How meditation helps anxiety

**Posts:** 15 · by **mindbodyvortex** » Wed Mar 11, 2015 11:51 pm

The primary purpose of meditation isn’t to melt your anxiety. Instead, it’s to help you become more present right now, in this very moment. The anxiety reduction is just a pleasant side effect.

We often experience anxiety because we fixate on the past or on the future. However, when you’re meditating, you’re intentionally focused on the here and now.

Meditation also helps with anxiety because it quiets an overactive brain. For someone with anxiety, it sometimes feels like their mind is like a hamster on a wheel — constantly running, but not really getting anywhere.

We get anxious because we buy into our thoughts and feelings. We take them at face value and get overwhelmed. Yet our thoughts don’t warrant this undivided attention. Again, it’s just our minds spinning a slew of worries and what-ifs.

Meditating helps us stop overattending to our thoughts and feelings and allows us to get off the wheel, catch our breath, and get some perspective.

**Posts:** 2970 · by **quietvoice** » Thu Mar 12, 2015 3:35 am

mindbodyvortex wrote:The primary purpose of meditation isn’t to melt your anxiety. Instead, it’s to help you become more present right now, in this very moment. The anxiety reduction is just a pleasant side effect.

We often experience anxiety because we fixate on the past or on the future. However, when you’re meditating, you’re intentionally focused on the here and now.

Meditation also helps with anxiety because it quiets an overactive brain. For someone with anxiety, it sometimes feels like their mind is like a hamster on a wheel — constantly running, but not really getting anywhere.

We get anxious because we buy into our thoughts and feelings. We take them at face value and get overwhelmed. Yet our thoughts don’t warrant this undivided attention. Again, it’s just our minds spinning a slew of worries and what-ifs.

Meditating helps us stop overattending to our thoughts and feelings and allows us to get off the wheel, catch our breath, and get some perspective.

Are you Tom Corboy?

**Posts:** 40 · by **TeeJee** » Thu Mar 12, 2015 7:49 am

Well said.. Meditation is indeed a healthy form of relaxation.

**Posts:** 12 · by **Tom Lynam** » Thu Mar 12, 2015 11:44 am

Agreed. Although the approaches / thoughts behind practicing are also important. Some of the traditional Tibetan approaches cultivate serenity of the mind, being able to achieve a state of ultimate and unshakable calm. While this is great and gives time for the mind to be clear and uncluttered, it can be hard to transfer this to everyday living. I'm rather a fan of Zen, which supports living presently with all its changes and unpredictability as opposed to the mind being passive and one constant, calm channel. 'The wisdom of insecurity' by Alan Watts, marvelous book.

**Posts:** 8 · by **Encased** » Tue Mar 17, 2015 1:46 am

Anxiety is typically caused by a uncontrolled active mind, so yes, mediation is nice. Issue is, people with active anxiety typically struggle most accomplishing something as slow and relaxed as mediation. But it's definitely a useful practice!

**Posts:** 39 · by **EdLee** » Mon Mar 23, 2015 8:51 am

I love how meditation can help people overcome their anxiety.

**Posts:** 3 · by **Marksteven** » Wed Mar 25, 2015 11:53 am

If you want to observe incredible and long lasting impact, you need to seek spiritual guidance. There is a phenomenon that can alter the worst conditions of restlessness and bringing smooth placidity to life. It is undoubtedly one of the most effective things for people. It has absolute impact on not just your physical aspect, but your mental balance as well. The phenomenon of energy transmission, which is supported by scientific researches, has the ability to defeat anxiety. People feel greatly relaxed after receiving the energy transmission from Mahendra Kumar Trivedi.

**Posts:** 4 · by **GritGrowthGrat** » Sun Sep 27, 2015 5:31 pm

Even though it is an side effect, meditation has helped me conquer severe social anxiety and depression. I think it should be taught in school as a preventive technique.

**Posts:** 1554 · by **laureat** » Mon Sep 28, 2015 1:00 am

Meditation is really good to start with, so one can deal with qnxiety

Meditation to bring oneself back to the center,

You go for summer, holidays, and you meditate + sunbath and it is really loving and relaxing

But when you get back home, you get back to job, you may become anxious again, if that is the case What we should do about it, we should focus how we approach the situation,
And learn to create different experience with the situation

**Posts:** 8 · by **ZigaASZ** » Sat Apr 29, 2017 7:37 pm

It's important to adapt meditation to your needs at the moment, sometimes even 5 minutes of controlled breathing will guide you through overwhelming situations.
Remember, there's no right way or wrong way to meditate. Many benefits come with meditation. Overall it'll help you de-stress, and you'll certainly feel better afterward. Besides stress reduction, meditation makes you more self-aware and less depressed.

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