This is Mental – Meditation really can improve your mental health!

In 2013, it was reported that there were 8.2 million cases of anxiety in the UK!  In addition, in 2018, 4619 people in the UK undertook a study to determine how many of them in the past year had felt so stressed that they were unable to cope.  The results showed that a whopping 74% of these people were struggling to cope with stress.  These figures really do highlight the importance of finding better ways to tackle stress, depression and anxiety.  This negative mental state causes those who succumb to it to lose interest and pleasure in life, creates feelings of guilt and low self-worth, causes disturbed sleep and appetite changes, as well as low energy and poor concentration. 

With everything that is going on in the world right now, these symptoms will no doubt be increased greatly, and after restrictions are lifted, many of us will struggle to regain control of our lives. 

More and more people are now turning to meditation to help them with symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress in order to assist them in feeling better.  It is easy to see why meditation is on the rise when you look into the studies conducted on the benefits of a daily practice.

Meditation has been proven to reduce your stress levels, and in turn helps relieve the symptoms of stress related illnesses such as IBS, Fibromyalgia and PTSD (amongst many others).

Studies have also shown that regular meditation can also reduced symptoms of anxiety disorders, such as phobias, social anxiety, paranoid thoughts, obsessive-compulsive behaviours and panic attacks.

Other benefits include improving your emotional health, enhanced self-awareness, increased attention span, improved sleep, can lower blood pressure, help with managing pain and so much more.  Meditation is proven to be an all-round great way to deal with stress, anxiety and depression.

It can be extremely difficult at first for some people to get into meditation, you’re likely to have all sorts of thoughts buzzing through your mind.  However, this is called a meditation practice for a reason.  It takes time to master, and even then you’re always learning, and always developing your meditation skills. 

The best way to start is to start small, with a short guided meditation.   Some of my favourites include those you can easily find on You Tube such as Louise Hay, Michael Sealy, Jason Stevenson, Deepak Chopra and Gabrielle Bernstein. 

Commit to trying a daily practice for at least 21 days, this will allow enough time for you to start quietening your mind, getting used to the stillness, and begin reaping the benefits. 

Top Tips:

1. Find somewhere you will not be disturbed whilst you meditate.  Lie down or sit up, whichever is comfiest for you.
2. Meditation is best done with headphones – This helps block out outside noises.
3. If you find your mind wandering, accept the thought and take yourself back to your breathing
4. If you find you get disturbed by your children / husband / wife / pet etc, try an evening meditation that allows you to fall asleep after you are finished.
5. Be easy on yourself, this is a practice and you will find it easier the more you do it.

Here are a few meditations to get you going:

Got 5 Minutes? Sign up for this free 5 minute guided meditation for positive affirmations: https://gabbybernstein.com/positiveenergy-eu/

Got 12 Minutes? Try: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2HG2m8U2yJ4

Got 20 minutes? Try: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9ZR_CJhuLc

Photo by Jared Rice on Unsplash