Meditation affecting anxiety?

[1109]

Could it be possible for meditation to possibly lower levels of anxiety?

[Shinobi]

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[1109]

Thank you both for the replies, I'll be sure to google those techniques you mentioned  

[CaCoDeMoN]

Vipassana meditation is excellent for not only lowering the level of anxiety, but also for controlling it in every situation.

[Logic]

CBT (Cognative Behavioral Therapy) for treating anxiety / depression uses meditation in a way, that allows the patient to change thought patterns and aleviate the disorder. If its not biological, its all in your head.

[Ant]

If you think of anxiety as a feeling, then meditation can help you access that feeling and let go of it. This release of emotion is unpleasant, because you are exposed to the full blast of it instead of blocking it off by distracting yourself as you might do at present. The Greeks called this a catharsis, a traumatic - but curative - release of repressed emotional trauma.

[jason]

In my experience, as someone who suffers from chronic anxiety, yes meditation helps reduce anxiety.

For me, anxiety is partly biological, & partly psychological.These means that I need a 2-pronged approach to it, including meds (they really help a lot, even though they hinder my progress of OBE/astral projection, and the pursuit of spiritual knowledge), and ongoing cognative therapy.

After typing that bit about the meds,they hardly seem worth it, don't they?  

[CaCoDeMoN]

n my experience, as someone who suffers from chronic anxiety, yes meditation helps reduce anxiety.

For me, anxiety is partly biological, & partly psychological.These means that I need a 2-pronged approach to it, including meds (they really help a lot, even though they hinder my progress of OBE/astral projection, and the pursuit of spiritual knowledge), and ongoing cognative therapy.

After typing that bit about the meds,they hardly seem worth it, don't they?

What do you call "biological" anxiety?

[jason]

n my experience, as someone who suffers from chronic anxiety, yes meditation helps reduce anxiety.

For me, anxiety is partly biological, & partly psychological.These means that I need a 2-pronged approach to it, including meds (they really help a lot, even though they hinder my progress of OBE/astral projection, and the pursuit of spiritual knowledge), and ongoing cognative therapy.

After typing that bit about the meds,they hardly seem worth it, don't they?

What do you call "biological" anxiety?

I mean in terms of a chemical imbalance in the brain.

[James S]

Many physical/biological conditions have their roots in emotional causes.

The "fight or flight" responses are triggered from a very primal part of the brain called the amygdala. This triggers the release of adrenalin and other hormones that get us revved up.

When we get into long term stressful situations, the amygdala ends up working overtime. The parts of the brain that generate the chemicals that balance this reaction  - seratonin primarily - become rapidly overworked. Seratonin levels drop, anxiety and depression soon follow.

So, on a biological level, meditation can help us to detatch from the world around us lond enough for us to look at things more rationally, less subjectively, and see the "bigger picture" more clearly. This calm respite allows our brain to catch up on its seratonin production, brining everything back into balance.

Blessings,
James.
James.