Does Meditation Help you Overcome Depression? If yes, How?

 

 

There are various symptoms associated with the mental health disorder of depression.

The following are examples of signs of depression:

 

➢     A negative attitude that you can't seem to escape

➢     Loneliness

➢     Fatigue

➢     Desiring solitude

➢     Indifference to activities

➢     Sadness

➢     Issues with sleep

➢     Nervousness and irritation

➢     Alterations in appetite

➢     Suicide ideas

➢     Difficulty concentrating

 

You may have a depressive condition if you exhibit these symptoms for longer than two weeks. If you know how to meditate, you can control these symptoms. Making it a habit may help you lessen tension and anxiety, which can help prevent depression.

 

The Effects of Depression on Your Mental Health

 

How does stress affect the brain? Stress and anxiety are the primary depressive triggers. By teaching your brain to focus on one thing, meditation can help change those emotions and ideas. The brain returns to that attention point when unfavorable thoughts enter, allowing the unfavorable feelings and bodily sensations to depart.

 

It affects particular brain areas that have been associated with depression. For instance, when you're anxious, the part of the brain that is involved with the self tends to go into overdrive. The prefrontal cortex, which generates knowledge about you, is this.

 

The amygdala, sometimes referred to as the "region of dread," is another area of the brain that depression affects. While in danger, this area advises you whether to fight or run away. Cortisol, a stress hormone that is released in response to danger and fear, is made by the adrenal glands as a result. Depression is a result of these two areas working hard against one another.

 

Meditation's Effects on Your Mental Health

 

While meditation won't completely cure your depression, it will help you manage its symptoms. It functions by altering how your brain responds to worry and stress. By meditating, you can block the amygdala and prefrontal cortex from stimulating cues. This explains why you experience decreased stress.

 

The hippocampus is protected by meditation. The hippocampus aids in learning and remembering. When you practice meditation for eight weeks, for 30 minutes each day, your brain's gray matter in this area increases. According to research, those who have recurrent depressive episodes have smaller hippocampi.

 

Changing your way of thinking is helpful. Depression is sometimes accompanied by a lot of pessimistic and depressing thoughts. It's common to feel upset at life and oneself. You don't have to ignore your stress or shut out unfavorable thoughts to meditate. Instead, it provides you with a way to become conscious of those emotions and thoughts. This may seem counterintuitive because it involves raising your level of awareness of those thoughts and feelings. Nonetheless, the practice encourages awareness of them and acceptance of them.

 

It readies the brain for demanding circumstances. Before your appointment, try some brief meditation if you're feeling nervous or agitated. It causes the mind to change its attention from the stress response to a calmer condition.

 

If you are hesitant to do so, the practice enables you to resist acting on those ideas and emotions. Instead, you understand and appreciate that, despite the fact that they influence you, they are not you. To end the tension and hopelessness cycles, gently let them go when you're in a state of meditation.

 

Several Meditation Techniques for Depression

 

Certain forms of meditation can help treat depression. As you continue your meditation practice, keep taking your meds and receiving your other treatments.

 

●     Loving-kindness meditation

●     Mindfulness meditation

●     Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy

●     Yoga

●     Visualization

●     Chanting

●     Walking meditation

 

A word from the doctor —

 

Meditation might help you get past the unfavorable thoughts and emotions that occur with depression. The exercise is about focusing your mind on one thing and helping it relax. Select the meditation technique that works best for you and make it a regular habit. You'll notice that the symptoms are either milder or simpler to manage.

 

Schedule a consultation with Dr. Sanul Corrielus right away if you have questions about your heart health!