Families & Friends Of Addicts Support Group

Addiction affects more than just the individual. This community is dedicated to the families and friends of individuals suffering from any form of addiction. Mental health professionals are increasingly considering alcoholism and addiction as diseases that flourish in and are enabled by family systems. Family members react to the addicted person with particular behavioral...

1,905 Members

8,121 Posts

0 Online

missmaple 01/12/2016

Hi All. I am wondering how many of you have had experience with your family member using meditation as part of his or recovery. My son is 21 and has been doing pretty well for the last 2 years after a very bad 2 year period before that. He has not really ever fully completed a program - he finished Wilderness Therapy but not before he walked out on it and missed part of the program. He was kicked out of his rehab program - but only after about 7 months of pretty good work. In other words he tends to do pretty well, but never goes completely through with the work the recovery "industry" gives him. He has, however, been really dedicated to meditation over the last 6 months or so. I think it is great, on the surface... But since he has not completed programs and tends to hold meditiation up as an alternative to them, I wonder. Can there be a down side to this if he uses it to replace conventional therapy? If it seems "ok" is it "ok?"

blueviolet725 01/12/2016

I know a drunk that stopped drinking reading the book by alan carr...how to quit drinking. others do years of therapy. my step brother is addicted to going to aa meetings.
everyone is different...but I do believe to get better, the person has to want to grow and gain understanding....and that is where a program or therapist can be handy.
meditation is great, and it could help all of us....but is he just procratinating getting help he needs? no.
My son quit AA...he leads a balanced life and he is happy not to hear the same old hitting bottom stories. I was nervous, but he is fine...scary? yes.
SO, if this works for him, I say go for it. If it is a half measure, he will have a crisis and maybe have to rededicate to something involving other people.
if he seems ok, it is ok.
it is their journey.
how is he doing with work, or school or friendships etc?

missmaple 01/13/2016

Thanks so much Blue Vi! It is so reassuring to hear that AA is not always the only answer. He is forming (and has formed) some important, supportive, sober friendships with people in his meditation community and even went on a 3 week retreat with one group. We recently had a good conversation where he voiced in insecurity with focusing so much on meditation and Buddhism - rather than college or career - because he thinks he father and I think he is wasting his life. It was nice to have him say it out loud so we could reassure him. He is just starting a new job as a waiter and said that he thinks these jobs are fine and his focus is on his spiritual journey, not career. My feeling (and I have learned not to always trust this...) is that if he is working, functioning, and feels like he is making personal progress it is fine.

blueviolet725 01/14/2016

follow your gut. if you get worried, talk about it...it may just be you...or you may be reading him.
there is no one answer, or none of us would be here!

Join the Conversation