Mindfulness in Treatment Approaches for Addiction — Underlying Mechanisms and Future Directions

Abstract

Purpose of Review While the treatment of addictive disorders proves to be challenging, new treatment approaches that evolved around the concepts of mindfulness and acceptance have been utilized and investigated in recent years. Our goal is to summarize the efficacy and possible underlying mechanisms of mindfulness-based interventions (MBI) in addictive disorders. Recent Findings Various meta-analyses have suggested that MBIs show clinical efficacy in the treatment of addictive disorders. Considering the factors that impact addictive disorders, MBIs have been indicated to augment responsiveness to natural rewards in contrast to addiction-related cues as well as to increase top-down cognitive control, decrease subjective and physiological stress perception, and enhance positive affect. Summary In summary, MBIs hold promise in treating addictive disorders while larger randomized controlled trials with longitudinal study designs are needed to confirm their utility. Newest clinical endeavors strive to enhance the clinical utility of MBIs by augmentation or personalization.

The Mediating Role of Boredom and Mind Wandering in the Relationship Between Evolutionary Fitness and Tendency to Substance Use Among University Students

“…However, mind wandering did not have a direct mediating role. Several studies have shown that mind wandering has a close relationship with boredom (28), and its causative effect has even been examined ( 29); therefore, it can be concluded that although mind wandering cannot directly play a mediating role between evolutionary fitness and addiction potential, in line with previous studies, it can increase boredom (30) which will eventually increase one's addiction potential.…”

Exploring the links between alexithymia and cognitive emotion regulation strategies in internet addiction: A network analysis model

“…Mindfulness is a state of consciousness produced by purposeful and non-judgmental attention to the present; it focuses on learning in the face of depression and negative thinking, and emphasizes the conscious need to point to current experiences and maintain an open, curious, and receptive attitude ( Bishop et al, 2004 ). Mindfulness can effectively improve the symptoms of internet addiction ( Rosenthal et al, 2021 ), and this improvement is long-term ( Calvete et al, 2017 ). Therefore, mindfulness therapy can be used to improve poor cognitive strategies and to treat internet addiction effectively.…”

A preregistered, systematic review considering mindfulness-based interventions and neurofeedback for targeting affective and cognitive processes in behavioral addictions.

“…The purpose of this article was to systematically review and evaluate the evidence base on several mindfulness-based and neurofeedback interventions in the specific context of cognitive and affective processes involved in disorders due to nonsubstance addictive behaviors. This aim discriminates this systematic review from existing reviews that addressed mindfulness techniques among addiction in general (e.g., Rosenthal et al, 2021), focused on one specific behavioral addiction (e.g., de Lisle et al, 2011), or evaluated generic health outcomes rather than addiction-specific processes (e.g., Sancho et al, 2018). Specific research questions addressed (a) the nature of mindfulness and neurofeedback techniques, (b) the effectiveness of these techniques in influencing addiction-related affective and cognitive mechanisms (i.e., stress responsiveness, craving, inhibitory control, decision-making, and cognitive biases; see Figure 1), and (c) effects of these techniques on symptom severity in the realm of gaming disorder, gambling disorder, problematic use of social media, problematic pornography use and other compulsive sexual behaviors, and problematic buying-shopping.…”