Meditation Group/Coping skills

[[Re...]]

For people who use meditation to cope with the pain and anxiety of withdrawal. Here we can share tips and strategies for better meditation. I would also like to share coping skills and techniques we use to get through. Please share what mental tools you use to stay in control during recovery?

 

Thanks

[Guest [ba...]]

Excerpt from http://www.insightmeditationcenter.org/books-articles/articles/pain-handout/

 

Let your awareness be pulled to wherever the discomfort or pain arises in your body.  Mentally label the location.  Hand…face…low back… Fully focus there for a few seconds, and then move on to the next sensation – do this at a leisurely pace.

 

If pulled to the same area over and over again, let your awareness freely-float within that area and label the smaller movements in that area:  upper right… center, lower left, overall… shifting your attention to a new part of that area every few seconds.

 

Continue to let the awareness freely float within the body, going from one area to the next, but now look more deeply at the different flavors of sensations and label them: burning, aching, shooting, itching, pressure, expanding, contracting, tingling, vibrating, shooting, pounding, dull aching, oscillating …

 

Now, let go of the labeling.  Bring your awareness to the entire area of discomfort all at once, and penetrate it with your awareness.  Notice its size and shape, the outline, the edges.  Is it long? Round?  Flat?  Deep?  Are its borders sharp or diffuse?  Is it uniform, or does it have areas of greater or lesser intensity within it?  Is it changing?  Stay open and accepting of the sensations for a while.

 

Take a cleansing breath and begin this process all over again as though you have never done it before.  Repeat until the pain is gone.

[[Fa...]]

I wish I was able to do that! I seem to be calm enough only under the action of some sedative.

[[Re...]]

I wish I was able to do that! I seem to be calm enough only under the action of some sedative.

 

It is a skill you have to practice over and over to get good at . Just like any other skill all it takes is repetition . You can do it . The first step is telling your mind you can instead of saying you can't l

[[Re...]]

Excerpt from http://www.insightmeditationcenter.org/books-articles/articles/pain-handout/

 

Let your awareness be pulled to wherever the discomfort or pain arises in your body.  Mentally label the location.  Hand…face…low back… Fully focus there for a few seconds, and then move on to the next sensation – do this at a leisurely pace.

 

If pulled to the same area over and over again, let your awareness freely-float within that area and label the smaller movements in that area:  upper right… center, lower left, overall… shifting your attention to a new part of that area every few seconds.

 

Continue to let the awareness freely float within the body, going from one area to the next, but now look more deeply at the different flavors of sensations and label them: burning, aching, shooting, itching, pressure, expanding, contracting, tingling, vibrating, shooting, pounding, dull aching, oscillating …

 

Now, let go of the labeling.  Bring your awareness to the entire area of discomfort all at once, and penetrate it with your awareness.  Notice its size and shape, the outline, the edges.  Is it long? Round?  Flat?  Deep?  Are its borders sharp or diffuse?  Is it uniform, or does it have areas of greater or lesser intensity within it?  Is it changing?  Stay open and accepting of the sensations for a while.

 

Take a cleansing breath and begin this process all over again as though you have never done it before.  Repeat until the pain is gone.

 

I have meditations like this to relieve muscle tension . It is very helpful especially at night, but sometimes my withdrawal symptoms are to severe to relieve the tension. It's like the muscle have a mind of their own .

 

Thanks for sharing this amazing meditation technique I would recommend everyone try this. I need to work on this one more as well. My main meditation focus has been on my anxiety,depression,anger  and fear since they have been out of control .

[Guest [ba...]]

I've used that meditation for headaches, muscle cramps, backaches...  Just about any pain or feeling that you can identify/localize.  It does take some practice (like all coping skills).  A good time to start to learn is when you are just beginning to have some symptoms.  It's more difficult to learn if your withdrawal symptoms are strong.

[[4G...]]

Has anyone used the Mindfulness cds by Jon Kabat Zinn? Some are good.

[[Ce...]]

Hi Remy and all!

 

I just came across this thread and thought I'd join. I used to meditate regularly, even went to classes for updates and group meditations. It's Transcendental Meditation by Maharishi. This was pre benzo, and up until now I put it on hold, but I was doing it faithfully 20 minutes am and pm and did this for 3 solid years before I stopped. No reason for stopping other than the usual...just lost interest in it, got busy with life and forgot it's importance. But I have thought about it frequently over the years and now going through this ordeal, I think it's time to 'reinstate' my meditating skills.

 

This w/d experience is horrifying, but there is an upside to it, as there is to most things, if we only look hard enough. I have been rethinking so many things, my spirituality, ways to relax and redirecting my life positively are all things that I've taken time to look at since stopping the Klonopin.

 

Because I haven't yet incorporated meditation into my life, but plan to, I'm mainly using self talk and breathing to get me through these rough days. Trying to kill on the spot, those self defeating thoughts of how I can't do something, because of my anxiety or other issues replacing those thoughts with what is real, I CAN do the things I thought was impossible by controlling my breathing, replacing my negative thoughts, and doing light exercises to keep my body strong. It isn't much, but it has got me this far.

 

I'm looking forward to sharing and listening to other shares and know we can help each other through a lot of this with some great ideas on how to relax naturally without the use of the dreaded drugs.

 

Let the healing begin!  ~CeCe   

[[Re...]]

Hi Remy and all!

 

I just came across this thread and thought I'd join. I used to meditate regularly, even went to classes for updates and group meditations. It's Transcendental Meditation by Maharishi. This was pre benzo, and up until now I put it on hold, but I was doing it faithfully 20 minutes am and pm and did this for 3 solid years before I stopped. No reason for stopping other than the usual...just lost interest in it, got busy with life and forgot it's importance. But I have thought about it frequently over the years and now going through this ordeal, I think it's time to 'reinstate' my meditating skills.

 

This w/d experience is horrifying, but there is an upside to it, as there is to most things, if we only look hard enough. I have been rethinking so many things, my spirituality, ways to relax and redirecting my life positively are all things that I've taken time to look at since stopping the Klonopin.

 

Because I haven't yet incorporated meditation into my life, but plan to, I'm mainly using self talk and breathing to get me through these rough days. Trying to kill on the spot, those self defeating thoughts of how I can't do something, because of my anxiety or other issues replacing those thoughts with what is real, I CAN do the things I thought was impossible by controlling my breathing, replacing my negative thoughts, and doing light exercises to keep my body strong. It isn't much, but it has got me this far.

 

I'm looking forward to sharing and listening to other shares and know we can help each other through a lot of this with some great ideas on how to relax naturally without the use of the dreaded drugs.

 

Let the healing begin!  ~CeCe   

 

Welcome cece

 

I have always wanted to try tm meditation. A friend threatened me with it but never followed through. I don't understand how people make it through this without meditation . I would suffer multiple panic attacks a day if I didn't use it.  Self talk works wonders as well I too use that to cope. I talk to my brain sometimes as well.....

[[Ph...]]

Excerpt from http://www.insightmeditationcenter.org/books-articles/articles/pain-handout/

 

Let your awareness be pulled to wherever the discomfort or pain arises in your body.  Mentally label the location.  Hand…face…low back… Fully focus there for a few seconds, and then move on to the next sensation – do this at a leisurely pace.

 

If pulled to the same area over and over again, let your awareness freely-float within that area and label the smaller movements in that area:  upper right… center, lower left, overall… shifting your attention to a new part of that area every few seconds.

 

Continue to let the awareness freely float within the body, going from one area to the next, but now look more deeply at the different flavors of sensations and label them: burning, aching, shooting, itching, pressure, expanding, contracting, tingling, vibrating, shooting, pounding, dull aching, oscillating …

 

Now, let go of the labeling.  Bring your awareness to the entire area of discomfort all at once, and penetrate it with your awareness.  Notice its size and shape, the outline, the edges.  Is it long? Round?  Flat?  Deep?  Are its borders sharp or diffuse?  Is it uniform, or does it have areas of greater or lesser intensity within it?  Is it changing?  Stay open and accepting of the sensations for a while.

 

Take a cleansing breath and begin this process all over again as though you have never done it before.  Repeat until the pain is gone.

Good stuff, Badsocref!

[Guest [su...]]

I use this on youtube meditation. My favorite is the healing guided meditation.