Meditation is an effective addiction recovery technique as it rewires critical pathways in the brain, thereby increasing self-awareness in a person, says Rajyogi Brahmakumar Nikunj Ji
Recently, the horrific news of a young boy who under the influence of ‘ice drug’ (methamphetamines) gouged out his own eyeballs and ate them in a hospital’s emergency department shooked the whole world. This makes us think deep as to what makes one get into such a temptation which is so fatal?
A recent survey by Govt of India Health and Family Welfare Ministry shows that among the boys aged between 15-19, 28.6 per cent reported tobacco use and 15 per cent were addicted to alcohol. 5.5 per cent girls under the same age group used tobacco while 4 per cent were addicted to alcohol. Isn’t it shocking? Well, what is even more shocking is that when we as a society ostracise kids instead of helping and reforming them. We need to understand that any kind of addiction usually does not happen overnight. Rather, people who become addicted to any substance such as tobacco, alcohol, cocaine etc. are gradually introduced and desensitised to them over a period of time. They may initially enjoy the use of drugs in a recreational way, but it soon turns into a hard habit which takes them to a dangerous route. As their consumption of drugs rises, they become physically dependent on it to an extent that its absence makes them sick. Most of the drugs are illegal, so in order to have them continually, people get involved in criminal activities. Ultimately, they die a painful death with nobody besides them, remaining sad all along.
According to psychologists, most of the drug addicts are quite immature in nature and suffer from insecure personality. They lack confidence due to various psychogenic problems, especially those from their immediate family. Another surprising fact about such people is that most of them are aware that substance abuse would bring them intellectual impairment and substantive, cognitive and memory disturbances resulting in deterioration of their social and family relations. But unfortunately, their habit and dependency on these substances does not let them easily give up on its use.
A body of research proves meditation as an effective addiction recovery technique. Researchers who examined incarcerated substance abusers found that those who were taught how to meditate had lower levels of relapse and more positive outcomes after release than those who received only conventional recovery treatments. Hence, it would not be difficult to recognise the value of meditation for elimination of drug habits. It will also be beneficial to introduce this theory and practise as a subject in education so that the youth and children can be saved from dependence on drugs at a primitive level.
Many people may pose a question: why meditation? Well, the answer is that it has been proved that it rewires critical pathways in the brain thereby increasing self-awareness in a person which allows him/her to focus on things that demand their attention. Remember, calming the mind for a few minutes may provide the distance needed to make a reasonable and healthy decision about whether to light a cigarette or find a meditation centre. So, all the young people, make the right choice of a healthy future by saying no to drugs and yes to meditation.
