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Abstract
Aims: Thought processes have been hypothesised to play a role in addiction and relapse (Salkovskis and Reynolds (1994)). Thought suppression and smoking cessation showed that suppression was associated with an increase in smoking-related intrusive thoughts, whilst a distracting task (relaxation) reduced intrusion frequency. This is a report of a similar study with a substance-dependent sample undergoing detoxification.
Design: Subjects were randomly allocated to one of three groups (mention control, relaxation and suppress) and respectively were asked to monitor, suppress and do relaxation exercises, and suppress substance-related intrusive thoughts in period 1. In period 2 they were told that they could think about anything. Subjects recorded all substance-related intrusions in both periods.
Participants and Setting: Inpatient opiate or multisubstance-dependent sample undergoing detoxification.
Findings: Deliberate suppression of substance-related intrusive thoughts did not result in an increase in the frequency of the same for the suppression group compared to the mention control group. Relaxation facilitated thought suppression in the first period, but this effect was not carried over to the second period.
Conclusions: In the absence of the task which acted as an effective structured distracter, feeling relaxed may act as a trigger for drug-related thoughts. This may have some implications for the use of relaxation as a form of distraction in the treatment for substance misusers.