Depression and anxiety

[hibsbollah]

https://www.afp.com/en/news/3955/rep...rs-doc-1qp5ba3

Hard to know which board this should go on, but 20% of 1600 players surveyed across Europe show signs of anxiety, 13% show signs of depression, due to covid lockdown. In a way not surprising but the numbers are really dramatic.

[SteveHFC]

My mental health got really bad over the past month. I'm now doing CBT once a week and i'm on medication to help with my mental health. Hopefully i can get back to feeling better soon.

[Sir David Gray]

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My mental health got really bad over the past month. I'm now doing CBT once a week and i'm on medication to help with my mental health. Hopefully i can get back to feeling better soon.

Hope you're ok pal.

[Mibbes Aye]

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My mental health got really bad over the past month. I'm now doing CBT once a week and i'm on medication to help with my mental health. Hopefully i can get back to feeling better soon.

Hope the CBT helps, I hear a lot of positives about it and my personal view is it would work for me. Hope it works. Best wishes.

[wpj]

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My mental health got really bad over the past month. I'm now doing CBT once a week and i'm on medication to help with my mental health. Hopefully i can get back to feeling better soon.

Stick in there mate, there are many of us here if you need a chat

[Dalianwanda]

For the last few weeks I’ve been hosting daily 15min guided meditations at 8.15am. No cost and anyone’s welcome to join in. Just on my facebook page john g coaching so like or follow and you’ll be able to join in if you fancy it.

[CropleyWasGod]

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For the last few weeks I’ve been hosting daily 15min guided meditations at 8.15am. No cost and anyone’s welcome to join in. Just on my facebook page john g coaching so like or follow and you’ll be able to join in if you fancy it.

Good stuff 🙏

How's the take-up been?

[Dalianwanda]

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Good stuff 🙏

How's the take-up been?

Cheers mate. It kinda fluctuates between 10 - 30 folk per live session then i just leave them up for a couple of days as there’s a good few cant make it so just watch the recording. Il just keep doing them as long as there’s people joining in :-)

[Smartie]

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For the last few weeks I’ve been hosting daily 15min guided meditations at 8.15am. No cost and anyone’s welcome to join in. Just on my facebook page john g coaching so like or follow and you’ll be able to join in if you fancy it.

If you don’t mind me asking a daft question - what EXACTLY is meditation and what is it meant to achieve?

A friend of mine has pretty serious mental health issues for a while and went to stay at a place called Plum Village in France (he ended up staying for the best part of 10 years).

I think he’s now trained as a counsellor and he swears by meditation, but I’ve never really understood what it is about.

[Dalianwanda]

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If you don’t mind me asking a daft question - what EXACTLY is meditation and what is it meant to achieve?

A friend of mine has pretty serious mental health issues for a while and went to stay at a place called Plum Village in France (he ended up staying for the best part of 10 years).

I think he’s now trained as a counsellor and he swears by meditation, but I’ve never really understood what it is about.

Its not a daft question Theres lots of different ways to meditate but broadly speaking its the practice of focussed attention. Noticing (being aware of) something such as breath, a feeling or a particular thought and using that as a reference point if the mind drifts off as something to come back to. I meditate on noticing awareness but that take a bit longer to explain ;-)

The only time we experience stress, anxiety ect is when we are engaged in thought about it. If we are judging the thought or feeling as bad wrong worse negative then the minds gonna get pretty active trying to work out what needs to be done to feel better. Meditating allows you to notice experience without any judgement (its not good or bad, it just is). If it 'just is' then theres no problem to be fixed so the mind has less to do so to speak.

What is it meant to acheive? Well in the actual practice of meditation your not trying to achieve anything but notice experience, move attention & allow it all. The by-product of doing this is that you may experience more sense of calm or peace. With more awareness of thoughts and emotions, you may not react or get caught up in them as much as you would have before.

A lot of people give up on meditation because its not giving them an experience they want. eg quiet mind, good feelings. Really what's happened is they have gone into the meditation judging the experience (thinking about it) and if its not giving that experience thinking they cant do it or its not for them. By going into it with no expectation you can never get it wrong.

Happiness, love, calm, peace are all our natural default settings (yes I know sometimes that can be hard to believe)they take no effort. When you arent engaged in thought you generally fall back into one of these. Anger, sadness, frustration etc all take a lot of effort to stay in. You have to engage in a lot of thought and push back on a lot of experience to stay in these states.

Ive taught and meditated for years but I still have all types of thoughts & I still experience all the emotions but I dont get as caught up in them as I used to. I can see the experience rather than be it. (and Im human so Im not saying that I always manage that ;-)

My focus these days is to point back to awareness. That thing thats almost impossible to describe thats been shining a light on every experience youve had since you were born. Everything appears and disappears within awareness but most people dont recognise this & focus on the temporary stuff that pops up in aware.

Anyway hope this helps a bit. As I say if you fancy joining in a do free sessions every day at 8.15....Best way to learn is to give it a try :-) Experience is everything

[CropleyWasGod]

I was about to post my own personal definition of meditation, but DW nailed it first :)

Suffice to say that, for me, it has been a major part of my own mental health toolbox for many years.

It's not an easy thing to do, yet at its heart, it couldn't be simpler. If you're keen to explore, I'd suggest a class or a guided meditation (such as DW's) to get your brain and body used to the basics

And, for the avoidance of doubt, it really doesn't need to be spiritual or religious.

[Captain Trips]

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My mental health got really bad over the past month. I'm now doing CBT once a week and i'm on medication to help with my mental health. Hopefully i can get back to feeling better soon.

Yes, I take medication and have done for last 4yrs has helped me immensely. I guess it maybe why all this has not affected me really as a few years ago I would be making up negative scenarios regarding work etc. You sound like you are going about things correctly so stick with the medication and if after a while you feel the medication isn't right just tell them you want to try something else. You will credit the CBT and the Meds once you get on track but always remember to give biggest credit to yourself.

[HH81]

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My mental health got really bad over the past month. I'm now doing CBT once a week and i'm on medication to help with my mental health. Hopefully i can get back to feeling better soon.

Steve, not sure what's up but if you need anything PM me.

[wpj]

I love this thread, has given me so much support in various ways.
Dalianwanda, I try to meditate but my mind keeps drifting off, I tend to overthink things but can't achieve that calmness.

[CropleyWasGod]

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I love this thread, has given me so much support in various ways.
Dalianwanda, I try to meditate but my mind keeps drifting off, I tend to overthink things but can't achieve that calmness.

It's almost impossible for your mind not to wander. When it does, congratulate yourself for noticing, and bring your focus back to your breath.

[Dalianwanda]

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I love this thread, has given me so much support in various ways.
Dalianwanda, I try to meditate but my mind keeps drifting off, I tend to overthink things but can't achieve that calmness.

Exactly what CWG said....The mind is always going to be throwing up thoughts and that’s cool. My attention drifts all the time but that’s not getting it wrong. Main thing is your noticed it and then just to bring it back.

I’ve recordings of the last few days on my page. Give that a go see how you get on.

I mentioned in my previous post it’s not about judging the experience. It’s all about just allowing all experience. Don’t try harder just allow more :-)

We’re so used to doing stuff to get an outcome. The by product of just allowing may be a calmer mind but don’t go into it with any expectation, go in with innocence.

[CropleyWasGod]

A Meditation student asks their teacher how long it will take them to gain enlightenment if they practice diligently.

"Ten years," says the teacher.

"Well, how about if I really work and double my effort?"

"Twenty years."

[wpj]

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Exactly what CWG said....The mind is always going to be throwing up thoughts and that’s cool. My attention drifts all the time but that’s not getting it wrong. Main thing is your noticed it and then just to bring it back.

I’ve recordings of the last few days on my page. Give that a go see how you get on.

I mentioned in my previous post it’s not about judging the experience. It’s all about just allowing all experience. Don’t try harder just allow more :-)

We’re so used to doing stuff to get an outcome. The by product of just allowing may be a calmer mind but don’t go into it with any expectation, go in with innocence.

Thanks for the reply and also CWG. I do online meditation and it kinda works but I struggle to focus

[Smartie]

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Its not a daft question Theres lots of different ways to meditate but broadly speaking its the practice of focussed attention. Noticing (being aware of) something such as breath, a feeling or a particular thought and using that as a reference point if the mind drifts off as something to come back to. I meditate on noticing awareness but that take a bit longer to explain ;-)

The only time we experience stress, anxiety ect is when we are engaged in thought about it. If we are judging the thought or feeling as bad wrong worse negative then the minds gonna get pretty active trying to work out what needs to be done to feel better. Meditating allows you to notice experience without any judgement (its not good or bad, it just is). If it 'just is' then theres no problem to be fixed so the mind has less to do so to speak.

What is it meant to acheive? Well in the actual practice of meditation your not trying to achieve anything but notice experience, move attention & allow it all. The by-product of doing this is that you may experience more sense of calm or peace. With more awareness of thoughts and emotions, you may not react or get caught up in them as much as you would have before.

A lot of people give up on meditation because its not giving them an experience they want. eg quiet mind, good feelings. Really what's happened is they have gone into the meditation judging the experience (thinking about it) and if its not giving that experience thinking they cant do it or its not for them. By going into it with no expectation you can never get it wrong.

Happiness, love, calm, peace are all our natural default settings (yes I know sometimes that can be hard to believe)they take no effort. When you arent engaged in thought you generally fall back into one of these. Anger, sadness, frustration etc all take a lot of effort to stay in. You have to engage in a lot of thought and push back on a lot of experience to stay in these states.

Ive taught and meditated for years but I still have all types of thoughts & I still experience all the emotions but I dont get as caught up in them as I used to. I can see the experience rather than be it. (and Im human so Im not saying that I always manage that ;-)

My focus these days is to point back to awareness. That thing thats almost impossible to describe thats been shining a light on every experience youve had since you were born. Everything appears and disappears within awareness but most people dont recognise this & focus on the temporary stuff that pops up in aware.

Anyway hope this helps a bit. As I say if you fancy joining in a do free sessions every day at 8.15....Best way to learn is to give it a try :-) Experience is everything

Thanks very much for the explanation.

I'm going to give it a shot - see you in the morning!

It sounds like it is exactly what I'm what I'm looking for.

[wpj]

Hopefully this doesn't annoy Dalianwanda but I have a copy of meditation for dummies, it is a useful guide. I have better luck with that than excel for dummies

[Dalianwanda]

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Hopefully this doesn't annoy Dalianwanda but I have a copy of meditation for dummies, it is a useful guide. I have better luck with that than excel for dummies

haha...I've not read it to be honest..Im guessing it would have a lot of different practices and a fair bit of theory which is cool....but....remember its all about witnessing, moving attention & allowing what ever happens. If you find it helpful, birilliant. Theres a tendency for people to make it too complicated too quickly. Keep it simple so your not getting bogged down in techniques and just enjoy the experience. Dont spend to much time looking at the finger when pointing to the moon :-)

[heidtheba]

Hope this is ok to post here, I'm not trying to post an 'I'm ok so all is well' type of thing but...lockdown has suited me down to the ground. I've always known I was an introvert, even if I can appear social. I like being around people but the thought processes and stresses exhaust me. I find it hard. My big worry right now isn't how to cope with lockdown, I'm enjoying the tranquility (although obviously missing family and some friends and worried about global situation etc etc), my big worry is how I recover when we're right back into it.

I'm a teacher and I'm also involved in my own personal work which involves lots of meeting members of the public. I'm relaxed about being on lockdown but now worrying about coping with being back.
I'm already having 'back in work' arguments in my own head with people that have done nothing to wrong me. I'm going to go back over the posts about meditation. They've been really helpful, thank you.

[Keith_M]

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I feel really weird saying this but is anyone else feeling remarkably better during this crisis? I’ve spent a hell of a lot of the past 10 years feeling down and thinking the worst about every possible scenario. Now that the **** has hit the fan I’m unbelievably upbeat, it might not last, but I hope I’m not the only one.

I realise this is an old post but just found it.

Just wanted to say... Wow! That's exactly how I've been feeling. I'm suddenly one of the calmest people around and have actually been helping other people get through their stress.

That's completely the opposite to the usual me

[Dalianwanda]

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Hope this is ok to post here, I'm not trying to post an 'I'm ok so all is well' type of thing but...lockdown has suited me down to the ground. I've always known I was an introvert, even if I can appear social. I like being around people but the thought processes and stresses exhaust me. I find it hard. My big worry right now isn't how to cope with lockdown, I'm enjoying the tranquility (although obviously missing family and some friends and worried about global situation etc etc), my big worry is how I recover when we're right back into it.

I'm a teacher and I'm also involved in my own personal work which involves lots of meeting members of the public. I'm relaxed about being on lockdown but now worrying about coping with being back.
I'm already having 'back in work' arguments in my own head with people that have done nothing to wrong me. I'm going to go back over the posts about meditation. They've been really helpful, thank you.

The cool thing is that your already noticing your having the 'back to work' arguments. For you to experience them you need to engage in thought about them. When you arent can you find them anywhere? So first thing, if you can see the thought you must be the witnesser of the thought. Those thoughts are nothing to do with you apart from being a temporary appearance within your awareness.

Worrying about the future doesnt mean your experiencing anything about the future, just a thought about it in the moment. As everything we experience is 'in our heads' for want of a better phrase the body is going to react the same whether its real or not. (I might think about food and salivate same as if I had a nice curry actually in front of me) So we have a feeling as a reaction to the thought. The feeling knows nothing about the thought its a biological reaction. So again play with seeing the thought for what it is and play with just allow that feeling to bubble up without doing anything else.

I dont like giving advice as such but just trying to point you back to somewhere I think you already realise you should be looking. Hope thats makes sense & if it doesnt feel free to ignore

[Smartie]

I mentioned to my other half that I was going to do the meditation session this morning to calm my brain down a bit as I was buzzing.

She said that I seemed calmer than the whole time we've been together, 12 years, which I am really.

Yesterday was just a bit mad in many ways. I'm on a WhatsApp group with old Uni mates, we all have similar businesses etc and we're trying to pick our way through this crisis. One of the lads turned his phone off for a couple of hours yesterday afternoon and came back to 269 messages. I've got computer open, windows and tabs everywhere, phone buzzing - in many ways I'm all over the place.

In many ways I'm perfectly calm. Every meal for weeks with my partner and daughter. Plenty of sleep. Minimal day to day work related aggro. Been able to work on some self help stuff throughout.

Just need to sort out the constant mental stimulation situation as it's pretty exhausting.


Really enjoyed the session this morning Dalianwanda.

[Dalianwanda]

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I mentioned to my other half that I was going to do the meditation session this morning to calm my brain down a bit as I was buzzing.

She said that I seemed calmer than the whole time we've been together, 12 years, which I am really.

Yesterday was just a bit mad in many ways. I'm on a WhatsApp group with old Uni mates, we all have similar businesses etc and we're trying to pick our way through this crisis. One of the lads turned his phone off for a couple of hours yesterday afternoon and came back to 269 messages. I've got computer open, windows and tabs everywhere, phone buzzing - in many ways I'm all over the place.

In many ways I'm perfectly calm. Every meal for weeks with my partner and daughter. Plenty of sleep. Minimal day to day work related aggro. Been able to work on some self help stuff throughout.

Just need to sort out the constant mental stimulation situation as it's pretty exhausting.


Really enjoyed the session this morning Dalianwanda.

Thats a cool realisation..

Glad you enjoyed it dude :-) That's the thing with thoughts, feelings and stuff, its always on the move always on the go. The awareness isnt. Thats why I generally anchor back to that at the end of the meditation. That peace is there all the time, it doesnt go anywhere its just we tend to look elsewhere for it and forget where its always been.

Hope to see you there again soon :-)

[Greenworld]

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Hope this is ok to post here, I'm not trying to post an 'I'm ok so all is well' type of thing but...lockdown has suited me down to the ground. I've always known I was an introvert, even if I can appear social. I like being around people but the thought processes and stresses exhaust me. I find it hard. My big worry right now isn't how to cope with lockdown, I'm enjoying the tranquility (although obviously missing family and some friends and worried about global situation etc etc), my big worry is how I recover when we're right back into it.

I'm a teacher and I'm also involved in my own personal work which involves lots of meeting members of the public. I'm relaxed about being on lockdown but now worrying about coping with being back.
I'm already having 'back in work' arguments in my own head with people that have done nothing to wrong me. I'm going to go back over the posts about meditation. They've been really helpful, thank you.

Its great reading in I'm the same because i feel safe in my private we world this lockdown is like heaven .
I can go we walks and seem to be more sociable . Then i can retreat to safety.
I totally get the guys worrying about going back into the big bad world so to speak but just maybe the slow re- entry everyone is going to face might just be a blessing for all those heading back into the working world.
As always i say to people what helps me the most is ejecting everthything from my life that pulls me down! Right now there is nothing so I'm like you guys in a good place .
Let's all learn from now try and apply it to our life's going forward . Its ok to be not ok .
Lecture over LOL




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[CropleyWasGod]

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Its great reading in I'm the same because i feel safe in my private we world this lockdown is like heaven .
I can go we walks and seem to be more sociable . Then i can retreat to safety.
I totally get the guys worrying about going back into the big bad world so to speak but just maybe the slow re- entry everyone is going to face might just be a blessing for all those heading back into the working world.
As always i say to people what helps me the most is ejecting everthything from my life that pulls me down! Right now there is nothing so I'm like you guys in a good place .
Let's all learn from now try and apply it to our life's going forward . Its ok to be not ok .
Lecture over LOL


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I have heard a lot of people saying similar things.

There's something about the slowing of pace , the silence, and the peace that a lot of people are going to miss. If one takes a spiritual view of the pandemic.... that Mother Earth is giving us a kicking.... that new attitude that you suggest is going to be so important going forward.

[Hibby Bairn]

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I have heard a lot of people saying similar things.

There's something about the slowing of pace , the silence, and the peace that a lot of people are going to miss. If one takes a spiritual view of the pandemic.... that Mother Earth is giving us a kicking.... that new attitude that you suggest is going to be so important going forward.

When I was out for a long walk today I found myself, unexpectedly, getting “angry” with people driving cars particularly those going fast or playing really loud music. Bordering on hatred 😂.

I couldn’t wait to get off the main road and into a park.

I haven’t filled my own car with petrol since 14th March and other than going to supermarkets I haven’t driven at all for 2 months.

Bizarre.

[Scorrie]

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I have heard a lot of people saying similar things.

There's something about the slowing of pace , the silence, and the peace that a lot of people are going to miss. If one takes a spiritual view of the pandemic.... that Mother Earth is giving us a kicking.... that new attitude that you suggest is going to be so important going forward.

I agree with a lot of that. I struggled with anxiety and depression going into lockdown probably due to a huge change in routine and no access to exercise which is a key part of my coping strategy. I sort of then got into the lockdown mode and enjoyed the peace. I now find myself anxious about coming out of lockdown with life going from 0-60 in 5 seconds and the risk of being overwhelmed. It really is going to have to be one step at a time over the next few weeks and months...