Evaluating mood fluctuation and dream imagery in recovering addicts

  • Nicolle J Miller (Author)
    Trent University

    Nicolle Miller, M.A. recently obtained her Master’s degree from Trent University under the supervision of Dr. T. DeCicco. Her thesis included research on brief interventions for males in recovery from alcohol and drug addiction. Her research interests include concurrent disorders and applied psychology.

  • Teresa L DeCicco (Author)
    Trent University

     

    Dr. Teresa L. DeCicco teaches dreams and dreaming at Trent University in the department of psychology where she is a Full Professor. She supervises students completing honours and Master's theses in dream research.  Research interests include dream therapy, health dreams, and content analysis.  Applied work involves conducting dream workshops with universities, clinics, and businesses in Canada, the US, India and Europe.

  • Patrick J Fox (Author)
    Trent University

    Patrick Fox (B.Sc., M.Sc. Candidate), is completing his Master’s degree at Trent University under the supervision of Dr. T. DeCicco. His thesis includes research on Brief Interventions and EEG measurements for males in recovery from drug and alcohol addiction. His research interests include addiction and concurrent disorders.

  • Korri McCourt (Author)
    Trent University

    Korri McCourt (M.A., M.Sc. Candidate) is completing her Master’s degree at Trent University under the supervision of Dr. Rory Coughlan. Her thesis included research on the youth justice system in Canada. She conducted a qualitative study with focus on what works and what doesn't in terms of rehabilitation for youth, challenges faced by professionals and youth, what success looks like, and how the system could better serve youth who are in conflict with the law.

Identifiers (Article)

DOI: https://doi.org/10.11588/ijodr.2015.1.16762

Identifiers (Files)

URN: http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bsz:16-ijodr-167624 (PDF)

Abstract

Addiction can lead to a plethora of health, social and economical problems. Substances are used for mood regulation, and therefore, waking day mood is extremely important during recovery of alcohol and drug addiction. The current study examined the effects of meditation on anxiety and depression levels. All participants were male, and currently in treatment programs or early stages of recovery from alcohol and drug addiction. Participants were tested for anxiety and depression and were asked to provide a recent dream, prior and post to participating in the intervention. Dreams were scored using Hall and Van de Castle guidelines for scoring imagery. Results are consistent with previous research in that anxiety and depression levels changed over the course of the meditation period. Implications for future research are discussed as well as applications of meditation in clinical and applied practice.

Statistics

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Published
2015-05-18
Issue
Vol 8, No 1 (April 2015)
Section
Articles
Language
en
Keywords
Mood fluctuation, dream imagery, addiction
How to Cite
Miller, N. J., DeCicco, T. L., Fox, P. J., & McCourt, K. (2015). Evaluating mood fluctuation and dream imagery in recovering addicts. International Journal of Dream Research, 8(1), 27–34. https://doi.org/10.11588/ijodr.2015.1.16762