It’s easy to hear the word “mindfulness” and imagine a cross-legged yogi sitting on a mountaintop deep in meditation. “Breathe deep…clear your mind…” But mindfulness encompasses so much more than just meditation. Meditation is simply one tool in the mindfulness toolbox. Mindfulness is about transforming your understanding and managing of your emotions.
More Than Just Sitting Still: The Real Essence of Mindfulness
Monument’s clinical director Bradley Wagner describes it like this, “mindfulness helps clients transition from an emotional mind into a wise mind.” It’s not about achieving some perfect state of zen. It’s about being present, understanding your emotions, and developing the restraint to navigate life’s challenges without acting out.
Experts in behavioral health emphasize that mindfulness is about helping individuals move out of their emotional reactivity and into a more balanced state of awareness. In Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT), practitioners describe three distinct states of mind that illustrate this journey. The emotional mind is characterized by intense, impulsive reactions, where individuals quickly escalate from zero to ten. The reasonable mind represents a logical, rational approach, while the wise mind integrates both emotion and reason. Wagner believes, "DBT mindfulness skills are practical tools for daily life."
Practical Mindfulness: More Than Just Breathing
In everyday practice, mindfulness in addiction treatment looks like more than just sitting quietly. It's about developing practical, everyday coping skills that help individuals navigate their emotional landscape more effectively.
The Five Senses Technique
"Using the five senses is a bridge to self-regulation."
The five senses technique uses sensory awareness as an aid to emotional regulation. Individuals learn to ground themselves by deliberately focusing on their sensory experiences. They might concentrate on a specific visual detail, identify distinct ambient sounds, mindfully experience a particular taste, or pay attention to physical sensations.
Emotional Recognition & Regulation
Developing a more nuanced relationship with your emotions is at the heart of mindfulness. Participants learn to name and recognize their feelings, identify where emotions are stored in the body, and understand the critical difference between experiencing an emotion and being controlled by it. Clinical director Bradley Wagner has first hand experience working with clients as they begin to regain control of their emotions. "Learning to observe emotions without judgment is powerful."
Distress Tolerance Skills
When someone is struggling with unresolved trauma and anxiety, they are prone to emotional crisis states. The mindfulness toolkit for these situations includes techniques like temperature manipulation, intense exercise, paced breathing, muscle relaxation, and playing the tape through. These skills provide practical alternatives to substance use during moments of emotional intensity.
Real Talk: What to Expect
One common misconception about treatment is that you'll immediately feel amazing. The reality is more nuanced. "Clients are going to be feeling a lot of uncomfortable emotions initially," Wagner explains. Mindfulness teaches you that these emotions won't destroy you—you can sit with them, understand them, and move through them.
Want to Learn More?
Everyone’s recovery path is different but mindfulness can be a powerful companion along the journey.
If you're with substance use, trauma, or other co-occurring disorders, help is available. Give Monument Recovery a call today to learn more about their DBT and mindfulness programs. It’s not a magic cure, but it is a valuable skill set that can transform your life one moment of awareness at a time.
