Meditation with depression

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Gauche
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I wasn't sure where to post this,but what thoughts do you all have about this? A lot of authors as well as practioners advise against meditation if you suffer from forms of depression, as the way it acts on the brain can actually amplify anxiety and other symptons as opposed to ease it.
Ill admit i dont meditate as often as i should because i do suffer from a form of depression and have manic symptons from time to time.
It does make grounding and calming myself difficult when I am in mania, but i have trained myself to learn obsessively when i do go into that state as a way to compensate.
When i lose energy and crash, it is also hard to meditate in the traditional sense, so i have taken on moving meditation. Ill meditate in the form of bodily movements,like the kata in martial arts or doing reiki exercises.
If i do traditional meditations in that time,it qill feel as if im slightly lost looking for a reflection of who i am.

I refuse to stop meditating, but would anyone have any advice or even visualization tips that may be useful?
Just imagine a desperate scream from far away;You can't hear what its saying but you know whats about to happen and its going to be really...painful

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Red6joker
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Hmm personally I have heard the opposite. And when I am having a bad day or am depressed meditation does help. Sometimes I takes a good minute (10-30 minutes) to clear my head and actually relax, but when I am done and get.relax I am usually over whatever I was down about.

I've had to learn to roll with the punches that life gives out though so I am pretty good at getting over things and letting go.
Gauche
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Red6joker wrote:
Tue Oct 22, 2019 9:58 pm
Hmm personally I have heard the opposite. And when I am having a bad day or am depressed meditation does help. Sometimes I takes a good minute (10-30 minutes) to clear my head and actually relax, but when I am done and get.relax I am usually over whatever I was down about.

I've had to learn to roll with the punches that life gives out though so I am pretty good at getting over things and letting go.
Its mainly in reference to manor depression,the kind that you have for life. In most cases its beneficial for the regular person,but for some others it amplifies the negatives. Kind of like people who take antidepressants..theyre made to suppress suicidal thoughts--but there is the risk that they will actually amplify the suicidal thoughts instead. For me there is like this middle ground i have to be able to catch between going manic and crashing that i jave like..idk default settings and i can medotaye effectively and freely lol
Just imagine a desperate scream from far away;You can't hear what its saying but you know whats about to happen and its going to be really...painful

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Passchendaele
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My personal experience is that the "usual" meditation method, sitting in a half lotus, holding an appropriate crystal and focusing on my breathing works, to a point. Movement, especially dancing, slow, gentle, flowing, almost serpentine, like a Bali temple dancer, works really well. I will usually chant the enns of either Lord Satan or Lady Marchosias to set the rhythm, or a piece of music that is slow and sensual, like Tchaikovsky's "Arabian Dance" from "The Nutcracker"

I also struggle with depression, life-long in my case, and meditation has never caused additional problems....for me.....everyone is different. All I would add is that, when trying something new that may have an impact on your depression, Go Slow. Ease into it and err on the side of caution. If you have a therapist you might consider discussing it with her. Good luck :devilthumbs:
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(The italicized word “dark” is my addition.)
Dragona
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I suffer with depression and it can be better at times and very rough at other times. For me, I can't say that meditating makes depression worse, it just sometimes doesn't work just because it depends on how bad the depression is at a given moment. I do take medication for it but I wonder if I need another medication to help; my mother suffers with it as well and has told me she takes two medications for hers. I think different types of meditations probably will work better when the depression is worse than usual because the sitting and relaxing thing doesn't help when the depression is bad. So, that is what I'm going to try myself is probably start with moving/walking meditation to see how that goes.
Gauche
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Dragona wrote:
Thu Oct 24, 2019 3:13 am
I suffer with depression and it can be better at times and very rough at other times. For me, I can't say that meditating makes depression worse, it just sometimes doesn't work just because it depends on how bad the depression is at a given moment. I do take medication for it but I wonder if I need another medication to help; my mother suffers with it as well and has told me she takes two medications for hers. I think different types of meditations probably will work better when the depression is worse than usual because the sitting and relaxing thing doesn't help when the depression is bad. So, that is what I'm going to try myself is probably start with moving/walking meditation to see how that goes.
Ive found two things to be effective for me when im either overly energetic or drained of everything.. either the moving meditations if im energetically skyrocketing because its helping to expend the excess,and when i crash..i took a recording program using my own voice and basically made a personalized guided meditation for myself by myself and uploaded it to a private youtube channel i have. It seems to be effective because i find my own voice resonates and helps guide me more easily, and since visualization is harder for me than others (( i have rapid thoughts)) its a way i slowly can build up my own sacred astral temple..being guided from myself.)) Really i owe that realization to akelta,velca,and everyone else here from the dark discussions. I realized that whenever akelta,or a specific member's voice would come on,my companion would react in a burst of energy,im assuming based on who they worked with most during the custom process. I thought..if the vibrational sound of that familiarity would trigger for them,perhaps my own vibrations could trigger..well..myself. and it has worked quite well.
Just imagine a desperate scream from far away;You can't hear what its saying but you know whats about to happen and its going to be really...painful

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Thalam
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I was diagnosed with depression. I can’t meditate and sit still for even one minute. Not to mention the intrusive thoughts *sigh*
I try to listen to Binaural beats meditation and sometimes guided meditations. But I wish I could meditate without needing anything :\

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Red6joker
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Thalam wrote:
Thu Jun 10, 2021 5:39 pm
I was diagnosed with depression. I can’t meditate and sit still for even one minute. Not to mention the intrusive thoughts *sigh*
I try to listen to Binaural beats meditation and sometimes guided meditations. But I wish I could meditate without needing anything :\
It's hard I have been there and I still experience that as well sometimes.

Try to sit and meditate for a solid minute. Set a timer if you have to. After getting to a minute consistently set one for 5 minutes. After that then 10 minutes. Etc

Build up the time and don't worry about not being able to meditate for hours on end like some people do. Everyone is different.
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