Meditation For Anxiety?

[TurtleNeck]

Is mediatation good for anxiety? I hear good and bad things about it. What do you guys think is it very peat?

 

[Brian]

I'm by no means an expert meditator, so take my opinion with a grain of salt. For the most part I think meditation and other mind-body connection training practices won't have a very significant effect on anxiety and other states of distress if the root cause is mostly hormone, metabolism or neurotransmitter related. I see it more as a possible synergistic and complementary practice to an otherwise pro-metabolic lifestyle and diet to strengthen a mental perception of safety, which can potentially have significant positive feedback to metabolic health.

My view on meditation is that it can help train the body to more reliably stay in a parasympathetic state and become less sensitive to the perception of imaginary threats, while becoming more focused on sense perception in the present and less impulse reactivity to ones automatic thoughts. Rather gaining a relationship with one's stream of thoughts and feelings as a friendly companion whose input can be taken non-literally as a hint to the state of one's physical and psychological needs that could use more attention.

I also think it is by no means the only or even the best way to accomplish these positive outcomes for many people. Finding any activity that puts you in the present and paying attention to the difference between your sensory perception and your flow of thoughts may have similar benefits though increasing vagus nerve tone or some other mechanism. I think some sports, resistance training, artistic or musical creation and expression, slow love making or massage, and intimate conversation, walks into nature or somewhere new are some other possible activities that may have similar or even more benefit than meditation for some people. I think its probably better to add more of these type of activities to your life first if they are lacking before considering meditation as a means of improving your mind-body connection.

 

[Ahanu]

It defenitly helps you to percieve, think and act ;-) it depends of course of your anxiety level and also of the technique. I meditate for about 10 years and experimenteted with different tequniques( mostly Vipassana) Now I would recomment to start with Open focus (les fehmi) and coherent breathing. With the knowledge and relief you get there you will be good equipted for further meditation.

 

[TurtleNeck]

I think my anxiety is more psychological because I am getting good body temps of 37-37.6 C the lowest usually being 36.7 (Which I quickly correct because I know it makes me axious , as well as the high temps 37.1-.3 is my best)

Anyways thanks all for your replies I might add meditation to my daily routine as I am Agroaphobic (Dont like labels but w/e) and need to get out of the house or I am going to miss out on alot of lifes pleasures!

 

[Regina]

I think my anxiety is more psychological because I am getting good body temps of 37-37.6 C the lowest usually being 36.7 (Which I quickly correct because I know it makes me axious , as well as the high temps 37.1-.3 is my best)

Anyways thanks all for your replies I might add meditation to my daily routine as I am Agroaphobic (Dont like labels but w/e) and need to get out of the house or I am going to miss out on alot of lifes pleasures!

Meditation has been so important for me. But I do it within a kind of 'complete' traditional curriculum--involving aikido, zazen, chanting, breath work and other energy exercises. It is also within a group setting that is very conducive to taking care of one another. And the teacher is highly-skilled. Though the martial aspect is very real and intense, aikido is a cooperative art and not pugilistic or destructive of our partners. They emphasize the martial aspect as another route to training the mind to be in the present. And then follow-on with the meditation (zazen) as a way to see clearly that most of our "anxieties" or "obstacles" (preconceived notions, etc) are really empty and groundless. And that vast emptiness void rapidly fills up with compassion when we practice getting rid of what doesn't actually need to be there. For me, fear had really governed my life and added a great deal of meaningless suffering and kept me from deeper experiences. But this particular group experience I do really fits the bill for me, because I can still be an introvert and still be aloof with my private life yet have deeply intimate experiences with a variety of other people. I mean really, we go really deep with each other but then just bow and leave the dojo (school).

 

[3ball]

For some people meditation can be profoundly beneficial for anxiety, but it's important to understand that not all meditation is good for the same thing. For example, my anxiety deepened when I tried mindfulness meditation as it is usually taught. The oft-given meditation instructions are to turn your attention to pain or worries when they arise. Then watch the arising and passing away of these phenomena.

The problem is, for people with anxiety (either clinical or standard issue), watching these things often does NOT lead to them passing away but to them massively intensifying. It wasn't until I started using the most ancient Buddhist techniques that I started making real progress with my meditation.

There is a lot to be said on the topic, but the basic idea is this: meditate not on pain or worry but on comfort and peace. Find that place in the breath that brings ease, joy, and peace and make that the focus of your attention. Then slowly, slowly, slowly, feel that peace spread throughout your body. This is the beginning of deep meditation.

 

[Regina]

For some people meditation can be profoundly beneficial for anxiety, but it's important to understand that not all meditation is good for the same thing. For example, my anxiety deepened when I tried mindfulness meditation as it is usually taught. The oft-given meditation instructions are to turn your attention to pain or worries when they arise. Then watch the arising and passing away of these phenomena.

The problem is, for people with anxiety (either clinical or standard issue), watching these things often does NOT lead to them passing away but to them massively intensifying. It wasn't until I started using the most ancient Buddhist techniques that I started making real progress with my meditation.

There is a lot to be said on the topic, but the basic idea is this: meditate not on pain or worry but on comfort and peace. Find that place in the breath that brings ease, joy, and peace and make that the focus of your attention. Then slowly, slowly, slowly, feel that peace spread throughout your body. This is the beginning of deep meditation.

About a year ago, someone posted an article on the 'dangers of mindfulness meditation' on a Perfect Health Diet blog. I thought it was weird enough that I sent it to the Zen Priest who was my original aikido teacher. He wrote back this:
"Yea, not a huge fan of the modern "mindfulness" movement, which has pulled a few techniques out from their traditional context and presented them as a (very marketable) panacea. In that way they've removed not only access to the techniques function and deeper intent within a larger system, but also the traditional understandings of what to do when things go wrong, i.e. remedies, as well as what method to use for what type of person, what methods NOT to use for some people, etc. etc. Really, just another example of dumbing something down so it can be commodified."

 

[InChristAlone]

Yeah I'm not a huge fan of allowing thoughts to move through, I only started to get better with my anxiety disorder when I started practicing self-love, self-care and positive affirmations. I know people are all down on positivity because they think it means denying real emotions like grief or pain, but that is not how I practice it. I am never in denial or covering up pain. Or claiming its going to solve all of life's problems. No because I have more self-worth now I can then handle problems more calmly, not freak out over everything that happens. When I wanted to wallow in 'why me why me' I only got worse and worse. We do have the power to change thought. Mindfulness just means being present and not trying to medicate yourself out of your own life.

 

[encerent]

When I intense anxiety, I could never calm down enough to start meditation. :[

 

[Regina]

When I intense anxiety, I could never calm down enough to start meditation. :[

Haha. Usually, it's so circumstantial in the training. Like directly following a sweaty aikido class. It feels really good then because your muscles are all warm and loose and you've gotten your crap out on the mat. or it's specifically within the context of whatever ceremonious thing is going on. And there is always so much "waza" and etiquette in Japanese arts. That all helps take you into it.