Do you struggle with cravings or urges to use a substance, gamble, overeat or some other unhelpful behaviour? One approach that can help is a meditative practice called "urge surfing." Research has shown that people who use the Urge Surfing technique are often able to reduce their use of addictive substances such as cigarette smoking.
I've gathered some resources to share with you here to try out this practice:
Here is a graphical image from drugrehab.org that summarizes Urge Surfing:
An 8-minute recording of urge surfing instruction is provided freely by Dr. Sarah Bowen, co-developer of Mindfulness-Based Relapse Prevention for addictive behaviour.
Here is a link to a 5-minute recording of the SOBER meditation
SOBER stands for: Stop
Observe what is happening in body, emotions & mind
Bring attention to the Breath
Expand attention to how body, emotions & mind are right now
Respond proactively from this new awareness rather than impulsively reacting.
I hope you find these resources helpful.
~Julie