Did you ever see those commercials with the camel who shouts, “Hump Day”? Wednesday is often known as hump day because it’s the middle of the work week. After Wednesday, you’ve gotten over the hump of the week and are well on the way to the weekend. (Of course, in elementary school, the word hump was hilarious for other reasons, but we’re not going to discuss that here.)

It seems like we spend our lives trying to get over the hump. We’re often so focused on the future that we neglect what’s happening in the present. While it’s great to look forward to the future, I realize that I don’t want to spend all my efforts focusing on what might happen and neglect what is actually happening.

Meditating seems to be a good tactic to accomplish this. Meditating encourages people to practice mindfulness, the practice of paying attention to what they’re thinking and what’s happening around them. It encourages people to pay attention to the present.

Did you know that rehab centers sometimes help lead patients through meditation and mindfulness exercise? It makes sense, really, because sometimes people use alcohol and drugs to try to calm their emotions about the past, or to try to calm their fears about the future. Encouraging people to pay attention to the present could help shift the focus from these racing fears of what could happen.

The use of meditation illustrates how rehab has changed with the times. As we’re learning more about the causes of drug addiction and alcohol abuse, we’re also learning more about different treatments for those conditions. We’re learning that just as people struggle with substance use disorder in different ways, there are different ways to address these struggles.

Even though we focus on the present, we can’t forget the future—and progress—entirely. While present substance use disorder and mental health treatment can be effective, I suspect that professionals are working to make it even better.