Mindfulness is the act of being aware of yourself, your body and your sensations in the present moment, and letting go thoughts of the future or past which can lead to anxiety, depression and stress. This can be achieved through the regular practice of meditation, and can include practices that seem a little strange at first.
Is it a bunch of hippie, new age crap?
No, although its easy to see why people think this. With the aid of mindfulness, I have successfully started the process of combating severe anxiety and depression issues which led to a suicide attempt a few months ago. After being depressed for over 15 years (on and off) I now feel better than I ever have before, and mindfulness is the reason for this.
Last month, research found that MBCT may be as effective as medication for treating recurrent depression, and may work even better than medication for patients with a history of childhood abuse.
The Oxford Mindfulness Centre, part of the University of Oxford’s department of psychiatry, has found that the MBCT course reduces the risk of relapse into depression by 44%. There is emerging evidence to suggest MBCT is also effective for treating generalised anxiety disorder, stress and other mental health conditions. Cancer patients have also benefitted from it.
That's right, the NHS in the UK is currently using mindfulness to slowly replace the use of anti depressents in any case where it is appropriate. This means less drugs, which is cheaper, healthier and gives more control to patients over their mental lives.
Is it just for people with mental health issues?
That depends on how you see mental health. Its very much the case that mental health issues are not something you either have or you don't. Like physical health, its a scale that stretches from healthy to very unhealthy, and you could be anywhere on that scale. Mindfulness has been known to treat a wide variety of behaviours and thought patterns that we see as negative, such as: Addiction Anxiety (both the crippling kind, and the merely annoying kind) Depression Mood swings
As the above article states, its not a magic, cure all, mental health supertreatment, but it is a very useful addition to your daily routine anyway. It allows you to approach your problems from a better perspective.
What's the best thing about mindfulness?
Its free. Anyone who expects you to pay to learn mindfulness is either: 1: Taking advantage of something that should, and always should, be free to rip you off or 2: Offering some kind of service on top of the meditation such as accomodation, further psychological help etc.
There are loads of resources for free mindfulness meditation on the internet, specifically guided meditations on youtube, reading materials all over the place.
The above link is too an absolutely free, 8 week mindfulness course. I have found this course keeps me grounded in the real world every day and stops me getting carried away with anxiety or depression. This is not an advertisement, I have nothing to do with the production of that course I simply use it to help me better myself.
It feels weird/I can't do it
Everyone can 'do' mindfulness (its more a state of being than doing, but nvm) it just takes a few weeks of practice. At first, some of the practices do seem over the top, or strange. Learning to eat in silence at least once per day, for example, can seem pretty odd. However, you will find yourself enjoying your food more if you do this, and almost certainly eating less.
Some good mindfulness resources: The raisin meditation - good for beginners and as an introduction to mindful eating: + Show Spoiler +
10 minute mindfulness meditation - if you don't think you have the attention span to sit there for 30 minutes this is a good start: + Show Spoiler +
The Body Scan - A way of becoming more aware of your own body: + Show Spoiler +
Some literature and video of world famous neurologist, author and sceptic Sam Harris talking about the vast benefits of minfulness:
Remember - If someone wants you to pay for this stuff - don't. At least not at first, there's too many free resources and as a matter of principle control over your own mind should never cost money.
Happy meditating folks, I hope some of you start doing this!
On June 18 2015 20:19 xM(Z wrote: i don't know men; 1st world problems fixed by hitting that ignore button ... it's like online chatting applied to real life.
no, it's not. Is is much more like taking a break from the stress and the problems and everything that is always in the back of your mind, gnawing at you, distracting you, weighting you down. It does not solve problems, but it can significantly improve your life's quality. Personally I love to go for a run to rest my mind and take a break from all the troubles. Other people go to the gym or do meditation. Giving your overloaded and problem-filled mind a break once in a while is a good idea
Thanks for putting together this thread! Mindfulness meditation is great and I strongly suggest it to anyone interested in making their life better. It's not about escaping reality, it's about being present. It's about developing a level of mental discipline and self awareness that promotes a better perspective on your life. It's strong shit and definitely worth the 30 min a day.
On June 18 2015 21:34 xM(Z wrote: real men are happy while dealing with all that shit, not while ignoring it ... you ignoring democracy, won't fix either.
Come on dude you ignored everything Fiona said. Its taking a break...that's all it is. You don't ignore problems. You come back to them with a clear mind.
I for one am going to try coming back to this. I even bought some meditation music a while ago to help. It was just hard to do meditation the traditional way so I gave it up. Really meditation is nothing more than being present, however you like to do it. Its surprisingly peaceful when done correctly, sometimes you feel a deep sense of joy for no apparent reason
it's a sugarcoated hoax dude. - a break from what?; what you got your self into?. - comeback to them with a clear mind just so you could ignore them later when its clouded again?. the way i see it, you just postpone shit until you die.
can you fathom feeling a deep sense of joy for no apparent reason without the need to ignore everything and everyone?
On June 18 2015 22:12 xM(Z wrote: it's a sugarcoated hoax dude. - a break from what?; what you got your self into?. - comeback to them with a clear mind just so you could ignore them later when its clouded again?. the way i see it, you just postpone shit until you die.
can you fathom feeling a deep sense of joy for no apparent reason without the need to ignore everything and everyone?
If you don't want to meditate, that's fine. But all it takes is a quick google search to find studies showing meditation often has positive physical effects outside of the widely reported mental reprieve. Here's one article and Wikipedia has a bunch too.
Meditating doesn't take long, most of the time only 5-10 minutes. You make it sound like meditation is a way to try and run from problems, but that's not what it's for. It's a tool to allow you to face those problems better equipped. Having a clear mind can mean the difference between success and failure in a lot of situations.
Even if we ignore all of the evidence that meditating isn't a 'sugarcoated hoax' and assume it's all bullshit, who cares? If the purpose of meditating is for you to feel better and it does that, it's successful. Placebo or not. And it doesn't cost anything; people aren't profiting off of you trying meditation. This isn't some crazy racket to get money out of you, it's people trying to live their lives better. I encourage you to give it an honest shot. But if not, that's ok too.
On June 18 2015 22:12 xM(Z wrote: it's a sugarcoated hoax dude. - a break from what?; what you got your self into?. - comeback to them with a clear mind just so you could ignore them later when its clouded again?. the way i see it, you just postpone shit until you die.
can you fathom feeling a deep sense of joy for no apparent reason without the need to ignore everything and everyone?
I don't think you're going to get anywhere trying to antagonize people who are into meditation, bud. It's not like meditation is being advertised as some magical fix-all for problems. Personally, it is an avenue for relaxation, focus, stress release, and introspection. And if you don't see the benefit in it, that's totally fine, no one will fault you for not meditating.
On June 18 2015 21:34 xM(Z wrote: real men are happy while dealing with all that shit, not while ignoring it ... you ignoring democracy, won't fix either.
Meditation is not about ignoring anything. If you watched the video the guy says mindfulness is about being present in the moment, which means that you are "dealing with all that shit" better in the moment. And I don't really buy your crap that you never ignore your problems, everyone does that. Do you listen to music? Do you go to gym? Do you drink? Those are all ways that people use to ignore their problems, and it's normal and good. No one spends every second of their life dealing with problems because that would just be unproductive, you need time to unwind, the way you do it is completely up to you.
On June 18 2015 22:12 xM(Z wrote: it's a sugarcoated hoax dude. - a break from what?; what you got your self into?. - comeback to them with a clear mind just so you could ignore them later when its clouded again?. the way i see it, you just postpone shit until you die.
can you fathom feeling a deep sense of joy for no apparent reason without the need to ignore everything and everyone?
If its a hoax, why is it now being used in medical circles to help people with mental health issues? This includes programs sanctioned by the British Government. I assume you're one of those people who thinks 'depressed' means 'lazy and doesn't want to go to work' - despite the overwhelming neurological evidence to the contrary.
I know you're trolling and loving the attention, but i feel i have to stick up for my post
The fact is, its nothing to do with ignoring stuff or running away. You might be thinking of Buddhism, which is a completely different style of meditation. Mindfulness is free of religious stuff, its free of lifestyle choices - its simply a way to stop yourself from worrying about things in the future or in the past, even if its only for 20 minutes a day.
On June 18 2015 21:34 xM(Z wrote: real men are happy while dealing with all that shit, not while ignoring it ... you ignoring democracy, won't fix either.
Please - enlighten us some more on your theory of 'real men'.
Hmm I just think anyone who is willing to sit and do nothing for 5-60 minutes a day because someone promised them it would make them a better person is getting played...
I've spent time doing it and I will say I think it's an overly promoted fad. I could see it being sort of helpful for people who have intense social anxiety or anger management issues but honestly I would take an actually fun presence inducing hobby (like sports or music) over sitting calmly in a spot because someone told me I was a fucked up person that needed to do this to be better.
the closest i come to this stuff is Eli Bay. i'm a believer in Eli Bay's work and practising his suggestions has definitely improved my general level of health.
On June 19 2015 01:36 puppykiller wrote: Hmm I just think anyone who is willing to sit and do nothing for 5-60 minutes a day because someone promised them it would make them a better person is getting played...
I've spent time doing it and I will say I think it's an overly promoted fad. I could see it being sort of helpful for people who have intense social anxiety or anger management issues but honestly I would take an actually fun presence inducing hobby (like sports or music) over sitting calmly in a spot because someone told me I was a fucked up person that needed to do this to be better.
And it is entirely your prerogative to say "nah, I don't think that's for me".
I started meditating back in college because I was having issues with nerves when competing in gymnastics competitions. It started with simple visualization exercises, and then I looked into guided meditation. It helped calm and focus my mind, and it had a noticeable effect on my performance in meets.
Now, while working, my mind is constantly busy with work and personal things. Taking 15 minutes after work or before bed to clear my mind of that clutter is refreshing before I move onto my next task.
But I'd like to point out that you're not "doing nothing" in that time. There is a clear intent when going into meditation, and I know different people have different methods. Personally, I anchor my focus to my breathing. Occasionally other thoughts enter my head, but I try to just observe them and let them pass, always returning to my breath. The world and life is hectic - taking a few minutes to relax in simplicity helps me a lot.
On June 19 2015 02:14 jcarlsoniv wrote: Personally, I anchor my focus to my breathing.
the big thing Eli Bay preaches over and over again.. "when you breath as if you are relaxed ... you start to become relaxed"
Breathing exercises work in a very simple physiological way to interrupt the cycle of anxiety. Once you become anxious, you enter fight or flight, which pumps some chemicals around your system and causes your heart to beat fast and your breathing to quicken and become shallower. Medication like propranylol interrupts the process by slowing your heart down. Breathing exercises do exactly the same thing by stopping the instinct to breath quicker. If the process is interrupted in this manner your body eventually leaves the fight or flight state and returns to normal. This is how it was explained to me anyway.
On June 19 2015 01:36 puppykiller wrote: Hmm I just think anyone who is willing to sit and do nothing for 5-60 minutes a day because someone promised them it would make them a better person is getting played...
I've spent time doing it and I will say I think it's an overly promoted fad. I could see it being sort of helpful for people who have intense social anxiety or anger management issues but honestly I would take an actually fun presence inducing hobby (like sports or music) over sitting calmly in a spot because someone told me I was a fucked up person that needed to do this to be better.
I don't think anyone is 'being played'. As was said earlier in the thread, its not for everyone, and I don't claim that it fixes things, but it certainly is useful as a single tool in a toolbox, so to speak.
On June 19 2015 02:31 Yorbon wrote: It's not really my thing, mainly because of the (in my eyes) vague language and some of the more vocal practitioners i know becoming really annoying when they talk about it, in a moral high horse kind of way. I will immediately admit, though, that I have very little knowledge about it.
You're right in this way. I think I was lucky because the people I learned this from were very experienced psychiatrists and neurologists. Getting a good teacher is pretty essential, which is why I recommended that course - The guy who runs the website is a highly trained professional, not just some guy who did a 2 week mindfulness course.
It's not really my thing, mainly because of the (in my eyes) vague language and some of the more vocal practitioners i know becoming really annoying when they talk about it, in a moral high horse kind of way. I will immediately admit, though, that I have very little knowledge about it.
But I don't think i have anything against it's fundamentals. When I read through the 7 myths of meditation (which were all hilarious) I came across next quote: "When we meditate, we use an object of attention, [...] which allows our mind to relax into this silent stream of awareness. When thoughts arise, as they inevitably will, we don't need to judge them or try to push them away. Instead, we gently return our attention to our object of attention." I certainly can see why this is helpful for your state of mind in general.
Edit: and the focussing on breathing as mentioned above seems to have very straight forward benefits indeed. Forgot to mention that.
On June 18 2015 22:12 xM(Z wrote: it's a sugarcoated hoax dude. - a break from what?; what you got your self into?. - comeback to them with a clear mind just so you could ignore them later when its clouded again?. the way i see it, you just postpone shit until you die.
can you fathom feeling a deep sense of joy for no apparent reason without the need to ignore everything and everyone?
The thing actually does the reverse! Your mind does not like being "empty". All kinds of thoughts will pop up when you try to clear your mind while meditating. This is actually a bit dangerous if you are suffering from some kind of depression. Thoughts you like to ignore and never think about will bubble up. You know, like this: + Show Spoiler +
On June 19 2015 01:36 puppykiller wrote: Hmm I just think anyone who is willing to sit and do nothing for 5-60 minutes a day because someone promised them it would make them a better person is getting played...
I've spent time doing it and I will say I think it's an overly promoted fad. I could see it being sort of helpful for people who have intense social anxiety or anger management issues but honestly I would take an actually fun presence inducing hobby (like sports or music) over sitting calmly in a spot because someone told me I was a fucked up person that needed to do this to be better.
Why do you assume that this is for "fucked up" people? Or that its purpose is to make someone a "better" person?
What do you think makes someone more "fucked up" or "better" than someone else?
It seems to me like these are just labels you apply to people when judging them. They're not helpful at all. People have specific problems or issues. But that doesn't make someone "fucked up".
And meditation isn't just sitting "doing nothing". You're focussing on certain things, and improving your awareness and concentration. There's a lot of spiritual and non-scientific stuff that often gets attached to it, but it's just a tool that can be used to improve aspects of one's life.
It's a shame people don't want to think about mental health and thought patterns more, unless they believe, or have been told there's something wrong with them.
EPT
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