Monday, July 20, 2009

A Treatment for Anxiety is Meditation

By Gordon Dalwood

Although anxiety can be present in various levels of severity, it is none the less a serious condition with which millions of people are faced with each and every day of their lives. While for some people anxiety may be little more than a nuisance, for others it can be extremely debilitating as these people are forced to live with the threat of frequent panic attacks. Irrespective of how slight or how severe your anxiety level is, it's vital that you seek proper treatment.

The treatment most commonly used for anxiety is therapy and in addition prescribed medications are also used. But there are people who prefer to use a more holistic method of dealing with the anxiety problem. This will includes a therapy which employs meditation which has shown great success even for severe sufferers of anxiety.

Unfortunately, there tends to be somewhat of a misconception with regards to meditation therapy, in that many people see it as being slightly weird, believing that it has little value to offer in a real world. To the contrary though, meditation is renowned for its ability to help one relax and this in itself, is the very foundation of dealing with anxiety. It is the resulting calmness which helps to block out all the "mental noise" which people have to cope with when anxiety strikes.

Contrary to what many people believe, basic meditation can in fact be done even when you're walking or moving. For the most part, meditation requires that you clear your mind of thought, primarily by distancing yourself from images, thought, events and people. Furthermore, in addition to being able to meditate on something in particular, one can also meditate with a totally clear mind instead. Interestingly enough, one method which has proved to be extremely popular, is to meditate on a Zen koan

A Zen Koan is simply a rhetorical riddle with no real answer. The purpose of the Koan is to develop critical analysis skills designed to gain insight into one's own personal nature. While this may seem complex, it really is not. It is simply a matter of relaxing and allowing the mind to relax with it. This removes much of the clutter in the mind that allows the anxiety it is facing to dissipate.

Meditation practices are not difficult to learn. The Internet is full of resources that describe this process in detail. The steps can be followed which will lead to a basic understanding of the best way to benefit from meditation.

Of course, there will be those that may have more than a few reservations about meditating by themselves. Some individuals are not fans of such solitary pursuits and would prefer a little company. If this is how you feel, signing up for Yoga classes could solve this problem. Yoga integrates meditation into its sessions and that allows the mind to achieve the much needed calming effect to reduce stress, anxiety, panic, and depression.

Practicing yoga in your home is also recommended when you are not in class. This is helpful to achieve a habit of solitary meditation. Alleviating your anxiety will be accomplished. This is not a new concept. Meditation has been a method of relieving anxiety for many thousands of years. Why has it been used for so many years? Because it works. This is the reason that meditation should be tried by those who have anxiety problems.

Whether or not this is the first time you've heard about meditation therapy, you can be rest assured that it's been in use for thousands of years already. Surely, if meditation didn't work, it wouldn't still be around today. If you suffer from anxiety, give it a try because after all, you have nothing to loose.

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