Meditation: How it Helps People with Mental Illness
Meditation has been proven to be a powerful tool in helping those who have a mental illness. It can help reduce the stress and anxiety felt by people who are struggling with their mental health and provide a sense of calm and peace that is often lost for those experiencing these illnesses.
The meditation process can be done from anywhere. You could be sitting on your couch, lying in bed, or even walking down the street. It does not require any special equipment and essentially just requires a willingness to relax and focus inward. By focusing inward during meditation, people will often become less reactive towards their surroundings as they work towards finding peace and calm in their minds.
What are the benefits of meditation?
Meditation has been shown to have many great mental health benefits. These include reducing anger, feeling happier, less stressed, more focused and relaxed.
In meditation, we spend time focusing on our inner world. This helps create a sense of mental stability and calm that is often missing from people’s lives. Meditation can also strengthen certain brain regions associated with empathy and compassion for others which can be lacking among those who experience trauma or live with chronic illnesses like anxiety, depression and PTSD.
What types of meditation are there for mental illness?
Three meditation techniques can be beneficial for mental illness.
Mindfulness meditation
Cognitive behavioural therapy
Acceptance meditation
Mindfulness meditation involves focusing on your breath or a particular object to help you feel present in the moment. It is important not to judge thoughts as they come because this will cause stress and anxiety.
Cognitive behavioural therapy uses meditation as one of its techniques and is a psychotherapy that helps you to identify negative thought patterns, thoughts or beliefs.
Acceptance meditation involves noticing the way you feel at any given moment without judging it. It's easier for those who are struggling with mental illness to accept themselves by using this technique.
What can meditation do for those with mental illness?
Meditation can help people suffering from mental health problems to feel more relaxed and less anxious.
Some studies show meditation has an effect on the brain. Meditating can help people feel more in control of their thoughts and feelings, and those around them.
Meditation also has an effect on your physical health as it helps with breathing problems and high blood pressure that are common among those who have a mental illness because it relaxes you both mentally and physically.
Meditation also has an effect on the immune system, meaning meditation is an excellent preventative measure against sickness and disease that can be caused by mental illness.
How do I learn how to meditate?
Begin by finding a quiet place where you will feel comfortable and uninterrupted to practice meditation.
Sitting meditation is the easiest form of meditation for beginners because it requires no physical exertion or any change in position.
Sit with your back straight and your hands on your thighs
Breathe slowly and deeply, exhaling the air through pursed lips or nostrils
Take a full breath in for six seconds and out for eight seconds
Do this ten times to feel more relaxed before meditation
Another meditation technique for beginners is walking meditation. This involves a slow and deliberate walk while focusing on the sensations of your feet touching the ground, such as pressure or temperature.
How does meditation help with Chronic Pain?
Meditation can help with chronic pain by teaching a person how to focus on the present and escape their worries.
Meditation teaches people who suffer from chronic illness to live in the moment, which helps them become less conscious of physical discomfort. It can also help an individual cope better when experiencing negative thoughts or feelings as it gives them space to release these emotions.
Will Meditation Improve my Sleep?
Many people with mental illness struggle to sleep well at night, and meditation may be the answer. Meditation is one activity that helps reduce anxiety levels which many studies have shown can improve your sleep quality.
Many meditation techniques focus on breathing deeply or concentrating on a repetitive word or phrase to calm the mind down from racing thoughts. Meditation techniques are designed to focus on the body and its breath.
Sleep meditation is a meditation technique that focuses on bringing your awareness to how you are breathing, which can help reduce anxiety while also improving sleep quality. This meditation is found to be especially beneficial for people with depression because it can "help regulate moods" by increasing concentration and minimising periodic interruptions of the meditation.
There are many different types of meditation, and there is no "right" technique that works for everyone, which is why it's important to explore the many meditation techniques before deciding on one to use regularly.
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