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ok to meditate if you have anxiety?
Pollyanna83
Explorer
I've read it can actually increase your anxiety. Any counter evidence with people who suffer from GAD (generalized anxiety)? Thanks guys!
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I'm really glad you asked that question and I'd like to tell you about my personalized experience. I had generalized anxiety disorder and was on a medication called cipralex. On the medication I felt fine, kind of like a temporary superman thing. I could look people in the eyes whatever, I thought my troubles were over. After about a year I kept getting this empty feeling that was underlying the medication. There were a couple other minor side effects as well. The point is there was something at the root of the problem that I couldn't seem to get at. It felt like people were burning me with a fire poker so I was taking a medication that was numbing my sensation of the poker and also much of whatever I felt towards the whole situation but ok, that's not your question.
In short, meditation has been a miracle in my life. At the start it at least quadrupled my anxiety. note: I went off my drugs. It was HARD!!! I was barely able to stick with it and I have my instructors on the Vipassana retreat to thank. It was like an exorcism.
I ended up with an equanimous observation of the sensation of my anxiety (how it felt on my body). And now anxiety is a dear friend of mine. Anxiety lets me know when I'm being tricked, it lets me know when something is off. Helps me to respond appropriately. And it's something that I now feel infrequently.
If you choose to try meditation, congratulations. Now try to build a support system around you that will allow you to tackle what lies ahead. When you meditate there is nowhere to run. Stuff will get uprooted. I would suggest maybe talking to a therapist in conjunction with meditation or a doctor. If that doesn't work for whatever reason maybe try meditating with a group in a temple of something. Also, I'm sure people here can help you out.
Good luck, I know you can do it.
It was just a breathing meditation, seeing how the anxious thoughts arise and eventually disappear.
It really changed things for me, and I personally have never experienced heightened anxiety from this sort of meditation.
I once heard anxiety occurs because we are unable to linger in the present moment, so be mindful and present as much as possible.
I would like like to leave you with a lesson that i carry round with me when i feel and anxious thought present.
Has anything, anything i have ever worried about ever come true? The answer is usually a big fat nope.
I could talk all day about it but i won't bother you too much. If you would however like to discuss more jut reply to my comment i would be more than happy to talk.
All the best.
It wasn't until a little over a year ago that I started studying Buddhism and meditating every day. At first it was hard. I had tried it before and it caused me much stress. But I realized that was because I had ideas in mind of what it should be and how I should feel during and after, and my expectations were not met. When I started studying Buddhism and went through meditation exercises with my teacher, it made more sense and I was able to let go of those expectations. I now find it very beneficial and I have a much easier time managing anxiety. I feel it much less intensely and less frequently, and when I do, I can find my meditation place even for a couple minutes and the symptoms decrease immediately. It has been of great benefit to me. But I suspect it depends on what causes your anxiety. For some people it is a chemical imbalance. Even those can be changed via various body practices including meditation but that is likely to take a lot of time and might be most beneficial in conjunction with medical care, at least to start.
In my case it was all in my mind, all due to anticipation and expectations that I thought others had but which I really placed on myself.
For me, I started out doing mindful breathing practices while doing things, like washing dishes, for example. This is kind of like a sneak preview or "light" meditation. I think it is a good way to start training your brain to be more in a relaxed focus instead of chaos. It's a way to start to gently train your mind to settle in small steps. I would recommend a book called Every Step is Peace by Thich Nhat Hanh if you want to explore gentle mindfulness exercises and to get into the right frame of mind (peaceful) prior to doing sitting meditation.
The symptoms of some anxiety disorders may initially be made worse by some meditation practices..simply by focussing on them they are amplified.
The behavioural technique outlined by blu3ee can be very useful in many cases.
Less so in what is known as " free floating " anxiety..where the causes are lost and an all pervading anxiety is the mindset.
Given support, preferably from a teacher, the amplified anxiety will pass by following the breath with gentle persistence. But intially it may feel worse.
It may be worth remembering that there was a time when anxiety did not feature in your life, so it is realistic to assume that this will be the case again.