If the anti-depressants you’re taking to treat your anxiety disorder are no longer working, you should talk to your doctor about more natural treatment options, including mindful meditation. A study that was recently published in the Journal of the American Medical Association suggests that mindful meditation can be as effective at treating anxiety as many common pharmaceutical treatments. You’ll need to do more than just pop a pill if you’re attacking your anxiety disorders with mindful meditation, starting with educating yourself on the meditation practice itself.
Mindful meditation is the practice of shutting out distractions and concentrating instead on your own inner thoughts and being. Meditation practitioners sometimes refer to this as “being in the moment”. You can spend as little as fifteen minutes a day just focusing on your breathing and turning off external stimuli, like cell phones or email, without attempting to address any problems that may be the causes of your anxiety. People who do this report that the problems don’t disappear, but they feel better able to address without any of the typical panic reactions that are associated with general anxiety disorders.
More advanced research has suggested that mindful meditation affects the portion of your brain that controls self-referential thoughts and emotions. If this portion of your brain is overstimulated, your anxiety levels will increase. Meditation is believed to reduce this stimulation, which allows other portions of your brain to focus on the problems at hand.
If you are interested in adopting mindful meditation in your life, speak with your doctor or counselor about how to get started. There are no wrong ways to meditate, but your mindful meditation practice will be enhanced by a few simple instructions and the guidance you can receive from experienced practitioners. You might not want to put your phone aside or you may not have a good quiet space in your house or apartment to get away from distractions. Maybe you aren’t comfortable with shutting yourself off from your world and the people that you believe need you, even for fifteen minutes a day. With a bit of guidance, you can understand how to find the time and space away from the stimuli that keeps you from “being in the moment.”
If you’re in an addiction recovery program, mindful meditation can help you on your path to recovery. Addictions are frequently coupled with other psychological disorders, such as depression or anxiety. Meditation can be used to address both the addiction and psychological disorders, and can enhance the likelihood of success of your recovery.
If you are interested in adopting a natural mindful meditation treatment for your anxiety disorder, please contact our staff at Hired Power at 800-910-9299. We can provide guidance on getting started and on incorporating a meditation program into your daily life to treat anxiety and other psychological disorders, and to enhance your general sense of well-being.
