Mindfulness is gaining momentum. Some might even call it psychology’s latest and hottest trend. While it has been around for years, especially in Eastern cultures, just recently are Westerners speedily picking it up with an enthusiastic readiness.

If you’re a bit late to the conversation, you might wonder what is mindfulness and how do you practice mindfulness. I’ll get to that soon. But, first, let me show you some interesting facts/news about the benefits of this meditative practice.

Mindfulness in the News

NPR recently published an article illuminating the public on how mindfulness can actually beat painkillers (yes, opioids) when it comes to chronic lower-back pain. Nancy Shute, the author of the piece, explained how meditation and cognitive behavioral therapy can help patients suffering back pain more than other medical treatments. Her news on the subject was backed up by the JAMA medical journal and an extensive research study performed by the Group Health Research Institute in Seattle.

But that’s barely scratching the surface. Fox News also just released a story on how mindfulness meditation can provide opioid-free pain relief backed by the Journal of Neuroscience and a study by Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center. Additionally, the same news network published an article not too long ago about how mindfulness can improve your teen’s memory and has a history of pushing out like-stories in recent months. Furthermore, CNN’s Anderson Cooper gave a 60 Minutes special on mindfulness roughly a year ago.

So what’s all the buzz about?

Definition of Mindfulness

Psychology Today defines mindfulness:

“a state of active, open attention on the present. When you’re mindful, you observe your thoughts and feelings from a distance without judging them good or bad. Instead of letting your life pass you by, mindfulness means living in the moment and awakening to experience.”

Mindfulness is a form of meditation that is simple yet profound. It has been shown to improve lives and reduce stress. Mindfulness awakens you to gratitude for what is and helps you recognize happiness already in your life. Mindfulness is for everyone.

Practice of Mindfulness

If you want to get into the heart of mindfulness, I recommend reading the words of meditation master Thich Nhat Hanh, who wrote the book Being Peace.

I also suggest you take a look at this easy-to-follow infographic, “10 Steps to Mindfulness Meditation” by Sam Mowe of the Garrison Institute, which I’ve included below thanks to a Creative Commons license.

Lastly, feel free to search for free mindfulness audios online to guide you as you start your meditations and begin healing you life—and your pain—today.

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Last week Massachusetts governor Charlie Baker signed legislation that was a landmark decision in response to the nation-wide opioid overdose and addiction crisis. He not only implemented important change and compromise but also began to change the conversation surrounding the topic of opioid prescribing and its consequences.

Here is what you need to know about the legislation.

Help for Patients Treated for Overdose

The state’s new legislation requires hospital patients who are treated for overdose in emergency rooms to receive abuse evaluation within 24 hours and to be given options for treatment they can pursue once they are discharged.

Limit on Prescribed Supply

The other important component to the law Baker signed into place is the limit on prescribed supply of opioids. Writers of the prescriptions will only be able to prescribe a 7-day supply of the drugs at a time to patients. The benefit of this restriction is that patients won’t end up needing to store opioids for very great lengths of time because the chances of them having “left-over” drugs will decrease.

In other words and as Raymond Tamasi—president and CEO of Gosnold on Cape Cod, a full service addiction program offering inpatient, rehabilitation, residential, partial, intensive outpatient, and outpatient treatment—said, “It gets us away from the situation where a patient goes in for a tooth extraction and ends up with a month’s worth of Vicodin.”

New Training Initiatives

The final parts of the groundbreaking legislation are about education. Provisions in the law include new training initiatives for people with jobs in both law enforcement and healthcare. Additionally, the law mandates that drug prevention policies be adopted into local school districts and that assesses be performed on the risk for substance abuse among students.

Going Forward

While Governor Baker’s legislative act is a watershed movement, the solution to the unfortunate opioid crisis will need to be continually broadened. Individuals suffering from opioid overdose and addiction will need community support in order to be able to have lasting recovery.

Gosnold On Cape Code is continuing to take steps forward in this regard as it is working with police departments and other law enforcement agencies, helping them shift their approach to tackling this issue. One effort presently being made is that recovery specialists are meeting with addicts and their families in their homes, approaching them about options for treatment. Furthermore, the addiction treatment organization has already placed addiction specialists in two hospitals’ emergency rooms, hoping to set a precedent for all hospitals state-wide.

To learn more about this monumental step in combating our nation’s opioid crisis, watch a video and read a news report on Mass.Gov.