God, today help me set aside everything I think I know about You, everything I think I know about myself, everything I think I know about others, and everything I think I know about my own recovery so I may have an open mind and a new experience with all these things. Please help me see the truth.
[Read more…]Why You Have Intense Emotions, and How to Cope
It is normal to experience a broad range of emotions. In fact, emotions are what make us human! Common emotions include sadness, joy, excitement, fear, guilt, anger, shame, and anxiety, to name a few. Experiencing a broad range of emotions is natural and unproblematic. However, intense emotions or rapid fluctuations between positive and negative emotions can be a source of great pain and distress for you and for those around you.
[Read more…]Negative Meditation Experiences: Is It Safe to Meditate?
Background: Meditation’s health benefits
Meditation and mindfulness practices have become more accepted in Western cultures since the late 1990’s. There are several reasons for this. A primary one is the research and writing of Jon Kabat-Zinn, a scientist who adapted a Southeast Asian Buddhist meditation practice for a Western audience.
His work focuses on a practice called mindfulness meditation. Kabat-Zinn initially, in the late 1970s, focused on patients suffering from chronic pain. His research showed promising results for these patients. His work led to an expansion in research on what other conditions improve with mindfulness meditation. In the following years, studies showed that mindfulness and meditation produce benefit for those suffering from other conditions as well. These include hypertension, insomnia, as well as various anxiety and mood disorders.
[Read more…]Mindfulness of Emotions: How Can It Help You?
More and more people are seeing benefits from learning and practicing mindfulness. It helps them decrease stress and stress-related illnesses, and to improve their mental health by learning how to let go of painful thoughts or feelings. In my work, patients often ask how to be mindful around their emotions. This question usually arises after realizing that one has great difficulty controlling intense emotions (i.e. going from “0 to 100”) that may be triggered in uncomfortable or distressing situations.
[Read more…]Feeling Overwhelmed? How to Know When to Get Anxiety Help
Everyone experiences anxiety at some point during their lifetime. It’s natural to be concerned about a big test or interview or to feel anxious about your finances after losing a job. However, some people suffer from excessive worries or panic attacks that begin to affect their everyday functioning. When this happens, it can be hard to complete daily tasks. Constant worry may become physically exhausting. So how do you know when to get help for anxiety?
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