I usually tell clients I could spend an entire session talking about meditation, and as I do in session, I will try to make this concise. Why it is one of the number one treatments for a lot of mental health and addiction disorders? How does it prove itself useful time and time again in research?
Well let’s digress just for a moment… a lot of people think that therapy is for “crazy” people. I try to stay away from using that word at all, but the bottom line is that therapy is for literally ANYONE! One of the main jobs of a therapist is to help people slow down, pay attention to themselves, and gain an understanding of why they operate the way they do. Once that ground work is achieved, we may be able to look for areas that need improvement. Do you know ANYONE who is perfect? If so, I’m interested… Point is, because there’s no one perfect, everyone could use therapy, unless he/she is perfectly content with not improving. And believe me, a good portion of the population isn’t really interested in self-improvement, which is fine- no judgment. Anyway, what does any of this have to do with meditation? Well…
…meditation teaches us to SLOW down, and PAY ATTENTION to ourselves. It is an uncomfortable practice, and it is a discipline, but it points us in the right direction for self-improvement.
Most people think that the point of meditation is to relax or sleep, and that is a useful byproduct for sure; however, I believe it’s intentions are deeper.
Our society is one of impulse- we want it, and we want it NOW! Meditation teaches us that we can wait, and we don’t need to react right now. This improves decision making and impulse control.
It also teaches us that we can be experience negative emotions and learn to be okay with them. Many mental health and addiction disorders surround avoidance and not wanting to feel, so it makes sense how meditation is helpful.
So there you have it, the 4 reasons meditation goes for the win! Most of the time when I am introducing meditation to clients, I suggest this video:
The background on this guy is pretty interesting, and this demonstration helps gain an understand of a practice many misunderstand. Check it out, and we can chat about your thoughts!