One in 7 Americans reports experiencing a substance use disorder. There is not one single driving factor that leads to addiction. Some people may use drugs to help cope with stress, trauma, or to help with mental health issues.

Mindfulness is a technique that can be used to ease the effects of stress. Mindfulness is paying purposeful attention to the present moment. Mindfulness researcher Jon Kabat-Zinn defines mindfulness as “the awareness that emerges through paying attention on purpose, in the present moment, and non-judgmentally to the unfolding of experience moment by moment.”  

Although mindfulness originates in ancient Buddhist and Hindu traditions, it is not about spirituality or religion but is about concentration. The ultimate goal of mindfulness is to help quiet busy minds so you can effectively deal with stress by giving your full attention to what you’re doing.

Mindfulness-based treatments are growing in popularity among addiction treatment providers, and several studies suggest the efficacy of incorporating mindfulness practices into the treatment of addiction, including the treatment of substance use disorders and behavioral addictions (i.e., gambling).

Mindfulness Mondays is a program the FCS Agent developed to provide mindfulness education to the individuals in the IOP program at The Shepherd's House in Danville, KY. This program is a series that covers an introduction to the concept of mindfulness, a variety of mindfulness techniques, exercises, and activities that can be used in a group or individual setting, and more. 

Each session is structured with an emotional check-in, intro to the session topic, activity, sensory experience, re-cap, and ends with another check-in. This series had 5 sessions taught weekly each Monday in October 2022. Each session was 2 hours long and offered at The Shepherd's House location. Weekly topics and activities included understanding mindfulness, meditation, mindful eating, mindfulness for stress and anxiety management, free writing, body scan, mindful listening and communication, nature walk, sound bath, and gratitude expression. The goal was to expose the participants to a variety of ideas so that they could find the mindfulness technique that works best for them.

At each session there were 10-15 people present. All participants reported learning something new related to mindfulness that they could use in their daily lives. When participants were asked if they practiced mindfulness BEFORE this series, less than half said yes they had. When asked how likely participants were to try some mindfulness techniques outside of the IOP program, all participants said yes they would. When asked if participants had tried any of the mindfulness techniques since beginning the series, several said they had. Two women had used journaling, 2 women had started walking regularly and eating more mindfully, 1 woman reported using the adult coloring book regularly.

Attendance: 

Session 1: 10 people total, 4 men, 6 women, 1 Black, 9 White

Session 2: 10 people total, 5 men, 5 women, 1 Black, 9 White

Session 3: 13 people total

Session 4: 15 people total, 5 men, 10 women, 15 White

Session 5: 13 people total, 3 men, 10 women, 13 White

Participant Quotes:

"Coloring is my thing! It just takes me away." - Female Participant

"I like the guided body scan because it helps me focus when my mind wanders." - Female Participant

References:

https://extension.illinois.edu/health/mindfulness

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5441879/

https://www.cdc.gov/stopoverdose/stigma/index.html?s_cid=DOP_Stigma_Search_Paid_001