Meditation: is it really suitable for everyone?

Meditation has recently become more popular, but researchers who have spent many years studying this practice are concerned about this state of affairs. Their fear is based primarily on the fact that, like many other quirks that have swept the world in the recent past, meditations can be generally forgotten when people discover that, in spite of the hype, this is not a magical panacea for pain or problems .

Nevertheless, specialists do not doubt its advantages. There are a lot of people who say that they were able to change their lives for the better, when they began to practice meditation.

What the Researchers Say

But scientific research gives us fewer reasons for enthusiasm. Not so long ago, scientists completed a large study, during which they found that some forms of meditation have no influence on how people cope with stress, how they behave in everyday life, at their level of depression and anxiety. Fortunately, the data from many other studies, taken as a whole, confirm its usefulness. On average, meditation really helps to cope with depression and anxiety, but its effects are not so great and not much better than the results achieved with any other intervention.

Lesson for not all

That's why scientists conclude that meditation is not suitable for everyone, despite its current status as a panacea for each of our patients. Sometimes meditation does work for someone. But when it does not help you, it can make you feel disappointed at best. At worst, you will feel unhappy. So if you have already tried meditation and decided that this is not for you, you should not feel bad about it. There are many other strategies to improve your health and improve well-being.

Tips for Beginners

But if you have not yet tried meditation and want to see if this can be of use to you, here are some simple tips:

1. Give yourself time to try - a week or two. First practice short meditation sessions. A few good sessions of five to ten minutes are better than one long, which will bring disappointment. And if you find that meditation is hard for you, welcome to the club! Still no one person said that it's easy.

2. Try to use different applications, especially at the very beginning, since they can serve as a guide and a basis for starting classes. Now there are a lot of good and free apps, so you can choose.

3. If you have the opportunity, join a group of people studying meditation. Despite the fact that this is a solitary practice, a support group can do a lot for you.

4. If you are struggling with anxiety or depression, make sure that these problems are under your control, and you do not need outside help to start meditating. To do this, you can use various books on the topic, for example, "A Careful Way Through Depression" by Mark Williams and John Tisdale. This book introduces you to cognitive therapy based on meditation.

5. If you have tried meditation and feel that it is not for you, do not be surprised. Despite the hype, this practice really does not suit everyone. And that's fine, because there are many other ways to improve your well-being.