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Any luck with mindfulness?

2K views 21 replies 7 participants last post by  KSKatze 
#1 ·
Hi guys,

I'm trying mindfulness meditation in an attempt to combat clinical depression and anxiety. There is a lot of evidence behind this technique and it seems credible. I have been meditating for 2 weeks and have found no benefit as of yet.

Does anyone have any positive or negative experiences with mindfulness (or indeed any meditation).

Am i being the impatient one? :tongue:
 
#4 ·
Interesting point. I'll accept it ;)
 
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#3 ·
This article on depression is good; depression or rumination evolved to solve difficult logical problems in my opinion.

Mindfulness isn't specifically about happiness, although happiness is often a side effect because it's about "wanting what you get", which is from Dale Carnegie's quote suggesting that "happiness is wanting what you get".

If you can identify parts of your life that you "don't want", you can apply this acceptance to it. In reality, you do not accept anything as "yours" or as part of whole of "who you are" - despite many well-intentioned people suggesting that this is the case, they probably haven't discovered that true "acceptance" is accepting everything as simply objects that exist. The only truly "certain" things are the fact that senses and thoughts and feelings and interpretations exist, not what you make of them (a tautology).

Also, "objectifying" things is looked upon with negativity, but in true reality, you are an object, and I am an object. It took me about 5 years of rumination to sort that one out and accept it as self-evident,and that rumination was started by my INFJ brother, so maybe as an INFJ you can already see that as self-evident, but just need to appreciate the things your awareness detects (do you think that is where you're having trouble?).
 
#6 ·
I enjoy the act of meditating, but yes i haven't seen any development of my mind outside of the meditation. Is the idea to "accept what is" during the meditation sessions (and frequently meditate)... or is it to allow a transfer of that acceptance to everyday life?
 
#10 ·
Well first off, mindfullness isn't just about acceptance, thouth that's a way to attain more of it. Mindfullness is conscientious awareness, or awareness in general. I think accepting something you don't understand is retarded, as is believing anything that makes you feel bad should be ignored, or mindlessly accepted.

So I think it's best to be aware of everything, and process it through your cognitive stack. Any method which helps you is okay. Personally, my meditation is without words. It's just an everyday way of being. Can't really describe it well. Sorry.
 
#13 ·
I think accepting something you don't understand is retarded, as is believing anything that makes you feel bad should be ignored, or mindlessly accepted.
True thing, which is why I prioritise understanding and mindfully (opposite of mindlessly) accepting things. As part of my natural life preservation system, I usually have thoughts about extremes, especially re-living radical actions about how to prevent negative things from ever happening. I think I have a very deep understanding of negative things in reality. However, none of this has been necessary and I would have gone so much further already if negativity hadn't been introduced in my life. Negativity has proved to be much more of a burden than a possible protector, and something that must be destroyed.

My "final solution" up my sleeve is to LIKE everything. My "core self" already likes everything anyway, so I'm not actually "being myself" if I feel negativity. All my negativity comes from my empathy with other people who feel it (mirror neurons).
 
#11 ·
Perhaps it would be more useful in preventing a relapse, rather than hastening a recovery from a depressive episode.
 
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#12 ·
Honestly meditations don't work for everyone to elevate mood. This is where truthful self reflection (combining positive self talk of course) and daily 'me time' helps alongside the application of self discovery books or YouTube videos... knowledge is power after all, one can't be expected to paint with only 2 colours or flavours of insight (e.g. what we think we already know and what we would like to learn but have never got around to).
 
#14 ·
I still find it hard to understand how mindfulness is not promoting an unhelpful passive acceptance.
 
#16 ·
It's really dependent on how people understand these terms. As it's being described by some people in this thread, I can't help but agree. I guess it depends on what one's goal is. If it's merely to stop suffering at all costs...okay then just live in a world of denial. If you conscientiously accept things, you fully empathize, reason through, and therefore sympathize and release. You first have to relate, then fully understand why this came to be, then allow it to be a thing of the past, and love/accept the person/situation regardless of the circumstance/outcome.

Am I a master of this? Not a chance in hell. I do seem to get a little better each year, though.
 
#18 ·
I have been meditating frequently for about half a year and it is a really powerful tool. I first started meditating doing the classic sit position focusing on the beats of my heart. Later I started to meditate while walking, cooking, cleaning the dishes,etc. Currently I can meditate even in a bus full of people. Like any skill, the more you do it, the easier is for you to return to that meditative state and the longer you can maintain it. With enough practice, the meditate state can become your normal state of awareness.

There are many benefits related to meditation...including lower blood pressure, less stress, better concentration capacity,etc. It appears that in meditation you stimulate the production of oxytocin. Also know as the cuddle hormone...a very powerful substance that have been observe in experimental studies, to speed up the healing of wounds, make you less prone to addictions, less depress and overall more optimistic about life.

Also meditation helps you to be in touch with who you really are and to be immerse in the present without all that noise getting in the way. This sounds a bit cryptic but once you practice a little more you will understand what I am talking about here. Meditation is about letting go and just be. It is about focusing your mind in a single thing and keeping the mind in there. Some people do this with a mantra, others listening to music, a few while focusing on the food they are eating,etc.

Which one of the 5th senses do you feel more in tune with @KSKatze?
 
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#19 ·
I'd actually say touch followed by sight.
 
#20 ·
Try these books:
http://www.amazon.com/Calming-Your-Anxious-Mind-Mindfulness/dp/1572244879
http://www.amazon.com/Dialectical-Behavior-Therapy-Workbook-ebook/dp/B0041D8UWM/ref=dp_kinw_strp_1

Mindfulness is very very different from typical meditation as seen in Eastern philosophy/religion (like yoga).

I'm attending a MBSR workshop in the new year. I see you're in the UK. Maybe this would be helpful:
http://www.mbsr.co.uk/

My therapist also uses dialectical behavioral therapy along with psychodynamic, which has part of it based in mindfulness...basically trying to help me deal with my anxiety and meltdowns.
 
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#22 ·
I went to a mindfulness expert today and we did a short meditation and she answered some of my questions. From what i can gather it seems to be about both bringing your mind back into focus with your body and the present... and not wasting energy on petty things you cannot change such as traffic jams, but freeing your mind to allow space for positive changes.
 
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