7 replies to this topic

[timbrownson]

I used to meditate a lot until about a year or so ago and then I got busy with work and started suffering from severe fatigue that made it difficult to continue. Actually that's a pathetic excuse, but I did drop off to the point where I was sitting less than once a month.

When I was writing my last book I did a lot of investigation into meditation and the scientifically proven and peer reviewed effects.

One thing that kept coming up again and again was how beneficial meditation was for people with depression. Now obviously it's not going to cure everybody, but the success rate are phenomenal and the only side effects are improvement in overall health and happiness levels!!!

Other than a very short period fairly recently when I had a lot of crap going on in my life, I've never really suffered from depression. However, during that period I reinstalled a daily practice and it helped me immensely.

I must confess to only scanning the site, but I haven't seen much mention of something that can help the majority of people.

So I'm intrigued to know, is it anything you have considered and if not, what has stopped you?

Not sure if anybody is interested, but I talk about it in a video on YouTube and try and dispel some of the myths. (Admins if posting stuff like this is against the T's and C's please feel free to delete it)

If you haven't tried it, I urge you to give it a go. It has no side effects and best of all, it's free!

[Lundeliz]

Hi!
Actually I have been giving meditation some thought lately. Not only for myself, but for my 10 yr. old

granddaughter who suffers from anxiety. I think it might really benefit her. But where do we start?

Are there books to teach us how to meditate? I would appreciate any tips or suggestions. Thanks!

[timbrownson]

I would probably start by checking out Wildmind It's run by Buddhist teacher Bodhipaksa. I have a couple of his guided meditations and I love them. They walk you through the whole process and make it easy to understand and to follow. I'd also recommend a cd set by Buddhist teacher Jack Kornfield (Not to be confused with Jack Canfield!!!) called The Inner Art of Meditation. It's a workshop he ran with talks and short meditations and probably my favorite of all time.

There's lot of stuff, much of it free, on the net and lots of sites dedicated to helping your practice. Just don't get overwhelmed by all the different options because fundamentally they are all about controlling your attention and being mindful

And you're right, it would help your granddaughter. Imagine how brilliant she will be at calming her mind by the time she gets into her teens!

BTW, I have written an ebook on dealing with social anxiety. If you'd like a free copy e-mail me at tim at a daring adventure dot com because you may be able to use some of the stuff with your granddaughter. In fact if anybody here would like a copy let me know.

Best of luck with it.

[Lundeliz]

Thank you so much for the tips. I really appreciate it and I"ll

email you about the ebook. Thanks again!

[Solauerbach]

has anyone else here every tried meditating to help with cymbalta withdrawel?
if yes, have you seen any success?

[gail]

Sol,

You can start a new topic on this since it is old and nobody will see it. There are many who have used meditation. I did for a while. And stopped because the anxiety was too overwhelming.

[fishinghat]

I agree with Gail again Sloa. Meditation does help but only to a point. Once the anxiety gets too bad it becomes overwhelming.

[Carleeta]

Sola,

 

Meditation is wonderful. Does it help with Cymbalta withdrawal? It depends on how the withdrawal from Cymbalta affects each individual. As each person is different, there is a percentage (Fishinghat know this percentage and will mention when he pops in again) of individuals which have severe withdrawals. If you fall into this percentage, then I feel it won't help, as others have mentioned. As you mentioned on the other thread you have experienced panic attacks before the one you experienced lately.  Have you ever tried any meditation prior to your questions here on this forum?

 

In my personal case I suffered from agoraphobia (sever anxiety where I was unable to leave my house) long before I was ever put on any antidepressants.  Meditation works/ worked well for me before Cymbalta and other antidepressants and after.  Everyone is different.  Meditation is sort of a life long routine. Having said that,  I feel if you are suffering severe symptoms, jumping right into meditation will not work or it will take some time before you feel less panic.