Meditation Instead of Medication

I'm wondering...

How many people who have posted their stories on this site have legitimate experience with meditation.

Meditation can certainly be used to alleviate anxiety. However, it requires a lifestyle change that many in our society are unable or unwilling to make I suppose.

I guess people prefer psychiatric drugs because they are easy. You just take them with your breakfast or whatever and you're good to go.

Meditation on the other hand, and specifically how you have to apply meditation in order to treat anxiety, to me, seems far more difficult. But seeing all the horror stories people tell from their experience with SSRIs, I wonder if some people might be better off going down this other road.

Like I said, it's really a lifestyle change, not that you have to go live on a mountain and be a monk but in order to erase anxiety with meditation there's no doubt that you'll have to make serious changes. Also, progress will be generally slow (but the same is basically true for SSRIs).

But for anyone who is getting fed up with psychiatric drugs for whatever reason, I do think that making such a lifestyle change will be very much worth the price.

Lastly, I'll just say that if you have legitimate, real anxiety, the process of using meditation to alleviate it does not begin with meditation immediately in my opinion. You have to go through a process that precedes it.

Hi, OtherMed! Has meditation worked for you, did you used to have anxiety?

I perosonally could not agree more.

I have had anxiety for some 20 years. In the first few years I was on all sorts of different medications of which none of them did a thing for the anxiety as the reasons behind my anxiety were never addressed. I felt numb, and out of control. I had attacks that could last a week or more but It was like if i take this tablet and my problems will all dissapear. This is the incedious thing about GAD as the triggers and roots behind those trigger can be complex and medication by itself will not fix them, in my opinion.

It was not till I stopped taking medication and started seeing a psychologist that I began to improve. I started out with CBT and basic meditaion and it did make a huge difference but did not address some of my underlying false beliefs. However my anxiety was controllable for many years and I stopped the meditation but was able to do the normal things but 12 months ago a few life problems brougth my anxiety back with vengance.

I was lucky to find a Psychologist who uses ACT therapy, mindfullness and I also did a meditation course. The results of this 3 pronged approach have been outstanding. I have not had an attack for around 9 months. I am in far better control of my mind and can recognise when my thoughts are running away from me. What more is I can now feel the full range of human emotions wihtout them triggering anxiety. Sadness, happiness, anger, empathy are all now things I can feel and it is great.

The hardest part can be finding the time. I do both meditation and mindfullness, as one is for relaxation and one is for awareness, with realaxation being a pleasant by product. I tend to do two 10-15 sessions a day but if I don't get around to it that's fine and there's no need to stress. Even once a week can have a big impact.

The only other thing is I now longer watch the news or the constant stream of violent tv shows like csi and similar. Now I am more aware of my emosions I can notice my tension levels rise when hearing the constant stream of doom and negativity that the media feeds us. In stead I watch more comedies and the like. I still watch my war movies but just not every day. I also live my life more to my core values and do not get caught up in self defeating thoughts that can zap so much energy for no gain.

Thanks.

I also hear that Transformational Breathing works as well? Has anyone had experience with this?

Good afternoon. I woould like to share my experience as well, concerning Meditation and the hel it gave me in my process of self healing and self improvement.

I have a big deal with anxiety, to the point, i need to be auto(self) medicated with marijuana and hashsichs to overcome and live a little bi better. However, dependind on soft drugs or medication isnt the wisest choice at the long run, because of the effect of addiction itself: more anxiety, more worriest and more problems in my life.
so i decided to start meditating to see a breaking point in my life.

so i joined a 10 day meditation course of bouddhist noble silence, where meanwhile in those days, theyll taught us the vipassana meditation technique. the technique itself has a lot of rapport with behavioral therapies and with other techniques of focusing in breathing and in physical emotions, which by themselvres are great allies to fight against anxiety.

after that 10 days, i got into a phase of big positive changes toward dealing my anxiety, however i found that any type of medidation can help any person if he-she can follow some simple steps(as with any new behavior)

1. meditate at least everyday.(if u cant do it everyday, ur progress is not going to be that big, ior would be no significant). the best time of the day to do it, is early in the morning without breakfast. u can sit comfortably, and set up an space with adequate conditions of silence(the most important) and to consider other probable causes of disturbing.
so meditation must be a systematic pattern of behaviour, just like taking like the act of taking a pill.
2. learn properly a meditation technique. a meditation technique cannot be learn online(from my experience), so its a must to learn it from someone who has the experience to share it, so if u have questions u can adress. meditation is like learning any ability: u most have someone to guide u, to get in touch with feedback, and commentaries to improve the practice. self guided meditation could help, but i recommend going to any meditation center.
3. as u know there a re many types of meditations: there are the ones qho are focused on repeating tantras, or mantras, those who use an object or image to visualize, or another like vipassana who hjas the objective to get the person really focused in his own breathing and sensations. choose whatever u one and focus urself as muchu can in that technique.
4. try to improve some new patters in ur daylitime so u can see even more improvement, and to complement the practice with reality-dayly issues. for example is importantem to be always, no matter whats the case, to be focused in our patterns of breathing: being conscious of our breathing is key to succesful.
being aware of our posture is another to key to be in a constant shaping of ourselves.

nutrition, sleep, and spiritual intake(books, movies, friends) need to be choosen carefully.

so as u see, meditation is not just a practice: if u can open doors to meditation it can become ur guardian, a lifestyle and the first step(or final) to overcome some of our problemy by changing globally our patterns,

some people categorize meditation as a new age vanity or fashion, however, it must be view as a rediscovery of the ancient wisdom of oriental masters. cheers