by Serena H.
Focus.
Breathe in, 2, 3, 4. Hold, 2, 3, 4. Out, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.
Meditation is a practice that has a long history and has been regularly utilized in many religions. Though it is mainly associated with practicing Buddhism, it has accompanied religions like Christianity, Judaism, and Hinduism. It has developed into different forms of prayer, divine readings and even yoga. It has been proven to improve symptoms of depression and anxiety among other illnesses. In a society where these mental illnesses are becoming more frequently discussed and cared for, taking this treatment more seriously can really make a difference.
Now you may be interested, but just don't know where to start. Well here’s a quick guide to starting and sticking to meditation.
Step 1: Reasons
First things first, you have to identify why you want to meditate. If it's to benefit your physical or mental health, great! If it's just for fun, that’s great too! Figure out what your reasons and goals are with your meditation. The reasons may change for each session, depending on the environment or issue you may be facing, but the goals should be relatively the same. If you goal is to decrease you anxiety, dealing with different symptoms like motivation, stress management is where you start in certain situations and place.
Step 2: Space
The next step is finding a good space to meditate. It should be a quiet or semi-quiet place, that you expect to not be disrupted. Sometimes that looks like sitting outside enjoying sunshine in the park or sitting on your living room floor. Meditation requires focused attention, which requires you to limit distractions and other stimuli. So yes, that means putting down your phone or turning it on Do No Disturb for a set amount of time.
Step 3: Time
Once you have a space, you need to take time. Invest your time into meditation whether that be weekly, daily, etc. Making it part of your schedule every week is helping you to regularly build skills to manage mental illnesses. Though symptoms to be sporadic in presentation and timing, meditations can help in the moment, but they do even more good if you build the foundation more regularly over time.
Step 4: Testing
Time commitments can vary as well as the topic of meditation. If you only have 5 minutes, a quick meditation is still possible for managing in the moment. However, I recommend if you want to make a long change, you should build up from those 5 minutes to 10 or 15. It takes some effort and time to find a time amount that works for you as well as a topic or method of meditation that works for you. At first, there may be aspect of mediation, like visualization, that you may struggle with and it takes time and practice to get better.
Step 5: Commit
Meditating regularly is important to really learning the skills and having it make a difference with mental illnesses. This take making meditation a habit. That means taking the extra step to prioritize it in your schedule, dedicate that time to really being present with the meditation and making that change. Making it a habit to meditate with make the skills you learn a habit too.
Meditation isn’t an easy task. It can be very challenging to find the time and space to do it, but if you’re looking for alternative or complementary treatments for some mental illnesses, meditation is a good place to start. It can help you build skills to manage illnesses as well and provide a healthy coping skills in the moment. Following these steps can set you on a healthier path. Good luck, and go in peace!