Welcome home! Please contact lincoln@icrontic.com if you have any difficulty logging in or using the site. New registrations must be manually approved which may take several days. Can't log in? Try clearing your browser's cookies.
Vipassana retreat - nervous
Hi all,
Has anyone here done the 10-day Goenka Vipassana retreat? I have a seat for a retreat starting on September 5, but I feel very nervous about it. The reviews I've looked at are grouped at both extremes, with my main concern on the negative end of the spectrum being that I will be one of the few that loses their mind and winds up psychotic. I have recently dealt with panic attacks, anxiety/depression (I suppose I still do) and I have indicated this on my application form, but I was still approved. I still feel "derealization" from the anxiety, and am scared that meditation for such a prolonged time will send me to the deep end and leave me more fragmented than integrated. In this situation, I feel that profound healing and release can occur, but I'm also, at the other end, concerned for my mental well-being and feel in limbo whether or not I should go through with it. I shall be contacting the coordinators about my concerns, but wanted to get you guys' thoughts. Thanks
Has anyone here done the 10-day Goenka Vipassana retreat? I have a seat for a retreat starting on September 5, but I feel very nervous about it. The reviews I've looked at are grouped at both extremes, with my main concern on the negative end of the spectrum being that I will be one of the few that loses their mind and winds up psychotic. I have recently dealt with panic attacks, anxiety/depression (I suppose I still do) and I have indicated this on my application form, but I was still approved. I still feel "derealization" from the anxiety, and am scared that meditation for such a prolonged time will send me to the deep end and leave me more fragmented than integrated. In this situation, I feel that profound healing and release can occur, but I'm also, at the other end, concerned for my mental well-being and feel in limbo whether or not I should go through with it. I shall be contacting the coordinators about my concerns, but wanted to get you guys' thoughts. Thanks
0
Comments
I attended a Goenka retreat last year and I'm looking forward to doing another soon. My opinion would be don't over think it and just do it. Emotionally it is a bit of a roller coaster. I don't remember now where I heard the quote but someone once said 'meditation is not a tranquilizer, it's a laxative'. Truer words were never spoken. It won't be easy but most likely you'll look back on it as a rewarding experience. Should you feel overwhelmed at any time just discuss it with the teacher. Remember it's not a prison it's a meditation retreat , you can leave if you have a mind to.
Metta
And honestly, it's the hardest thing I have EVER done.
But also the most awesome, so I went back nine more times!
Don't expect it to be easy, but do it anyway.
I am reminded of this Star Wars quote from Yoda:
Luke: "I'm not afraid!"
Yoda: "You will be... you will be."
So you're wiser than Luke, to acknowledge your nervousness.
http://www.torana.dhamma.org/contact.html
I've beent hinking of doing it recently