mechanisms of Mindfulness as a Treatment for Addiction

A combination of relapse prevention which is a cognitive behavioral therapy with mindfulness-based stress reduction and mindfulness-based cognitive therapy. It is a mindfulness based aftercare approach to prevent those who have suffered from addiction to relapse.

Mindfulness-Based Relapse Prevention

Improved Emotion Regulation Following Mindfulness Meditation Used to Treat Addiction

Emotion regulation skills are developed through the promotion of metacognitive awareness as the individual disengages from cognitive actions, decreases rumination, and working memory capacity increases that allow for enhanced attentional deployment.

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