Hello, and welcome to my guided meditation and depression post. But before we go any further, I would like to ask you a few questions:
- Have you been feeling in low spirits lately?
- Have you lost interest in things that once brought you joy?
- Are you frequently experiencing outbursts of anger, irritability, or emotional discordance?
- Does your mind think very negatively and worry about the future?
- Do ever feel hopeless, empty?
- Do you feel depressed and/or suicidal?
- Is your brain foggy to the point that you have difficulties thinking clearly?
- Does the weight of perpetual sadness keep you up late at night?
If you answered yes to any one of the following symptoms of depression, then you will greatly benefit from the content that follows below. In this post, I will be sharing with you tips to manage and thrive with guided meditation and depression.
Get Guidance From Your Therapist
Even though it is rather tempting to jump into meditation, it is more than likely that you will have some experiences that are less than favorable all alone. At the very least, health experts recommend that you reach out to a family doctor or therapist if you are considering meditation as a way to manage the symptoms of depression. Doing so is especially important if you have been diagnosed with anything lying under the umbrella of depression.
Matter of factly, it wouldn’t be such a bad idea to ask your therapist to guide you through meditation to get to the root cause of your depressive experiences. After all, guided meditation is merely a series of imagery and sensory experiences to help you reconnect with your Higher Self and release any hidden pain or trauma.
Related: The psychological benefits of meditation
However, this approach is one of many ways to seek guidance from your therapist concerning your unique condition.
The goal of this method is to fulfill a full, immersive, and relaxing experience via the aid of your therapist. Ever since you are the client, you’ll want to make sure to gauge whether your depressive symptoms increase, decrease, or stay the same.
In unprecedented times like these, it is important to take care of your mental health and seek ways to raise your vibration.
And what better way to treat depression and get your mind and body interconnected and aligned in peace?
Depression is Not Your Fault
Contrary to popular belief, humans oftentimes blame ourselves more than those around us. You are more probable to be your own worst critic than anyone else combined. Why?
Well, there is a multitude of complex, elaborate reasons why you are wired this way, but, psychologically speaking, you feel as though you have failed yourself one too many times and desire a release.
You want the pain to stop but you don’t know-how, to be better but you don’t know how to stop beating yourself up, to end the torment but you don’t know where to begin.
Meditation is a journey into the soul and with the right guidance under the right intentions can lead to a world of difference. Even if your mood and spirits raise a hair, you are going to notice an influx of positive changes shift your life to better, lighter, more vibrant days ahead.
Related: Does Meditation Improve Mental Health | Top 3 Steps
Just imagine what would happen if guided meditation could be a miracle worker.
Likewise, it is important to indoctrinate yourself with the belief that you and your emotions are valid, it’s okay to feel what you are feeling, and most significantly that you are going to get better with each session and lesson for that matter.
You deserve this as, more likely than not, you’ve spent your entire life believing the implicit and explicit reality of those closest to you without a second thought, especially within your formative years.
To come correct, it is nobody’s fault for your bouts with depression/depressive symptoms.
It is merely a matter of embracing where you are at and starting from square one.
All you have to do is move — even if that’s crawling.
I know. It can be very challenging and painful and nobody quite understands it better than you, but it’s worth it.
You are worth it.
Put a Banana Wrench in the Monkey Brain
Did you know that non-meditators are at an increased risk of developing a monkey brain — this means that you are hyper-focused and have an elusive time keeping your focus; it’s its own brand of cuckoo for cocoa puffs?!
Did you also know that meditation helps you to put a wrench in that monkey brain?
Guided meditation might even speed up your recovery and help you to develop a rainbow brain/thinking pattern. In layman’s terms, your left and right brain hemispheres are aligned and eventually come into full synchronization with one another, resulting in greater peace, productivity, and prosperity rates all the merrier.
Simply being out of balance with the chemicals in your mind, body, and spirit can cause your mood to stay chronically, depressively low. Why?
Because you are out of alignment with your greatest version, you are not living the life you were meant to be.
In this situation, your quality of life is beneath the quality of you.
Luckily for you, there is always hope. Reading this article is your confirmation that all is well and that you are greatly loved.
And with the aid of guided meditation, you are on your way to reconnect with the Source of your heart space/center. You are minutes away from calming your mind down and thereby opening yourself up to a parachute of possibilities.
Related: How does meditation benefit you — Top 3 Ways to Gauge Success
In the best-case scenario, the only thing you’ll be going bananas over are the endless, profoundly helpful, and substantial benefits of guided meditation.
If you made it this far, then congratulations. You are going to love the tips that follow in this article:
Test the Waters, Stop Depression
When you are dealing with depression or any depressive circumstance, the best thing you can do is meditate on what serves you best, on what serves you the most positively.
Take care of your emotions, feelings, thoughts, and experiences, especially as it pertains to the heart and mind alike. Pay attention to what is going on with you and guard yourself as necessary.
This is why you should gauge how well guided meditation is working for you and go from there.
Here is the thing: it doesn’t have to be a therapist or family doctor; it can be anyone!
Of course, not everyone as it takes a certain skill set to adequately, effectively administer sessions.
But don’t just take my word for it; use the power of the internet. Google it (Big Mouth Style)!
Plus, there are several guided meditations to find on YouTube. Powerhouses such as Aaron Doughty, Melanie Beckler, Ralph Smart, etc. have meditations galore on their YouTube channels.
The possibilities for becoming a stronger, greater, better you are truly endless. You just have to find your medicine and prescribe which dosage works best and alleviates the most depression.
Related: 10 Meditation Ideas for Beginners — Improve Effectiveness, Increase Results
When you first dip your toe in the water, it’s going to be bitingly cold, but as you move your body through the discomfort, you slowly but surely warm up.
Become the Current
Building on the points I made in the aforementioned tip, it is important to let yourself get lost in the experience.
Yes, it can be hell if it is more of the same or worse, but it can also be heaven if it’s better than you could’ve ever dreamed of.
What do I mean?
I mean that when you are in guided meditation, you have to let whatever emotion that pops up, pop up. Embrace the experience. If it is negative, you have one less thing to worry about. If it is positive, you have one more thing to be grateful for. And honestly, there is no such thing as positive or negative; only what you make of your invaluable experience.
Whether you experience shame, guilt, anger, hopelessness or love, peace, bliss, and enlightenment, you are on a healing journey that will undoubtedly bring you everlasting joy with time, patience, effort, and most importantly self-compassion.
Therefore, instead of fighting the current or pulling away as if not to drown, become one with the current.
Embody the current.
Feel the current.
Love the current.
Become the current.
Let it guide you home.
Let the experience wash over you in all bare, emotional nakedness.
To breakdown is to breakthrough!
Happiness isn’t Measured in Time
One of the most crucial tips on this list is to remember that happiness isn’t measured in time nor space; happiness is experienced in the quality of life (this isn’t always a piece of lime cake).
So, don’t rush the process or expect life to get better overnight. Speaking of which, as I’ve stated before in another post, Rome Wasn’t Built in a Day.
Just know that you are building on the foundation of your progress as we speak. Work towards your goals. Not all success is grandiose; sometimes the smaller goals that you meet propel you the farthest. Take your time.
More than anything else, your relationship with yourself is the most important.
It’s time to give yourself sunshine, daisies, and rainbows.
You cannot mend your relationships around if you cannot mend your relationship within.
The more thorough the experience, the more thorough the process.
As with anything, if you keep practicing something with increasing frequency, it will become an implemented part of your reality and manifest in several key components of your life. Therefore, your happiness is more important than the time it takes to see results to reverse the side effects.
Related: what is the art of meditation
Pay more attention to the richness of your experiences as you embark on a journey of complex imagery and immersive sensations.
Measure your success based on how happy you feel and how much you have improved since you began.
Quality precedes quantity.
Guided Imagery Beats Aimless Depression
In conclusion, it is important to realize that guided meditation is not an alternative to depression; it is a complementary coping device. As with asthma, depression is a chronic health condition; there is no cure.
Also, I wouldn’t recommend certain antidepressants (nor alcohol) as they can worsen your depressive symptoms. Guidance from mental health professionals is typically your best bet as you seek to emerge victorious with your battle with depression. As always, the most valid aspect is making progress.
Why not lose yourself in your own healing experience?
You deserve to flow in the right direction. You deserve to envision yourself as you were meant to be: at peace with everything despite how they might seem.
Above all, guided meditation and depression go hand in hand when you have an affirmative solution to influence positive change.
That said, I hope this article found you well and I hope that you found something invaluable out of the content: you.
Have a blessed day and enjoy a Happy New Year!
Elijah@mymiraclemeditations.com
MIRACLE MEDITATIONS
Thank you for your post. It is a timely article for me. I have yes to most of your questions. Apparently I am a brink of depression. I know I have some problem, but never take time to talk to professional or do some research on it.
Here comes your article, which contains info on depression. I like your description on It’s NOt Your Faulut. You are absolutely right that I want my depression to stop, but don’t know how to stop. Your suggestion is a good start for me. I agree with you that meditation is a journey into the soul and with the right guidance can a huge difference. I will definitely try meditation to build up the positive energy inside my body.
I am so glad that my post found you well and prompted you to try meditation to reverse the side effects of depression. You deserve the best. It’s not your fault. It takes courage to talk about this openly. Great job!