Eric Garland, the director of the University of Utah's Center on Mindfulness and Integrative Health Intervention Development, stated that a specific type of mindfulness that emphasizes pleasure has been demonstrated to be more effective than traditional psychotherapy for substance abuse and to function as well as a starting dose of a narcotic for pain.

However, the application of this meditation technique may extend beyond addiction and chronic pain. According to Garland, mindfulness is a type of mental training for developing awareness in therapy. It accomplishes this by drawing attention to your thoughts, feelings, and physical experiences as they occur.

According to Garland, practicing mindfulness also lessens the intensity of pain by altering how the brain interprets it. It also assists individuals with chronic pain in separating their emotional responses from their physical ones and viewing pain as a physical sense. 

On the other hand, using mindfulness to treat addiction fosters self-awareness and self-control. According to Garland, when people become conscious of their responses and routines when using substances, they are better able to exercise control over their decisions.