What is Mindful Based Recovery?

Mindful Based Recovery is a method for assisting a person suffering from addiction that works, either separately or with other recovery programs, such as the 12 steps, or S.M.A.R.T. These programs are designed to help strengthen and support the recovering addict as they learn to live a happy, purposeful and mindful life.

Mindful Based Recovery focuses on what we call Living Mindful Principles to change the way a person views themselves and their surrounding environment. When a person begins the process of recovery, it often becomes clear that they have suffered from low self-esteem, abuse, and loneliness and they may have experienced a deep lack of empowerment, a sense of anger, victimization, or depression, along with other malaises that may have negatively affected their life.

Most people who have suffered from addiction will tell you that they have been in survivor mood for many years – simply existing rather than living and fulfilling purposeful lives.

In Mindful Based Recovery we take a detailed look at the patient’s past and identify the events that shaped the client’s past and present experiences. The Counselor seeks to examine beliefs that have been presumed by the client to be truths about oneself and society. Those truths or beliefs are challenged gently and compassionately by the counselor and shown how they are not true, how they have only become truths for the client, because of reinforced and habitual learning.

When regularly using the Living Mindful Principles we become aware not only that the messages we hear and absorb from others as our truth are not true, we also learn how we can live by principles that encourage us to form new beliefs and truths about ourselves.

The Living Mindful Principles not only change our reality over time, but when practiced continually they can start a new life; a life that reaffirms self-worth, and empowers us to live our lives honestly, with love and compassion for ourselves and others. The Living Mindful Principles give a recovering addict the continuing hope and courage needed to face each day without drugs or alcohol.