Mindfulness meditation and addictive behaviors

Addictive behaviors (e.g., smoking, substance use disorders, problematic patterns of overeating/binge eating) tend to be chronic relapsing conditions and account for enormous proportions of preventable deaths in the United States. Interventions that incorporate mindfulness meditation show great promise for improving smoking cessation, treating substance use disorders, and encouraging healthier eating habits. However, this area of research is still in its early stages, and the mechanisms underlying effects of mindfulness meditation on addictions are not well understood. In this chapter, we review current evidence regarding mindfulness meditation-based interventions targeting smoking, substance abuse, and problematic patterns of overeating/binge eating. Next, we discuss theoretical and empirical evidence explaining how mindfulness might target some of the key constructs hypothesized to underlie these addictive behaviors. Preliminary evidence suggests that mindfulness targets a number of key factors linked to lapse and relapse to addictive behaviors, including negative emotions and difficulties with emotion regulation, attentional bias, craving and withdrawal, automaticity, and low levels of selfefficacy and social support. Finally, we outline future directions to advance the study of mindfulness meditation and addictions. Given that the majority of intervention trials have been small pilot studies, future research is needed with larger sample sizes, more rigorous control conditions, and longer follow-up periods.