Would it be possible to heal a depression with the techniques of meditation?
Apr.02, 2007 in
Meditation techniques
Greek Oracle asked:
For those who read the book:
For those who read the book:
“Destructive Emotions.How can we overcome them? A scientific dialogue with the Dalai Lama.”
Narrated by David Goleman
According to the tests they did with Lama Oesal:
WOULD IT BE POSSIBLE TO HEAL A DEPRESSION WITH THE TECHNIQUES OF MEDITATION?
Please, I’m looking for answers from people who have read the book.
The idea is not in the mainstream of it, but a conclusion like this could be formulated considering the experiments done with Lama Oesal.
Even so, thanks for your ideas so far.
Question posted courtesy of: Caffeinated Content for WordPress
April 6th, 2007 at 11:48 pm
Yes, but realize that those who struggle with depression have to struggle for life…it is a constant battle, but with positive force (like God) you can do it.
April 9th, 2007 at 5:58 pm
meditation has long been considered a complementary therapy for people suffering from depression. not many doctors recommend it, however, which is a shame. meditation can allow you to completely focus on your inner self as well as help you to block out all of the negative thoughts that may be upsetting you. meditation involves deep breathing exercises which can help to calm and relax you, and make you feel more “at peace” with yourself and with everything around you. this is enough to make some people suffering from depression feel less depressed, as the feeling of peace is all they really are searching for. others with more severe depression may not benefit from this and may require stronger therapy, such as with anti-depressants. but meditation can’t hurt, and it is a good place to start.
April 12th, 2007 at 2:43 am
Yes, if it is something your willing to push yourself to do faithfully and let the meditation heal you it is very possible. I find a lot of people on here say that you probably need meds to do it but that’s not always the case if you want to do this without meds you need to find what works for you. and if meditation helps do it and stick to it. Please let me know how it works out. Keep your head up and remember it can be done. Good luck to you and congratulations on getting better
April 12th, 2007 at 5:47 am
speaking from someone who suffers from anxiety/panic disorder and having a family member with bipolar disorder, meditation can only help with certain forms of depression . . . if your depression stems from a chemical imbalance in the brain, you need to see a doctor and take medications which will correct the imbalance . . . if you are depressed due to now medical situation, mediation can help relieve depression as it will help rebalance your thoughts and inner well being, making you more relaxed to deal with things
April 15th, 2007 at 1:37 am
Mmmm, it’s possible. It all depends really. If it’s depression resulting from say, a lack of meaning in your life or if you know what the source of your depression is (i.e. something environmental or short-term), then yes, I would say meditation would be a good way to heal depression. Meditation, when done properly, can relax a person and can reconcile any kind of ’spiritual sickness’ or anxieties they have. It helps you contemplate and can put yourself at peace.
However, I must stress that if it’s something more serious, like say clinical depression, then help should be sought. If it is something caused by a chemical imbalance, then help should be sought. Self-medication rarely helps. In the end, if you can, it would be good to speak with someone. Therapists are highly supportive of meditation, but if it’s something more serious, then they’re going to want to recommend a therapy that will heal depression better.
April 15th, 2007 at 5:03 am
Abolutely not. Depression, true clinical depression is caused by an imbalance of serotonin and norepinepherine; two natually occurring chemicals in the brain that transfer from one nerve ending to another.
When there’s an imbalance, as in depression, the chemicals are out of whack and are misfiring, causing terrible feelings of worthlessness, sleeplessness, irratability, crying, suicidal thoughts and anxiety.
Depression needs to be treated by medication. When someone has Diabetes, they have an imbalance of insulin in their system and they need to take medication to stabilize it. Same thing with depression. SSRIs, are the most effective antidepressants out there. Paxil, Prozac and Zanax to name a few. These SSRIs (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors) work on correcting the imbalance of Serotonin and Norephinepherine in the brain.
Paxil, for instance, takes 2 to 4 weeks to completely get into your system and start working. Once you give it the chance to do so, you’ll gradually notice you’re starting to feel better and things that once really depressed you or made you anxious don’t seem to bother you much anymore.
Meditation on the other hand is a new-age approach to mental disabilities. It’s also very dangerous….what I mean is it’s used as an alternative to what you really need - which is medication.
You might meditate for awhile and feel alright for a bit. But the problem is still there…no matter how much you meditate, you’ll still have the imbalance of chemicals in your brain. Meditation might be a quick fix and might make you feel good for a few days or so, but it’s just covering up the underlying problem.
Medication sounds drastic to some people. It sounds as though you’re crazy and need to take pills every day to be able to function. That is not so. When someone has high cholesterol or high blood pressure, they need to be taking medication to correct it. Just because something’s imbalanced in the brain doesn’t make it any less serious. Depression is a miserable experience and the cause of countless suicides. Depression is the number one cause of suicides in the elderly. If the people who have died from depression would’ve given medication a try, they might be alive today. It’s very sad…
April 15th, 2007 at 2:41 pm
Hi.
If the emotional problems are not occuring because of a mental illness which is a chemical inbalance,then I think one can heal himself by meditation.
But meditation is not enough if one doesn’t know what to forget.
One should try to get over the feeling greed,arrogance,hatred and fear ,and all the bias which he has learnt throughout all his life .And by doing these one will have controlled his ego and can live a happier life for ego can be very distructive if you go the wrong way.
Meditation is for erasing everything that are wrong , you learn through this life. Meditation is like a ”medicine” to cure the illness of the soul.
During meditation,you get to contact the ”inner you” and unite with it.Therefor the bothering thoughts which doesn’t come from the inside of you but from the your ego can be erased for at least during the times you meditate.And as much as you meditate you’ll be more in touch with the purity inside of you.
These are my personal thoughts and the experience I got until today.And I am not an expert on meditational techniques.But I think one can use the meditative state although he’s not doing meditation at that moment by keeping the mind as a blank when the mind is not necessary to get involved.If positive thinking doesn’t work,then try o keep your mind ”blank” whenever you need it.It will finally help you think faster and better cos the unnecessary information is not involved.Sitting on the floor and repeating a mantra such as ”om” and not knowing exactly ”why” you’re doing it or you should do it doesn’t mean anything and it’s not helping at all.You need to know about the core.
I would recommend you the books of OSHO though he not only talks about meditation but covers most things you ought to be aware of.
My favourite books are:”Intuition” by OSHO and ”Intelligence” by OSHO.
April 18th, 2007 at 6:12 pm
Meditation may make it easier to get rid of depression but only due to the fact, it allows you to get your mind off YOU.. It does not however , allow the release of those stored emotions which remain a factor in depression.. Depression in and of itself will cause a hormonal change in the body and thereby a chemical imbalance. But those subconscious triggers will remain until such time as one learns how to delete them from the storage area.
April 21st, 2007 at 3:31 am
I was clinically diagnosed depressed when I was 15. I didn’t get “healed” b/c of med’s or meditation..Therapy! It’s expensive but it worked. Some ppl might disagree, but maybe I was really lucky and had a great therapist!!
April 23rd, 2007 at 1:38 am
of course and it really works if you can concentrate to the fullest..this really works as i’ve tried this before..try doing it in the middle of the night..remember to concentrate and think of the happy times you have been through and think about God as well..
April 24th, 2007 at 8:47 pm
I am not sure if we can do that by meditation. But one things which works for depression is keep on busy with the activities which we are good at.
Meditation abit while might help but not too long because it is also could lead you to sit still and sometime people cannot focus and meditate all the time if they are not well practiced.
April 27th, 2007 at 8:55 pm
it is very imp question—in my view minor woories and thinking and restless can be over come by mediatation–not the major disease————relgoius people use mediation -they have differnt ideas-some want to reach it to there devta some to budda—–yu can be in calam postion–yu can be in concentration——but as fr as problem are concern–we have to put insight in individual to ready him to accept in persomalit his emotion not–gave away from social path
April 27th, 2007 at 8:57 pm
I have read the book. As a practioner of meditation, a person who has overcome my depression and as one who is a psychologist/therapist, I feel I can answer this question. Meditation helps but does not cure it.
There are several things that one can do to overcome depression other than meds. What type of depression/anxiety do you have? What stage are you in?
I became a better therapist when I learned first hand how to deal with my depression/anxiety and overcame it.
There is a better way!