Mindfulness Meditation for Substance Use Disorders: A Systematic Review

Zgierska, Aleksandra; Rabago, David; Chawla, Neharika; Kushner, Kenneth; Koehler, Robert E.; Marlatt, Alan

doi:10.1080/08897070903250019

Cited by 310 publications

(207 citation statements)

References 82 publications

(424 reference statements)

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“…Given the core clinical symptoms of drug addiction [intoxication (impaired self-awareness), bingeing (loss of control), withdrawal, and craving] (12), mindfulness meditation may be helpful for coping with these addiction symptoms and with the accompanied negative emotion and stress reactivity. Prior studies have shown the preliminary efficacy of mindfulness meditation in treating several forms of addiction including alcohol, cigarettes, cocaine, amphetamines, marijuana, and opiates (26)(27)(28); however, as recent reviews have pointed out, the lack of randomization and active control groups indicate that these findings should be interpreted with caution (26,27).Our current study used a randomized controlled design with an active relaxation control (RT), as did our previous studies (20,(30)(31)(32), and we found a significant reduction in smoking and craving after 2 wk of IBMT.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although preliminary findings suggest mindfulness training shows some proof of efficacy in substance abuse, these studies are replete with limitations, including a lack of adequate control conditions, failure to randomize participants, and lack of assessment of biological markers of change. Thus, more rigorous and randomized controlled studies are warranted (26)(27)(28)(29). In a series of randomized controlled trials, it was found that a form of mindfulness meditation, integrative body-mind training (IBMT; Materials and Methods), reduces stress, increases positive emotion, and improves attention and self-control after a few hours of practice compared with the same amount of relaxation training (RT).…”

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confidence: 99%

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Brief meditation training induces smoking reduction

Tang

Posner

2013

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

171

119

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More than 5 million deaths a year are attributable to tobacco smoking, but attempts to help people either quit or reduce their smoking often fail, perhaps in part because the intention to quit activates brain networks related to craving. We recruited participants interested in general stress reduction and randomly assigned them to meditation training or a relaxation training control. Among smokers, 2 wk of meditation training (5 h in total) produced a significant reduction in smoking of 60%; no reduction was found in the relaxation control. Resting-state brain scans showed increased activity for the meditation group in the anterior cingulate and prefrontal cortex, brain areas related to self-control. These results suggest that brief meditation training improves self-control capacity and reduces smoking.addiction | anterior cingulate cortex | brain state | integrative body-mind training | mindfulness S moking harms nearly every organ of the body, causing many diseases and compromising smokers' health (1). Despite the negative consequences, many smokers have difficulty quitting or even reducing tobacco use (2). In addition, many teenagers are added to the smoking roll each year and may be at risk for abuse of other substances (2). Because tobacco use is often thought of as a gateway to other drug use, reducing smoking might reduce the vulnerability of youths to cocaine and other drugs (3). Although public health campaigns may have decreased the number of smokers, current methods for aiding those who persist in smoking have had limited success (4, 5). These failures may be a result of the inability to relieve withdrawal symptoms, stress, and cue-induced cravings, which often leads to drug seeking and taking (6-10). This urgent need calls for a short-term, effective intervention for reducing smoking behavior and cravings (2).One reason for addiction to tobacco may involve a deficit in selfcontrol. Self-control is important because the level of childhood self-control predicts long-term outcomes, including mental health, substance abuse, financial independence, and criminal behavior (11). Individuals at risk for substance abuse typically have deficits in self-control (12-16). Dysfunction of the prefrontal cortex (PFC), including dorsolateral PFC, anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), and medial orbitofrontal cortex, play a key role in addiction (12,17,18). In cigarette smokers, regional cerebral blood flow was reduced in the left dorsal ACC, and this correlated with a decrease in craving after smoking the first cigarette of the day (19). These reports raise the question of whether impaired self-control could be ameliorated and strengthened with intervention, and thus potentially change smoking behavior.There is emerging evidence that mindfulness meditation has the potential to ameliorate negative outcomes resulting from deficits in self-control (20-25). Although preliminary findings suggest mindfulness training shows some proof of efficacy in substance abuse, these studies are replete with limitations, including a lack of ...

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Brief meditation training induces smoking reduction

Tang

Posner

2013

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

171

119

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“…Mindfulness practices have been incorporated into treatment for substance use disorder to improve remission maintenance Brewer et al, 2014;Garland et al, 2014;Witkiewitz, Bowen, Douglas, & Hsu, 2013;Zgierska et al, 2009). As a psychological construct, mindfulness can be described as a gentle, kind, and curious awareness of experience (Grossman, 2010).…”

Section: Mindfulness-based Treatment For Substance Use Disordersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mindfulness practice moderates the relationship between craving and substance use in a clinical sample

Enkema

Bowen

2017

Drug and Alcohol Dependence

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“…Mind-body therapies included biofeedback, progressive muscle relaxation, meditation, guided imagery, hypnosis, tai chi, qi gong, and yoga non-judgmental acceptance of emotions, thoughts, and sensations in the ''present moment'' without the need for immediate action. 24 Energy healing uses objects or human touch with claims of changing the flow of energy through the body. Some examples of energy therapies include laying hands, reiki or healing touch, acupuncture, qi gong (tai chi), and magnetic therapy.…”

Section: Mind-body and Energy Therapiesmentioning

confidence: 99%