Meditation: The Ultimate Mental Detox

Meditation is the practice of turning your attention to a single point of reference. It involves focusing on breathing or on a word known as a mantra. Meditation is deceptively easy. It’s simply, training yourself to turn your attention away from distracting thoughts and focus on the moment.

There are several benefits to meditating. Studies link meditation to reducing stress, blood pressure, heart attacks, and strokes to increasing one’s cognition and creativity. Additionally, meditation decreases our need for sleep by heightening our concentration, allowing us to be more productive. Many believe they have to spend several hours a day sitting in the lotus flower positive to receive meditation benefits. You can achieve meditation benefits in as little as 10 minutes. Here’s how:

Picture: The Joy of Living Centre

The key to mediation is to be mindfully aware of your breathing. Ronald Alexander, Ph.d recommends to do this you must breathe in through your nose for a count of three, hold for three, and then out through your mouth for three.  The first step is to identify the negative emotion you are feeling so as you focus on your breathing ask yourself, “What am I experiencing?”  Once you can answer this question with, “I am feeling anger, impatience, irritability, frustration or even fear” after your next in breath when you hold for three replace that unwholesome statement with a positive one.  For example if you are standing in a long line that is moving very slowly and feeling frustrated, focus on your breathing and replace the frustration with, “I am feeling compassion.” Keep repeating the breathing, hold and statement until you can feel all the negative emotions release from your body and mind.

Even in total silence you find that you are completely distracted. Your mind is running faster than Olympic track meet. Don’t give up or get mad at yourself. Meditation can take practice, determination, and dedication. When you find yourself drifting off into your thoughts going 90 miles per hour, simply return back to your breathing. As a result, you can meditate anywhere, anytime. Just focus on your breathing, prayer word, or mantra.

*Info in this blog is strictly my personal and/or professional opinion. Posts and comments are not intended to treat, diagnose or replace any medical advice you may have received. Please contact your doctor or therapist if you feel you need help, and in case of an emergency, dial 911 or go to your nearest emergency room.*

What Does Your "To Do" List Look Like?

To Do
Annaul physical exam-check
Eye Exam-check
6 month dental cleaning-check
Hair appointment-check
Get vitamins-check
Excercise-check
Buy healthy food-check
Make therapy appt-?

Many of us will make sure we take care of our physical needs. But, when it comes to our mental health (not mental problems/issues), it is often put on the back burner. Many things can keep us from seeking counseling. Some people feel there is a stigma attached to seeking counseling, "People will think I'm crazy" or others will choose to pray about it or let it ride out. Still, some may say, "I just can't afford it". If thsi is you, or someone you know, here are my responses:

You are not "crazy". We all experience tougher times and talking to a trained professional is often helpful. Besides, why are we worrying about judgemental people?

Yep, I agree that you should pray, especially for a therapist who is in line with you and can understand and help you. We all have a purpose and were put on Earth to fufill that purpose.

When you sit and think about it, how much do you pay to get your hair done? At one point, I used to pay at least $85-90 every two weeks, in addition to driving 35 minutes to this particular stylist. How much will we pay to get our nails done ($30-$50, more if you like designs, gel nails and sea salt added!). What about a new outfit for a party? All of these things address our outer appearance or physical health. Yes, it is true, "when I look good, I feel good"!! But, if you have deeper underlying issues that haven't been addressed, it doesn't matter how good you look if you don't feel good too!

Let me ask you a question, if your doctor told you that you had Diabetes, high blood pressure or even needed to come in for follow up tests, what would you do? Would you not buy your life saving Diabetic or blood pressure medicine? Would you skip the follow up tests and hope that it is nothing serious? Better yet, would you make your children/spouse/friends/family worry about your condition. I am 99% sure that the answer to these questions is NO!

Yep, you're right, "money is funny" right now. And when it comes to feeding your children, buying your medication, or getting gas vs. a weekly therapy appointment, I agree. But, you may be surprised to see how many therapists are willing to work with you (after all, it's a helping profession). Does this mean your appointment is free? Well, is your copay free? Nope! But there are several locations offering lower cost services (as low as $20). For instance, I have no problem with offering a discount (not free) if a person is consistent and shows up to their appointments as scheduled. I work with financial situations and in some cases, have suggested that my clients come every other week rather than weekly so their budget isn't affected to much. I also offer a "buy 3, get one free" for those who want to pay in advance.

Now, everyone doesn't do this but, if your mental health is just as important to you as your physical health, why not check it out! We shop around for bargains everyday, so take some time to shop around so you will not only look good but to feel good too!! Soon, you will be able to mark "make therapy appt" off your ever growing "To Do" list.

To help you get started, here are a few links to check out and speed up your process. (Besides NVCC, this list does not suggest/imply that any of these places offer the same discounts/prices/etc as I do.) If you know of other counseling/therapy places, please feel free to leave them in the form of a comment.

New Vision Counseling Center (me!!)
Families First
Tiffanie Davis, LLC
Evan Katz (The Anger Guy)
United Way
Powers Ferry Psychological Associates
Georgia Professional Counseling Center

And as always, you can contact your insurance carrier.

*Info in this blog is strictly my personal and/or professional opinion. Posts and comments are not intended to treat, diagnose or replace any medical advice you may have received. Please contact your doctor or therapist if you feel you need help, and in case of an emergency, dial 911.*