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    • Your Mind Is Not Always Your Friend

      An excerpt from When Antidepressants Aren’t Enough by Dr. Stuart Eisendrath

      Seventeen years ago, Dr. Stuart Eisendrath piloted research into the therapeutic effects of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) on people experiencing clinical depression. Ever since, he has been helping those who struggle with depression dramatically improve their symptoms and quality of life by changing how they relate to their thoughts and feelings.

      In When Antidepressants Aren’t Enough: Harnessing the Power of Mindfulness to Alleviate Depression (New World Library, October 1, 2019), Dr. Eisendrath outlines an easy-to-implement MBCT program that has been scientifically proven in a National Institute of Health study to bring relief to chronic sufferers of depression by helping them realize that their thoughts are not their reality. We hope you’ll enjoy this except from the book.

      The mind tends to do things it is particularly good at: thinking, problem solving, worrying, judging, and analyzing. But these things are often not in your best interest. It’s somewhat like reading an article from a website or newspaper. What is written may not be accurate. If you suffer from depression, memories and thoughts tend to be biased toward the negative, which diminishes your problem-solving abilities. These factors may lead to misinterpretations, inaccurate assessments, and inappropriate decision making.

      For example, Carol was walking down the street and saw a friend walking the other direction on the other side of the street. She waved to her but got no response. She felt rejected and depressed. Only later did she learn that her friend had been preoccupied by some bad news about a problem in her own life and hadn’t noticed Carol. As she later learned, her friend was watching for an important business email she’d have to respond to.

      Bill assessed himself as being incapable of completing a marathon. Only after joining a special training program did he realize he could be successful.

      Sam thought of refusing a promotion, because he thought his boss was setting him up to fail rather than having confidence in his ability to handle the new position. Such an approach could have severe consequences for his career.

      A key step in coping with such thoughts is trying to decide if such situations are facts or just thoughts. Mindfulness gives you the space to look at the situation from multiple perspectives and without judgment. Then you can decide how to respond to the situation skillfully. You can evaluate your thoughts in several ways. One is to hold back on acting on a thought while you gather more data to assess whether the thought is a valid one. Another way of assessing a thought is to ask yourself how you feel in thinking it. If you feel more depressed (for example, “Yes, my friends really don’t like me”), there is a very good chance the thought is being driven by depression.

      One time, I was teaching a beginning class in meditation. One woman said, “I can’t meditate as well as everybody else here.” This is one of the most common thoughts of beginning meditators. Then several other members of the group expressed a similar idea about themselves. I asked them how they knew this, and as we assessed the situation, it became clear that such a thought was based more in the critical voice of depression rather than in any fact. Since none of the members had had any prior experience with meditation, it would be hard to expect anyone to be “better” than anybody else. Moreover, there actually is no competition in meditation; there is no score as in a game of basketball or golf. Mindful meditation is more about being present than about doing something better or worse than someone else.

      So the woman’s thought that she was somehow worse than others in her meditation practice was a valuable lesson about how her mind generated negative thoughts that were unnecessarily critical of her. She could begin to label them as such and become more able to bring her attention back to a neutral object like her breath. Perhaps just as important, when she was able to recognize such thoughts for what they were, she would not feel compelled to act on them by doing something such as dropping the class.

      Stuart Eisendrath, MD, is the author of When Antidepressants Aren’t Enough and the founding director of the University of California San Francisco Depression Center. Visit him online at www.stuarteisendrath.com.

      Excerpted from the book When Antidepressants Aren’t Enough. Copyright ©2019 by Stuart Eisendrath. Printed with permission from New World Library.

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    • Double Vision: How Do You Meditate?
      contemplation2

      How do you meditate? What is the technique that works best for you? When I try to meditate, I either fall asleep or I just review the events of the day over and over in my mind. Thanks for your help!

       – Aqueelah

      Astrea:

      My meditation probably doesn’t conform to the ideas most people have about meditating, for I have to be moving to meditate.

      I too find it hard to solve my problems while sitting still. Like you, if I sit or lie down long enough, I fall asleep, which at least is relaxing. Lots of people have a very hard time just doing that. Don’t be upset when that happens, for it means you’re getting into your groove.

      I’m probably very strange when it comes to what I do personally. Some of my best meditations occur while I’m driving long distances, which I do at least twice a week. (Don’t worry, I do pay attention to my driving.)

      Out on the country roads, my mind is able to wrap itself around issues without any distractions. I’m also able to connect with my friends who have crossed over, and they ride along with me sometimes. I’ve done this for so many years that it’s totally natural and automatic for me now.

      My other favorite way to meditate is while I’m doing a ballet barre. Over the years, I’m sure I’ve done hundreds of thousands, and a barre doesn’t change that much. Because the barre begins so slowly, with the bigger muscles being trained and stretched, and progresses through the smaller muscle groups and then culminates in a long slow stretch again, it’s perfect for me to let my mind go to the issues I need to address at the time.

      If you don’t have a studio with a barre, it’s okay. Just accept that sitting meditation to quiet your mind isn’t for everyone, and find something that works for you. There are many great DVDs that have T’ai Chi or similar moving meditations. Kenny Dunn offers great instruction.

      If you don’t want something that complicated, there are several other moving paths you might try. In fact, you can design your own moving meditation with any kind of repetitive movement, so experiment and find what works best for you. If something doesn’t work, at least you’re getting good exercise!

      Also, don’t think that you’re not meditating just because your mind goes over the day’s events. Reviewing anything over and over can become a mantra for reaching the Higher Self. Searching for answers through a repetitive process is the cornerstone of many traditional inner quests.

      The important thing is to honor whatever works best for you!

      *****

      Susyn:

      One wonderful thing about meditation is its versatility. You can meditate almost anywhere and for any length of time and still reap benefits. Meditation is a highly effective tool for centering your mind, heart and spirit. When I find myself unable to stop the chatter in my head, meditation is the answer.

      Morning meditation is effective for starting the day off on the right foot and for building strength whenever you’re having trouble in a certain area, such as a lack of confidence, trust or clarity. I find that evening meditations are wonderful for clearing away the bustle and confusion of the day.

      Choose a special place in your home for meditation, and create an altar or center dedicated to this purpose. Small water fountains, candles, plants or stones can add a soothing tone to your altar. Pictures, icons and crystal balls can also help you focus. While some people like to have relaxing music in the background, I prefer a calming silence.

      I like to sit on a small pillow covered with silk or wool, which are both known to be powerful conductors of life force energy. I sit with my legs crossed and my back straight.

      Taking in 10 deep breaths, I time my breathing to the count of four: Four counts inhaling, four counts holding, and four counts exhaling. Once I center in this way, I choose an object to focus on or visualize a window in my mind and wait for images and visions to appear.

      As you meditate, the biggest challenge is preventing stray thoughts from entering your mind. When this happens, choose an object to focus on such as the flame of a candle, an image, or an affirmation you can read over and over. You can also clear your mind by listening to music or the sounds of nature.

      Like most things in life, practice makes perfect: Meditating regularly in the morning or evening will increase your ability to get in the zone. You can also perform spot meditations in unfamiliar settings when you feel uncentered, panicked or worried.

      Find a quiet place where you can be alone and focus on an object such as a ring, a bracelet, your hand, or a special stone you carry in your purse or pocket for just such meditation emergencies.

      Spiritual ideas, guidance and clarity are the gifts of regular meditation. I encourage you to find your own style and schedule for honing these skills, for meditation can transform your life in powerful ways.

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