Buddha Battles Dragon Of Addiction At UW

That's how we'd put it. But the snorer terminology that University of Washingon researchers are using is mindfulness-based relapse prevention (MBRP). Scientists do not know how to package things, that's all.

The short story is that meditation is being studied as an alternative to Christian-based 12-step programs and their higher power, says the UW Daily:

“We found that the number-one trigger for relapse for people who have been through treatment for alcohol and drugs is negative emotional states,” said G. Alan Marlatt, a psychology professor and the director of the Addictive Behaviors Research Center. “If people are feeling bad, and if they’ve used drugs in the past to make themselves feel better in the short term by getting high, then, unless they’ve figured out or been taught other ways to cope with these negative emotions, they’re a big trigger.”

The MBRP program helps people cope with these emotions by teaching them Vipassana, a Buddhist meditation that emphasizes mindfulness, said Sarah Bowen, a psychology graduate student involved in the research. Mindfulness is the ability of the meditator to be “in the present moment,” observing his or her thoughts without judging them, said Neharika Chawla, another psychology graduate student who works on the treatment.

A small study of King County inmates in for drug-related offenses showed great response to a 10-day silent meditation retreat -- "going on retreat," that's a nicer way to frame being locked up in prison to begin with.

Next, a larger study of 150 is planned, to compare outcomes of MBRP with actual 12-step programs. (“We’re just giving them a consumer choice,” Marlatt said. “We’re saying, if the 12-step doesn’t work, what about the Buddhist eight-fold path?”)

The story reports that one mindfulness technique, “urge surfing,” helps cope with dangerous urges. You're taught to imagine the urge is a wave on the ocean, growing in size; you surf it with your breath, keeping your balance until the wave breaks. We're going to try this out on our Lost compulsion and see how it works.