Depression is one of the most prevalent health issues in the modern world. There have been people comparing the mental health crisis to a tsunami sweeping across the world. The depression causing so many people pain can be caused by many different outside factors.
The stress of trying to succeed in a competitive business world, the lack of fulfillment coming from relationships or career, and of course just being prone to mental illness. There are so many different reasons people feel helpless and alone.
Luckily, there are many ways to help people going through depression. Medicine is constantly being improved to help people struggling with mental health, but if you want something more natural you should consider trying meditation. Here are some of the ways mindfulness meditation can help people with depression.
Looking Inward
Pretty much all of the depression happens inside your head. The symptoms might present outwardly but the actual depression happens inside. Meditation helps you focus on your body and mind.
Mindful meditation involves focusing on how your body and mind feel in the moment. It is about checking on yourself and spending time taking care of your brain. Letting yourself have a quiet moment to focus on how you feel can be very important for helping you get better.
If you can find the parts of your body that are uncomfortable or the thoughts in your brain that are causing you sadness you can begin to work on them. Giving yourself the time and the skills to check inward is a big part of meditation. It can also help you know how to handle your depression and what you need to do in order to feel better.
Happy Thoughts
Meditation releases chemicals in your brain similar to those released by laughter. It makes your brain feel happy and your body relax a bit. Finding something that makes your body feel such joy and relaxation when you are depressed is rare and should be cherished.
Giving your brain the natural chemicals it needs to feel happy for a while can be a huge relief when you are struggling with depression. The better you get at meditation and the longer you let yourself look inward the better you will feel. Meditation can give your brain the chemicals you aren’t producing by yourself when you are depressed.
Giving your brain the tools it needs to begin healing without using medicine is a big deal. Meditation can do that for you. Transforming the awful thoughts that come with depression into happy thoughts.
Learning Process
You are not going to be immediately great at meditation. It is a process that takes practice and makes you better over time. Luckily, you are going to feel just a little better the first time you try it.
Taking three minutes out of your day at a specific time every day is enough to get started. It will help ease you into the process of relaxing your brain and focusing on your breathing. If that doesn’t feel quite right to you there are other methods of meditation.
Sitting still in mindfulness meditation is very helpful. However, it is not your only option as far as mediation goes. There are a lot of different forms of meditation you can try if you find you are not ready to sit still and focus inward.
Learning more about yourself as you become better at meditation is part of the healing process. Every time you sit down with yourself to focus inward, you are going to heal a little more. Meditation is a learning process that benefits you every step of the way.
Constant Mindfulness
Practicing mindfulness does not have to stop at your allotted meditation time. There are so many times throughout the day you can check in on yourself and focus. Every time you are doing something monotonous is a time you could be practicing mindfulness meditation.
The time you would usually spend staring in the mirror as you brush your teeth could be used as a time to focus inward. Your walk to work or school could be a time to breathe and calm down. Even waiting in a doctor’s office or for a meeting could be used to let yourself heal with mindfulness meditation.
Having a healing process you can constantly work on and use is invaluable. Focusing on using your extra time to meditate and focus on how you feel will never be a waste of time. The whole healing process is not going to be completed in single sessions every day, so let yourself meditate throughout the day.
Benefits Outside of Depression
Meditation can help with your depression but that is not where the benefits end. Meditation actually helps with many different physical and mental health issues. It can also help you become a kinder person who focuses on others.
Some of the things meditation can help with include:
- Lowers blood pressure
- Calms stress
- Controls anxiety
- Fights addiction
- Helps you sleep
- Makes you happier
The number of things mindfulness meditation can help with goes far beyond just helping with depression. There are many benefits that can help make so many people’s lives better. Trying meditation could help you with many problems you did not even know you needed help with.
To Conclude
Mindfulness meditation will never be a waste of your time. If you suffer from depression meditation could be exactly the help you need. It certainly will not hurt you to try it.
Giving yourself the tools to know how to check inward is a big deal. Mindfulness meditation is a good way to learn how your body is supposed to feel and how your mind works at rest. Knowing your body inside and out is a great way to know when there is something wrong and how to fix it.
Depression is a devastating illness that is sweeping over the world like an epidemic. Medication is certainly helping many people, but the people it does not work for or who would prefer to try a natural method should consider meditation. It is a proven method of making your brain and body feel much better that only improves over time.
About The Author: Ashley Coblentz is a lifestyle blogger currently writing for essentialolie and a political journalist. After graduating from college, she worked as a Registered Nurse at one of the largest hospitals in South Dakota until deciding to be a full-time mom. She remains very passionate about the nursing profession and often volunteers in her extra time to teach community education classes on first aid and other related topics. She has one amazing child who keeps her on her toes. Who knew 10-year-olds could have so many questions? If you want to keep up with her and see what she’s writing next you can find her on Twitter or check out her portfolio for other fun reads.
The opinions and views expressed in this guest blog do not necessarily reflect those of www.rtor.org or its sponsor, Laurel House, Inc. The author and www.rtor.org have no affiliations with any products or services mentioned in this article or linked to herein.
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meditation is the deep thought activity and removes depression in the inner self
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