Can mindfulness meditation heal anxiety?

[mac99]

I have GAD (general anxiety disorder), and I've been suffering from it for well over a decade, I also have depression symptoms, however, I think the anxiety originated from the depression when I was younger. I'm already getting suicidal thoughts as it's worn me down so much over time, after so long of having anxiety you just get so tired.

Do you think mindfulness meditation is enough to fully heal anxiety? Out of all the forms of healing I've done, I feel that mindfulness meditation heals me the deepest. It's been a week since I practiced mindfulness meditation and of course, my anxiety spiked badly because of that affecting me at work (especially social anxiety) and such, but I do this in formal sitting meditation where I become aware of the present (mindful of the present), and then my thoughts begin to clear. Other forms of healing that I've done like practicing positive emotions, positive thinking, going back and letting go of the past (forgiveness), and exposure therapy, I don't feel like it is nearly enough, it definitely lowers the anxiety, but doesn't heal it completely, the anxiety is still always there. Do you think mindfulness meditation can heal it completely? 

Edited February 3, 2023 by mac99

[Carl-Richard]

Speaking from experience, having a decent mystical experience induced by meditation can definitely heal anxiety. The issue though is, especially when it comes to social anxiety, that there will be residual behavioral patterns that need to be rewired to fit the new baseline state, which might be experienced as a bit challenging and might take several years to work out, even if you don't feel particularly anxious in those situations anymore (the feeling is rather of being a bit weird or inexperienced). But definitely, it can make a huge difference. Start meditating every day and you'll at least see a gradual improvement. Try to build up to at least 45 minutes in one sitting, preferably an hour. That is where most of the work is done in my experience.

Edited February 2, 2023 by Carl-Richard

[SeaMonster]

It's not enough by itself.  It may be useful to become calmer, to get insight, etc., but ultimately you have to make changes in your life and I don't know what those would have to be because I don't know what your life is like and what's causing you to experience anxiety.

[mac99]

59 minutes ago, Carl-Richard said:

Speaking from experience, having a decent mystical experience induced by meditation can definitely heal anxiety. The issue though is, especially when it comes to social anxiety, that there will be residual behavioral patterns that need to be rewired to fit the new baseline state, which might be experienced as a bit challenging and might take several years to work out, even if you don't feel particularly anxious in those situations anymore (the feeling is rather of being a bit weird or inexperienced). But definitely, it can make a huge difference. Start meditating every day and you'll at least see a gradual improvement. Try to build up to at least 45 minutes in one sitting, preferably an hour. That is where most of the work is done in my experience.

Okay, i'm gonna do it thanks. It has to do with my emotions, any negative emotion increases it. Although with my condition I think I need more like 2-4 hours per day of meditation for it to work enough, and then also some walking meditation on top of that. Its pretty bad, my body is already aging faster than normal, I feel like I'm dying I'll probably develop cancer soon if I don't do something to fix it. If I stop for a period of time of healing, the anxiety bounces back stronger than ever even after all that healing work like it was all for nothing, and if I stop for even a month, the anxiety becomes too overwhelming, I can't function properly let alone hold a job, suicide starts to become pretty attractive at that point. So i'm really gonna have to go all the way with this meditation work, even make some sacrifices of responsibilities so I can have more time to put into meditation.

Edited February 2, 2023 by mac99

[Asayake]

Exposure therapy can act as an extension of your formal mindfulness practice as it will make your anxiety appear, and then you have an opportunity to practice mindfulness in the face of the anxiety, it will make your formal sits easier, staying mindful in a social situation with social anxiety is likely more challenging than sitting in the comfort of your home. But formal sitting practice is super great too. When you practice mindfulness in the face of anxiety either on or off the mat it will integrate the anxiety into your life over time so that at first, even when anxiety appears, it's not as big of a problem anymore. Then as time goes on it becomes a smaller and smaller problem, and with even more time and practice it turns into just an annoyance you have to deal with. Finally, it turns into something which you fully accept as a part of your experience and at that point it could barely even be considered anxiety anymore, it still is in a sense, but it's just that you see it more clearly for what it is, so it doesn't cause you as much suffering.

Anxiety is something we struggle to accept, we want to get rid of it, preferably as soon as possible. Similarly to fear it's a feeling we want to turn away from, we don't want to look at it/feel it, If we wanted to feel it we likely wouldn't call it anxiety/fear. It's resistance of what is because we fear what could be. When you're practicing mindfulness, you're teaching your mind to stay present of what is. To be present of what is means to stand your ground, you're there in the eye of the storm, you're not running away, you'll find peace there amongst the disturbances. The anxiety might arise, but you're still there, observing what is, if the anxiety is a part of that, so be it. You will be there for longer than the anxiety will be there, the anxiety is on a temporary visit but will dissolve sooner or later like all other appearances.

In a sense, it's your teacher. In the end it might have been one of the best things that happened to you, it could be a gift in disguise. Your mission is not to try and get rid of it as soon as possible, but to get acquainted with it, being mindful of it when it appears. Become aware of which behaviors trigger it and which soothe it, and investigate why that is.  Having anxiety is like being placed in a forest with nothing but a knife and a tent, the first time is going to be a mess but the more you get placed in the same situation the better you'll be able to handle it. You'll learn different coping skills, and you'll increase your awareness, it will teach you something about yourself you probably weren't going to learn otherwise, it will make you grow.

A lot of what makes fear/anxiety so overwhelming is an illusion, it's not what we think it is. When we're mindful of it, in the present, feeling into our breath and body, we can get to know the feeling directly and discover that it's not as bad as we think it is. Awareness will dissolve the feeling over time, and the thoughts associated with that feeling will no longer serve much of a purpose and will lose their impact. When anxiety arises, and we're aware of it, it's a process of purification. Those feelings were potentially in your subconscious, governing your behaviors all along, it's just now coming to light, being aware of it is a healing of the mind, a letting go.

[Carl-Richard]

30 minutes ago, mac99 said:

If I stop for a period of time of healing, the anxiety bounces back stronger than ever even after all that healing work like it was all for nothing, and if I stop for even a month, the anxiety becomes too overwhelming, I can't function properly let alone hold a job, suicide starts to become pretty attractive at that point.

I tend say this to everyone, but for you it sounds particularly important: consistency is the key. If the problem is that when you stop meditating, everything goes bad, then you just need to not stop meditating. It doesn't have to be for long every day either. You just need one moment every day where you focus all your attention on meditation. That said, if we're being realistic, there is nothing in the course of a normal day that will make you unable to spend 1 hour for yourself where you have nothing else to do. So it's just about finding that time, fully dedicating it to meditation, and making it a part of yourself. Also, to me, unless you're completely obsessed with meditation, 2-4 hours is a bit much, and you don't want to burn yourself out either. You can do that, but just don't make it an all-or-nothing deal where it's like you've "failed" if you don't get 4 hours in. And of course, if you're talking about spreading it out (e.g. 1hr in the morning, 1hr in the evening), that is more overcomeable. Just make sure it's quality time.

Edited February 2, 2023 by Carl-Richard

[Nilsi]

Combine meditation with exposure therapy.

You must be anxious of something. Even if it's 20 different things you're anxious of, get clear on that they are; write them all out. Start with the easiest one; create a list of procedures that will progressively get you desensitized to that thing.

If you're afraid to talk in public, start by talking to yourself, then to a friend, then to a group of friends... you get the idea. The key is to make these steps so incremental that you actually do them. Then you just put one foot in front of the other.

You need to fill your mind with positive reference experiences if you really want to thrive and overcome your anxiety. The story you tell yourself has to become one of overcoming, not of stagnation.

Meditation will calm you enough to reflect on your anxiety effectively and to take those steps; but you have to face those fears - that's really what therapy is about.

Of course your physiology will contribute to this massively as well, so make sure you get enough sleep, eat the right shit, exercise etc. 

[SeaMonster]

Let me share my highly un-PC and insensitive model of anxiety.  I used to have anxiety disorder before I made changes in my life, so this is from personal self-discovery (including psychedelics.)

Anxiety is what babies have when mommy isn't responding or daddy is absent.  It's a response of "shit, I've been abandoned."  It's basically "the world is a threatening place AND I'm helpless to deal with it."

The problem is that second part: I'm HELPLESS to deal with it.  I depend on others to an unhealthy extent.

This is a normal response if you're an infant.  If you're an adult, it means you have to rectify the feelings of helplessness in dealing with the world.  Maybe it's by acquiring more skills, more self-reliance, by shoring up your weaknesses or intentionally facing your fears.  Maybe it's as simple as cooking for yourself or doing regular physical exercise.

The point is, if you think meditation is a panacea, you're going to be disappointed.  It's just a tool to get you to the place where you're ready to make positive changes in your life.  So you may as well think about what that needs to look like now.

[Michal__]

Well, if you have mental health problems then stick with eg. breath counting or other similar concentration techniques.

Those can be extremely helpful.

Even relatively high doses are something you might be able to handle and still receive mainly benefits.

I'd keep Vipassana to a minimum in your case since that will make mental health issues worse before it makes them better.

[Grateful Dead]

5 hours ago, mac99 said:

Do you think mindfulness meditation can heal it completely? 

No mindfulness will not solve all your problems. But a certain amount of mindfulness is necessary to work through your stuff. So you need to combine mindfulness with a deep psychological examination of your psyche. In order to heal, you must find the source of your anxiety, understand why it is there, and what it takes to heal.

[something_else]

6 hours ago, mac99 said:

especially social anxiety

Social anxiety is weird. You can heal your social anxiety completely in certain situations and still have it really bad in other situations. I can go into a loud club and talk to everyone I meet but I can't hold a conversation with my local barista without getting filled with anxiety.

So even if you can use mindfulness to quell anxiety overall (which I'd say you absolutely can, it gives you a sense that no matter what happens you'll be OK and allows you to have enough peace of mind to access that when you're anxious) there will likely still be situations that need more direct work to address.

[Salvijus]

Learning to observe things objectively is a great art of mastering the quality of your life and destiny. The act of observation turns all turbid energies into harmony by itself. It's a spiritual law somehow. It purifies your karma u and makes u grow in awareness aswell.

Learning to observe sensations, feelings, emotions objectively has many levels and degrees to it. The more self aware u become the greater your ability to turn discordant energies into peace becomes. At some point u can turn the entire hall of people into peaceful energy by the same power of shining your awareness of everything.

The good thing is every bit of progress that one makes will pay off into a better and better life. Better and better life continuesly without end. Better and better and better and better and... continuesly.

At some point being in a state of presence becomes your second nature. Then you're in an effortless meditation 24/7 reaping the benefits of meditation by not doing anything ? 

So it's a good thing to practice everyone should do it imo. It's not the ONLY solution here. But it is one of the really fantastic ways of doing it and always pays off.

Edited February 3, 2023 by Salvijus