Mental Health and Meditation
All our sufferings begin in the MIND. Getting our minds in order is the fastest and cheapest way to a healthier, happier and more wholesome life.
The biggest category of people seeking alternatives to medication are those suffering from various forms and levels of stress, ie anxieties worry, neurosis and other forms of mental health issues.
If you regularly practice meditation then mental health problems should never be an issue for you. Through meditation mental health as well as physical well being is enhanced.
Years ago, in order to link meditation and mental health problems together, one would have to tread extremely carefully, as to the safety and effects meditating might have on an individual with mental health trouble. Research however, has since scientifically proven that meditation, by way of relaxation and contemplation, is one of the safest practices in complementary and alternative medicine. Its countless values have become acknowledged and practiced for thousands of years; as a result more and more doctors are now found to be promoting the benefits of meditation to cure many stress related illnesses.
While there are many methods of meditation used to treat mental health problems, some differ greatly. Some require a person to close their eyes and be still, giving focus to the sensations felt associated with breathing, while others involve focusing on a particular object, such as the flame of a candle, or perhaps slowly reciting scripture passages. Regardless of the different techniques practiced, all hold to the unique principal of quiet thought and focused attention in order to reach the desired state of rumination. Yoga postures are also often combined with several of the meditation techniques, “moving meditation”, can bring immense practical benefit to those who practice.
During your time of focus and reflection, you will gradually start noticing a heightened awareness of your ability to focus your attention, resulting in the ordinary flow of thought slowing to a very calming and relaxed state of contemplation. With enough practice, you may also experience periods in meditation where thought seems to stop. Buddhists call this state "Samadhi," meaning an altered state of consciousness, marked by both deep relaxation and heightened alertness.
Mental Health V’s Meditation !
Many psychotherapists now practice cognitive therapy, based on western medical tradition. Figuratively speaking, it is said that irrational beliefs promote depression, anxiety, obsessions, stress and other disorders relating to the mental health of a person. The influence these negative and damaging thoughts and beliefs have on our mental health only emphasise the immense power of the mind. Indeed not only the mind will be affected, so too will the physical body. Cognitive therapists encourage their patients to question their negative and irrational thoughts, giving deliberation, thus replacing “bad” thoughts with “good” thoughts, this requires great effort here to overcome negative thought form into positive and one needs to be in constant mindfulness to achieve the desired results.
In my opinion if we all took time out every day to relax our body and mind with meditation then stress and mental health would be a thing of the past. - Sifu Jane Ward