Hey everyone, sorry for the ramble –
Has anyone here overcome (at least in part) anxiety or depression through mindfulness and meditation?
I’ve tried to practice them in the past but for the past few years I’ve been in a constant state of anxiety/panic, and it’s so difficult that I’ve never really kept it up. Since I’ve had ME I’ve been more eager to try – it’s a lot harder now to distract myself from depression and anxiety. I’ve also come across some methods people have used to cure their physical symptoms using their minds, so it seems more important than ever that I gain some control over my mind.
I’ve been searching through Youtube the past week for guided mindfulness and the like, and today one of them finally helped. Usually my breathing hurts and catches – anxiety has never affected it in the past, but my lungs don’t seem up to the job since I’ve had ME. I’m always panicking – nothing triggers it, it’s just there. Today I still had many, many moments of anxiety but my breathing felt a bit easier, and although there was a lot of panic I managed to come back to a state where I could actually just bear to exist. Usually depression makes every moment agony, worse than any physical pain I’ve experienced.
I’m planning on carrying on with it, but I want to know if/how it’s helped other people.
Hope this isn’t too off topic.
9 comments
I practice often mindfulness, and i can tell that it really helps. I haven’t totally overcomed my anxiety but i have made some decent progress.
Thanks for the reply, I’m glad it helps. 🙂
Wow. There are those that works? Nice. Good to know it worked for you.
Could you please tell me what sort of meditation you did? I might need it in the future.
Thank you.
I listened to this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thYoV-MCVs0 I’m sure it’s one of those things that gets much easier with practice, but as someone who’s struggling I’ve found that the most helpful so far.
Thank you very much 🙂
I hope it will continue to do good to you
Thanks mranony! 🙂
A friend taught me his personal “deep breathing meditation” technique a couple years ago (to help me with my sleep and pelvic pain). It never made my pain go away, but I admit that it made me feel temporarily better a few times. I’m always multitasking and I think too much and too fast about the most random things, so meditation is a challenge to me. I know that proper breathing works and can do wonders sometimes though.
I’m a bit like that. I’m not busy but I have the panic stations on, and my thoughts are always changing. They feel uncontrollable sometimes. It’s not something that comes naturally to me, but hopefully that means I’ll see big changes if I stick with it. In the past I’ve felt small changes, but I’ve never done it regularly for that long. I just found it too difficult. Did your friend’s technique help you with your sleep?
I’ve never done it regularly either (but I want to). I don’t think it helped me with my sleep, but it helped me to calm down and relax a few times. Like I said, meditation is a challenge for me. I know it works because I know people that said that doing meditation was very beneficial to their health.