Dr. Judson A. Brewer has conducted studies with alcoholics and cocaine addicts and now is beginning research to help people quit smoking.
Brewer is medical director of the Yale Therapeutic Neuroscience Clinic, based at the Veterans Affairs medical center. What he teaches is mindfulness, a concept rooted in Buddhism.
"Mindfulness has a two-component definition for the scientific community," Brewer said. "First, it's maintaining your attention on the present moment, and the second is you're bringing to that a nonjudgmental attitude of acceptance and curiosity."
Addicts use their drug or substance of choice to relieve stress and tension, Brewer said, and that behavior becomes habitual. "Everybody forms habits based on their prior experiences," Brewer said. "Those habits inform how we approach each new situation." (More)
Source: Newsday
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