The Addictive Behaviors Research Center at the University of Washington developed Mindfulness-Based Relapse Prevention for working with those who suffer from addictions. The therapy is intended to rework the imprisoning thoughts that keep an addictive cycle in place. With a practice of mindfulness, those addicted to alcohol, for example, can become aware of the triggers that lead him to drink, to participate in destructive habitual patterns, and to follow the unconscious and automatic reactions that lead to making poor choices.
Using mindfulness as an aspect of drug addiction therapy has proven to support success in arriving at sobriety. Mindfulness is the practice of becoming conscious of your internal and external environment. It is a mental state achieved by focusing on the present moment, while acknowledging and accepting the existing feelings, thoughts, bodily sensations, and surrounding activity. Today, it is often used as a therapeutic practice among therapists and psychologists. And because of recent research on the effects of mindfulness on the brain, more and more drug treatment centers are beginning to incorporate the therapeutic modality.