• heron@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    55
    ·
    1 year ago

    Mindfulness. You may not be able to turn off the (insert negative feeling here), but you absolutely can turn off the suffering.

    • sbv@sh.itjust.works
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      11
      ·
      edit-2
      1 year ago

      I tried guided meditation daily for two months and didn’t really notice a difference. Do you have any recommendations?

      EDIT: I should mention this was with the Headspace app, following their mindfulness uh… lessons.

      • Rumbelows@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        9
        ·
        1 year ago

        It took about a year to make a difference for me.

        I guess they call it mindfulness practice for a reason

      • klemptor@lemmy.ml
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        5
        ·
        1 year ago

        Oh man I tried meditation with Headspace too and I couldn’t hack it. For some reason meditation made me so angry! Like this weird rage would come out of nowhere.

        I did find it frustrating that the narrator would give a prompt for what to do, then just enough quiet time to begin, and then interrupt my effort with his talking. Aggravating! But the anger was a separate thing.

        I always thought meditation was supposed to help you feel calm and grounded but all it did was frustrate me. :(

        • AstridWipenaugh@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          2
          ·
          1 year ago

          It made you feel something. Now sit there quietly and think about why that is. What are you getting frustrated with? Why is it bothering you? Unfounded rage is trying to tell you something about yourself. There’s a reason, but you have to be able to be honest with yourself to figure out what it is. Once you can begin to understand it, you can begin to find ways to manage it.

          • klemptor@lemmy.ml
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            2
            ·
            1 year ago

            Lol that’s really funny…I actually hate yoga too, but it doesn’t provoke rage, just annoyance because the last thing I wanna do is listen to some white lady done on about chakras! But for it to provoke anger in inmates is disturbing.

      • heron@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        4
        ·
        1 year ago

        I’ve had good experience with the Waking Up app, which is primarily Insight Meditation. If you can, a multi-day silent retreat allows you to be truly immersed in the practice of just watching your mind and all of its silliness.

      • Call me Lenny/Leni@lemm.ee
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        2
        ·
        1 year ago

        When I was little, meditation was the buzz. I’ve tried it many times and I just found myself “sitting in style”. Meditation is described as inspired by hypnosis but they never tell you what to do when you’re from the small percentage of people immune to hypnosis.

        • heron@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          6
          ·
          1 year ago

          I have no doubt some people struggle more than others to get to the point where they can sit back and watch. It wasn’t immediately obvious to me either, but a couple of months of short daily practice enough to start seeing what the fuss was.

      • heron@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        13
        ·
        1 year ago

        Mental illness is treatable, and being aware of the symptoms as they’re happening is a major part of the treatment for many such illnesses.

        • Call me Lenny/Leni@lemm.ee
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          3
          ·
          1 year ago

          Yeah, but that doesn’t mean it completely goes away. Mental illness is the human equivalent of software issues, the very definition entails you can’t be like Neo from the Matrix and seize one’s own mind.

          • heron@lemmy.world
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            8
            ·
            1 year ago

            I’m not understanding your comment. Mindfulness is paying close attention to the actual experiences in consciousness, as opposed to just being carried along by thoughts. It’s not about taking control of your mind.

            • Call me Lenny/Leni@lemm.ee
              link
              fedilink
              English
              arrow-up
              1
              ·
              1 year ago

              Oh. Yeah that makes sense then. The way you described it in your original comment made it seem like gnostic-esque advice.