Chloe Babb

10-15-15
Research Paper
Disease is a common health problem, some serious, and some easily treatable.
However, there are some diseases that get overlooked. Drug addiction is a horrific
disease that claims over 23.5 million lives. Because of the type of disease, it generally
goes untreated. Most people do not see it as a disease. They ask why dont you just
stop taking drugs? or you made the decision to do drugs, it is your fault. These types
of statements leaves many people alone to suffer through their disease. Only 2.6 million
people out of the 23.5 seek out professional help. Because of this many people do not
recover from such an awful disease, and it ultimately takes their lives. There are
treatments available for those who seek help such as, rehabilitation centers, group
therapy, and some other forms of medication. However, a treatment not as well known
is meditation. Meditation helps people through their addiction by becoming one with
themselves, finding the root of their addiction, and to fight off depression and cravings.
This is one of the most powerful ways to help stop an addiction. I have tried multiple
ways to overcome my own addiction yet, meditation has helped me the most.
In almost any form of treatment for drug addiction they recommend, and
sometimes even require, that you become one with yourself. In other words, you need
to examine yourself to discover and understand why you are compelled to make the
decisions you do, or why you feel certain emotions, what triggers your addiction. This
may seem like a trivial step, but it is one of the most important steps that lead to
recovery. Many people who have turned to drugs have suffered childhood trauma, or

have seen a loved one go through addiction as well. Everyone has a different trigger,
that allows them to turn to drugs. I have gone through a brief drug addiction myself. My
mother used methamphetamines during my childhood. I was to drugs exposed at young
age, which ultimately lead to my usage of drugs. With this being said I have used
meditation to discover why I choose to do something so severe. It took me a very long
time to realize that seeing my mother was a trigger. Many people fail to see what their
triggers are, which is why this is such an important step. Darren Littlejohn explains this
in his book The 12 Step Buddhist, By ignorance, Buddhism is pointing out that we
retain a false sense of self The meditations on emptiness aim to wake us up from this
ignorance. (156). In this passage Littlejohn explains that we are ignorant to our true self
and meditation helps us awake from that ignorance.
Finding the root to the drug addiction goes hand in hand with becoming one with
yourself. To find the root of your drug addiction you must first learn who you are as a
person that is why the previous step was so critical. The root to the drug addiction can
be anything from dysfunctional families to psychiatric problems. For me, my mother is
the root of my drug addiction as well as my trigger. Watching my mother go through her
drug addiction at such a young age caused a form of trauma that lead to my addiction.
The trauma was from seeing her in such a self destructive way, not understanding, not
being able to help, negligence, and some forms of abuse lead me to my path of drug
addiction. It was all about finding a way to get closer to her, or to understand more her
harsh decisions and attitude while under the influence of drugs. My relationship with my
mother has been resolved. However, for many people these types of problems never
become resolved. As Littlejohn says we do fine with our compatriots in 12-Step

meetings, yet remain crippled with unresolved family, financial, relationship, psychiatric,
and spiritual issues. (XX). Littlejohn offers a way to resolve these issues through
meditation. He suggests that by using meditation to become one with yourself and
finding your route to your drug addiction you can further use meditation to resolve
deeper issues.
For many addicts although, they may not have used for a very long time still
suffer from cravings. These cravings rarely dissipate. An addict who has been clean for
20 years can still experience cravings. I have been clean for four months now. However,
that isnt very long I still suffer from cravings. My mother who has been clean for ten
years, still experiences cravings. Without the proper help and guidance you can fall
victim to drug addiction again and relapse. Meditation is a powerful way to stop those
cravings whenever they arise. Cravings can be significantly reduced by new
medications, amino acids, and other holistic approaches such as meditation. (Journal
of addiction research and therapy). Although, there are other way to help fight these
cravings I have found that mediation is the most helpful. By sitting and focusing on your
breathing you become less anxious about it and ultimately stop thinking about the
craving altogether.
As well as cravings another long lasting side effect from using drugs is
depression. For some people the depression never goes away and for others it comes
in depressive episodes. I experience depressive episodes, from feelings of guilt,
loneliness, and from feeling overwhelmed by day-to-day life. Drugs have been a way for
me to escape those types of feelings, it allows you to let go and not think about your
problems. Many addicts use drugs for the same purposes. Depression is hard to go

through as well as staying clean. This is why many people end up relapsing. Meditation
is a way to confront the depression, to accept it, and move forward. Meditation is
already used to help depression, and it can help in this circumstance too. The terminal
meditation activity induces deep relaxation, eases personal and group tensions, and
often leads to strong emotional release. (Drumming out drugs). This research confirms
that people can use meditation to help relieve the depression they may feel by making
them relaxed and leading to emotional release.
In conclusion, meditation is a powerful way for people to turn away from drugs
forever. It does not require therapy or rehabilitation, however, those are strongly
recommended as well as meditation. But you can meditate wherever you are at, in the
comfort of your home, at school, or work place. Meditation is something that is always
accessible wherever you are at. That is why I strongly believe in using meditation for
drug rehabilitation as I have tried it myself.

Works Cited
Winkelman, Michael. "Complementary Therapy for Addiction: Drumming Out Drugs."
American Journal of Public Health. American Journal of Public Health 2003, n.d. Web.
15 Oct. 2015. <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1447805/?log
%24=activity>.

"Treatment Statistics." DrugFacts:. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Oct. 2015.

<https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/treatment-statistics>.

"J Addict Res Ther." (n.d.): n. pag. Web.

Littlejohn, Darren. The 12-step Buddhist: Enhance Recovery from Any Addiction.
Hillsboro, Or.: Beyond Words Pub., 2009. Print.