Can Meditation Help Anxiety?

Do you have some anxiety? Maybe a little sadness? The thing that you want to remember when you are trying to resolve anxiety or depression is to not stop anything that you are currently doing. In fact, to start resolving the anxiety, you would want to reinforce where you are and then work from there to help you manage the anxiety you feel.

If you are suffering from anxiety, it’s caused by something that you are worried about happening in the future. It’s something you can’t control right now. So, anxiety is solely a construct of your mind about the future.

Since it’s something in the future that could potentially come but isn’t here, meditation or mindfulness practices can help. Now, this doesn't mean you have to meditate for 3 hours a day in a field somewhere. This could start with fifteen minutes a few times a day.

The good news, meditation sessions build on each other. After six to eight weeks, meditation and mindfulness will rewire your brain. And that’s not a joke.

The neuroscience behind meditation of mindfulness is on its way to becoming extremely well understood. And it seems that it is remarkably beneficial. So the first place I would suggest you start is to find a meditation based cognitive therapist.

Meditation and mindfulness are built on Buddhist practice. One of the things that I like so much about mindfulness-based cognitive therapy is that while the lessons and the teachings are old-fashioned Zen teachings and stories, there isn’t that religious connection to it and it’s a little bit more accessible. For some people, it’s much easier to get into meditation because there isn’t a religious side to it.

So, if you are trying to find something to relieve anxiety, try meditation. But remember, you have to do it consistently over the next 5–6 weeks for it to actually change your brain and re-wire the way you think.