Meditation and Mindfulness

Slinky_Malinky

Hi everyone, I have no experience of mindfullness but it caught my eye on this thread that it can help with depression. I have not been diagnosed as depressed but I am certainly suffering from prolonged bouts of very low moods that I cannot shake off. I suffer low self esteem and crippling fatigue (sleeping/dozing all night and several hours during the day when not at work) I am a complusive overeater and wondered would this mindfulness be likely to help me get a grip on any of this?
Sorry folks, I may have bared my soul a bit too much here but always hopeful of finding a way to sort myself out

SM

[Deleted User]

Slinky_Malinky wrote: »

Hi everyone, I have no experience of mindfullness but it caught my eye on this thread that it can help with depression. I have not been diagnosed as depressed but I am certainly suffering from prolonged bouts of very low moods that I cannot shake off. I suffer low self esteem and crippling fatigue (sleeping/dozing all night and several hours during the day when not at work) I am a complusive overeater and wondered would this mindfulness be likely to help me get a grip on any of this?
Sorry folks, I may have bared my soul a bit too much here but always hopeful of finding a way to sort myself out

SM

Hi SM,

I don't think you have bared your soul too much, I admire your openness. I think mindfulness can help with a lot of the issues you've described. It can certainly help with depression, and it has been clinically proven to be effective where this is concerned. One of the men in my mindfulness group worked for the NHS and was focused on offering mindfulness as an alternative to medication for depression, with a view to making this the default option before prozac and other medications. So it is very useful where depression is concerned. I suffer from low self-esteem myself, and have done since I was a child. I worry a lot about what other people think of me and ruminate constantly on what people might say to me in the future or how they might put me down. I was bullied as a child so I believe it stems from this, but it's something I struggle with daily to the extent that sometimes I avoid going out for fear of even noticing judgement in someone's face. It can be debilitating. However, mindfulness gives me a courage that I haven't got from anywhere else. It allows me to see my difficulties from a different, more objective perspective, that perhaps the world doesn't revolve me! I have always had defenses but (very slowly) mindfulness is helping me lower these slightly.

I would imagine mindfulness also helps with fatigue, though this isn't something I have personal experience with. I would suggest maybe doing mindfulness when you wake up as I often find that the later I do it, the sleepier it makes me. In the morning, it has more of an energising effect. I did it this evening and it gave me a bit of a mental fog whereby I wasn't alert and was drifting in and out of consciousness. It still helped a great deal but I think the effects are more pronounced when you are alert and receptive. I have also struggled with compulsive eating and I know mindfulness can help with this, though I haven't actively tried to apply it to my eating. At the first mindfulness session, we practised eating a raisin mindfully, which was a very new and unusual experience. One of the girls in my class noted that mindfulness had helped her change her eating patterns and she'd given up sugar, though sadly I didn't have the same experience! I would definitely encourage you to try it out though as you can't fail to get positive results, whatever area they apply to.

Slinky_Malinky

Thank you for your reply - I am really interested in trying this. I am going to see if there are any courses near me (very doubtful in the Welsh Valleys) or if not I will look into the websites linked on this thread or possibly buying something from Amazon.

Thanks again,
SM

Maryland_Cookie

Hi everyone, thought I'd update from my meditation session last night.......WOW.......and WOW again - something clicked, I think I was much more accepting of my mind wandering and I felt so satisfied afterwards. I woke early to do the session again and although I was disturbed by the cats fighting, it really seemed to centre me.

Thank you all for you words of encouragement!

SM - I've been using the Mindfullness book recommended on the earlier threads, it comes with a CD, and although I'm finding the book a bit heavy in places, I'm really, really trying to keep with it. I admire your honesty in your earlier post - I suffer with depression, and although I'm in a good place at the moment, you never really know how long it will last do you? So I'm hoping that the meditation will help.

Maryland_Cookie

"I suffer from low self-esteem myself, and have done since I was a child. I worry a lot about what other people think of me and ruminate constantly on what people might say to me in the future or how they might put me down. I was bullied as a child so I believe it stems from this, but it's something I struggle with daily to the extent that sometimes I avoid going out for fear of even noticing judgement in someone's face"

GL - I could have written this myself, this is EXACTLY how I feel on a regular basis, it comes in peaks and troughs, some days/weeks are horrendous, and occasionally I feel I can cope. I was bullied as a teenager, and my first "proper" relationship was abusive, and I'm sure my feelings stem from this.

Goodness, I never talk about this, and try to block it out.......my turn to bare my soul xxxx

Armchair23

I just thought I'd tip in and say there are many 'programs' out there that exploit people who are having problems in their life, but as far as I know Mindfulness seems to be mainly OK. If anyones ask for large sums of money then it's definitely suspect.

Use your common sense as you would in any aspect of your life, but if you find you need to make yourself a little stronger, happier or more secure in the way you go about your life day to day then the answer is mainly within you.

I'm always aware that it's so easy to end up sounding like a complete crazy but I don't think there is anything to lose in trying mindful meditation. Whether it's online, classes or books & CDs.

My good wishes to any of you trying to make yourself a happier person !

[Deleted User]

Maryland_Cookie wrote: »

GL - I could have written this myself, this is EXACTLY how I feel on a regular basis, it comes in peaks and troughs, some days/weeks are horrendous, and occasionally I feel I can cope. I was bullied as a teenager, and my first "proper" relationship was abusive, and I'm sure my feelings stem from this.

Goodness, I never talk about this, and try to block it out.......my turn to bare my soul xxxx

First of all, SM, you're welcome. I hope you find a course near you (you might be pleasantly surprised, they're popping up everywhere nowadays) and if not, the CDs that come free with Mark Williams books are wonderful.

Maryland Cookie, your experience is very similar to mine. My first relationship was abusive too and although my boyfriend now is extremely caring, I still harbour a lot of pain from the past. I am so delighted mindfulness is helping you. It definitely helps you to see the mind and its reckless ways in a different light. I struggle a lot with believing myself to be a worthy person, and constantly feel I have to prove myself and seek validation. Mindfulness allows me to be me and accept myself in the moment. I am definitely learning that the only opinion that really matters is your own and that is really enlightening. Once I finish a mindfulness practise, the world seems a tad better than 40 minutes beforehand. I am here if you ever want to chat, just PM me. xx

joyfull

How often do some of you practice. In many ways I'm quite disciplined and have no shortage of time, but i tell myself that I'll just add mindfullness to my day as and when. Well, the day slips by & paying attention to something else always seems more interesting.

So, 15mins twice a day or 40mins - what do you do please?

[Deleted User]

joyfull wrote: »

How often do some of you practice. In many ways I'm quite disciplined and have no shortage of time, but i tell myself that I'll just add mindfullness to my day as and when. Well, the day slips by & paying attention to something else always seems more interesting.

So, 15mins twice a day or 40mins - what do you do please?

I practice for 40 minutes a day. At the moment, as I am looking for work and so I'm at home most of the day, I try for two 40 minute sessions, only because being at home depresses me so much!! However, I know that even doing 15 minutes daily can be very beneficial, but it should be done often.

Armchair23

I do between 20 and 40 minutes a day.

That's because I use the 'guided meditations' that came on a CD with my course. Some of them are 10 minutes long and I like to do four of them in a row if I can. If I do less than 20 minutes, I don't really feel as if I've benefitted as much as I can, and when it comes to it I'm doing this to make me feel better not to fit anyone elses schedule.

I also do 3 minute meditations during the day either when I come up against something that is causing me anxiety, or to prepare for something that I know has been a problem for me in the past. You can easily do it on the bus or at your desk and people just think you're looking at the floor or having a quick nap !