Not the talking cure. Non-verbal activities that aid recovery.

[Dickon]

When it comes to recovery, there is much made of counseling, 12 step fellowships, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, and 1001 other verbal treatments/therapies/call them what you will.

It is uncontroversial to say that the verbal does not constitute the whole picture of recovery, but what I'd like to do is construct a list of non-verbal "things" (for want of a better word) what various members found helpful in recovery. Things that come to mind are meditation, sport, yoga, martial arts, dancing, weight training, but I'm sure there are many things I've not considered. I'd like to get as much detailed information as possible, so this can thread can become a resource for people seeking to get clean, or who have got clean. Here is a list of questions that might prove useful to think about:

a) What is it [be as specific as possible]?
b) Why did you get into it?
c) Did you find it useful? If so, how? If not, why not?
d) Was it especially useful for recovery from a/some particular drug/s?
e) Was it useful at a particular time in recovery, or do you think it is equally useful however far along you are?
f) Would you recommend it? If so, would you recommend it to everyone, or just to a certain subclass of people. Who?

Let me begin:

Meditation

This is a huge subject, and I hope people with more experience than I will talk about more formal meditative methods. For me this took the form of sitting cross-legged, or kneeling, often lighting a candle, and sitting still trying to allow my mind to come to stillness. I'd often concentrate on breath and I used to count breaths up to 10, and then begin at one again, although now I just try and let my mind empty. I discovered this for myself when I was in treatment, and although I've done a few Zen meditation sessions (these are much more formal sittings, and I shall report back on this later should I stick with it a bit more), I've mostly done it alone.

I first meditated about 11 years ago when I was in treatment. I found I had a huge ball of anxiety in my stomach that it got me in touch with (this was when my cat had quit benzos, alcohol and above all opiates). I had no clue at first, and tried to meditate through the pain of tight hips and knees (a big mistake), and very much "forced it". I think I did find it useful, although in the end it seemed to make me go very strange. It seemed to open the door to a lot of strange "co-incidences", which I shall not bore people with. The calm and centring effects seemed to come later, and now although I don't meditate regularly (I'd like to), I find it helpful to bring me back to myself. I also tidy up more when I meditate!

I've never found it of any use when my cat was trying to stop using drugs, but it does seem now a good way to tune into and listen to myself and the universe. I'm really not sure how good it is as a recovery tool; I'd recommend it, with the caveat that Zen practice for instance is not recommended for those of unstable mental dispositions. My cat has had a lot of experience with LSD, and knows that he's quite good at getting back to himself, even if he goes a bit "out there" for a while. It might exacerbate problems in very early recovery, so I'd advocate caution. That said I'm a complete dilettante and would appreciate views from more experienced meditators.

Overall: a good thing; I'd not say it was good or bad for any particular class of drugs in particular, and aside from the early recovery caveat, useful at all times.

5 Rhythms Dancing

Something I was introduced whilst in rehab, I found this brilliant. For those of you who have not heard of it, 5 Rhythms dancing is free-form movement that goes through a "wave" of 5 different rhythms, flowing, staccato, chaos, lyrical and stillness. It's usually done barefoot, and I've found it very powerful in creating a feeling of well-being. It is sufficiently powerful as to even affect my visual perception of the people I'm dancing with; it feels like a curtain is removed at times, and I am seeing something closer to the naked souls of the other dancers. This doesn't always happen for me, but is something I'd probably laugh at if I hadn't experienced it first hand.

It really seems to help remove blocks and loosen up my way of being. Yep, this is vague, and I've no idea how or why this works. When I first began dancing, I loved the chaos rhythm, and found that the most "me", but now I'm much more into flowing, lyrical and stillness. It's great because one is often dancing with a partner or in groups, and there is a whole communication to be learnt and explored.

I often go in feeling a bit apprehensive (I am not considered shy, and when I used to go to clubs etc. I was often the first on the dance floor. I did this without drinking and using drugs, as I just love to dance), unsure of myself, and stern-faced, but would usually come out with a contented grin on my face.

I'd caution against this if the idea of free-form movement is too scary. In rehab there were some people who just couldn't get into it at all, and just found the whole thing painful and embarrassing. I'd avoid it if that's you.

It's great fun, and I don't think it matters how far along in recovery you are. It certainly helped me as a cat-owner of a cat using downers and opiates, but I'd think it would help with stimulant use too. It's a great place to meet people, especially those of the opposite sex!

It's almost too much fun to be good for you, if you ask me. One of my absolute top favourites non-verbal recovery tools.

More to follow (I'll probably just edit this post and add things later)...

Reputation Comments on this post:

good thread

[Spare Chaynge]

Great post. Swim has a year clean and sober. Use to be addicted to fentanyl and benzos.

Live music and indoor gardening has helped swim stay sober.
swim loves music it makes him happy but it can not be done all the time. So he took up indoor gardening. It is time consuming and his hydroponic system requires daily attention. The hydroponic system is very soothing, especially the trickle of water when he first wakes up.
Plants naturally make swim happy. And a sense of gratitude comes with the snap dragon bloom.

Swim did find gardening useful but only in later recovery 9 months +. Probably because it is stressfull to have a leakk in your hydro system. The live music was very useful in early recovery because he saw that he could still go out on a fri and sat and have a blast!

Swim would recommend gardening to any body. It is very relaxing. The music could be a problem as live music drugs and alcohol go hand and hand. This would be great for those who are just not ready to settle down in their lives. For example swim is in his early 20s he feels that he should still be leading a some what crazy life. Meditation just does not fit into it.

Reputation Comments on this post:

good post

[Ilsa]

nice thread, D! i still really struggle with keeping myself busy, but i've found a compassion-based (chenrezig) practice group that meets throughout the week for everything from book discussion group to services with meditation and chanting. this is also a great complement to yoga, which has really been instrumental in keeping me on the right track. i can't do much right now, but gentle sitting and lying postures (also known as restorative yoga) are still great. speaking of which, i think i'll make this my little comtribution to the thread:

restorative yoga

utilizes very gentle poses for deep relaxation...is great for beginners, those with injuries that limit mobility, or anyone who hasn't practiced in some time
here's a quote from my favorite yoga resource: "This is what yoga is all about, after all: stilling our fidgety bodies and calming our rambling minds so that we may rest quietly in the present moment and see clearly the peace that resides within."

iyengar yoga

focuses on perfect alignment and posture in every pose (asana)
developed by bks iyengar, this approach to hatha yoga uses props (discouraged in some approaches) and emphasizes proper structural alignment, acheived through developing the physical strength and flexibility through practice of asanas

ashtanga yoga

also called 'power' yoga by some westerners, this form of yoga is flow-based, meaning that the emphasis lies in transitioning, with both body and breath, from one asana to another seamlessly to form a sequence of poses (vinyasa); definitely more cardio benefits, but it tends to focus on perfection of the physical body (in the west) more so than on spiritual and mental health

bikram yoga

'hot' yoga--be prepared to sweat!! i haven't tried this kind. basically, it's yoga practiced in a steamy 80 degree (F) room. i get nauseous exercising in extreme heat, so if anyone tries it, let me know what you think!

kundalini yoga

one i have tried when the opportunity presented itself (tough to find in the west unfortunately), definitely among my favorites, with a focus on psychological and spiritual growth and utilization of breathing techniques, varying degrees of concentration, recitation of mantras, and of course, asanas. the idea is to become aware of the flow if energy and consciousness within each of us, thus, this type of yoga is often referred to as the 'yoga of awareness'

i have not by any means done any of these forms justice, so if anyone wants to add or correct, please feel free. namaste.

heh heh, well i got so carried away with extolling the virtues of yoga that i neglected to relate it to recovery. what i've found is that my practice has trained me to be more comfortable with acknowledging and being able to sit with painful feelings, cravings, and just general negativity from which i used to hide by using. now, instead of going the escapist route, i find that i am ale to sit through the feelings/cravings that i was trying so hard to avoid when i was a heavy user. i've discovered that dealing with the driving force behind my behaviour is far superior to avoiding it and further compounding the initial problem. yoga also teaches self-acceptance and compassion, and since so many of us who fall into really damaging (physically and emotionally) addictions that create feelings of self-loathing and compound self-destructive behavior, yoga can provide a strong, positive counterbalance.

[nate81]

Exercise, nothing crazy though the more vigorous the faster the changes. Exercise rebalances the body and mind and releases stress.

Walking is technically exercise but I list it seperately because there's something about walking around alone that engages the mind. I do my best thinking while walking. Maybe it stirs up the blood into the brain or something.

[Ilsa]

^^walking meditation has always been a particularly good one, thanks for mentioning it! it's great for those ADD of us who have trouble doing sitting meditation