The Center for Recovery & Mental Health

Enhancing Recovery Treatment
Through Transcendental Meditation®

The nation’s drug overdose epidemic continues to worsen. There were more than 107,000 reported deaths attributed to drug overdoses in the U.S. between December 2020 to December 2021. The epidemic is driven by fentanyl, methamphetamine, and cocaine, often used in some combination. While adults ages 18 to 25 have the highest rate of drug use, substance use among adults ages 26–49 is also on the rise:

• Cocaine-involved overdose rates in the U.S. have risen annually since 2012.
• The U.S. remains in an opioids misuse crisis. In 2021 there were 80,816 opioid overdose deaths in the US, more than US citizens dying in Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan wars combined. Most of those were opioid related. That is the highest single year ever reported.
• Meth use is on the rise and overdose death rates climbed more than five times for people ages 25 to 54 between 2011 and 2018.

In response, the American Medical Association is urging policymakers’ to increase access to evidence-based care for substance use disorder (SUD).

For nearly 20 years, the Center for Recovery & Mental Health of the David Lynch Foundation, a 501(c)(3) organization, has worked to help people experiencing SUD and trauma by offering the evidenced-based
Transcendental Meditation® (TM) technique. TM is a simple, easy-to-learn approach to aiding SUD treatment, as well as reducing symptoms of PTSD, anxiety, depression, and insomnia while improving health and promoting greater resilience to stress. The Center for Recovery & Mental Health has provided TM training to many individuals in recovery throughout the US, through partnerships with recovery centers, including Samaritan Daytop Village, Phoenix House, Freedom House, Avery Road Treatment Center, Friends Research Institute, and Central Nassau Guidance and Counseling.

TM an Introduction

TM is a mental technique for deep relaxation and stress-reduction that has been successfully offered in recovery centers, police departments, fire departments, medical schools, academic and VA medical centers, hospitals, military academies, prisons, and other settings. The TM technique is practiced for 15-20 minutes twice a day, sitting comfortably in a chair. To date, more than ten million people of all ages, nationalities, and religions have learned the technique.

TM practice produces a unique neurophysiological state that combines deep metabolic rest with heightened mental alertness. This state of deep relaxation, which researchers have termed “restful alertness,” is a potent antidote to stress. Hundreds of peer-reviewed published studies on TM have documented improvements in a wide variety of stress-related disorders, as well as significant improvements in cognitive function and overall health and well-being. The National Institutes of Health and the Department of Defense have awarded over $30 million in grant support for research on TM.

A National SummitRecovery, Meditation and the Brain

How TM Works to Help Treat SUD
and Trauma in Conjunction with
Traditional Recovery Programs

It’s common for people to use drugs or alcohol to manage their triggers or PTSD symptoms. Untreated PTSD is a major contributing factor to SUD rates among our nation’s first responders. Even those who are seeking treatment for their PTSD are 14 times more likely to also be diagnosed with SUD. The good news is that the Veterans Administration has found treating substance use disorder and PTSD concurrently works to treat both conditions.

TM is best used as an adjunct to conventional rehabilitation programs, according to Stuart Rothenberg, MD, a fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians and Chief Medical Officer of the DLF Center for Recovery & Mental Health. Researchers working with some of the most difficult-to-treat patient populations concluded that adding TM to AA and conventional counseling programs significantly enhanced their effectiveness. People in 12-step recovery programs who learned TM—including Bill Wilson, the co-founder of AA, who learned TM late in his life—have commented that it fulfills the 11th step, which encourages meditation.

TM practice has been shown to increase production of neurochemicals associated with happiness and fulfillment—including dopamine, serotonin, and gabaminobutyric acid (GABA). Increase in these neurotransmitters reduces autonomic arousal and anxiety—decreasing the need for drugs or alcohol. During the practice of the TM technique, research has documented a unique state of brain integration. The electroencephalograms (or brain-wave patterns) of TM practitioners typically display high levels of orderliness, or coherence, suggesting greater communication among the different parts of the brain. In addition the EEG coherence found during TM practice is particularly strong in the front of the brain—the “prefrontal cortex” (PFC). Brain-imaging studies also show increased blood flow in this part of the brain. This is highly significant, as the PFC is known to be the seat of crucial higher-level executive functions, including healthy decision-making ability, focus, impulse control (willpower), moral judgment, and organizational skills. Strengthening this critical area helps a person struggling with SUD gain mastery over emotions and cravings.