If you’re not quite convinced that meditation is the way to go, that’s fine. Just because it’s been used for thousands of years doesn’t mean you should jump on the bandwagon. If it’s scientific evidence you’re curious about, then there is plenty of that too.
Studies have shown that meditation can not only help to reduce stress and anxiety symptoms, even in people with anxiety disorders, but there is also a correlation between meditation and lower blood pressure. Other scientifically proven benefits of meditation include sounder sleep and even a better memory. And if you are suffering from chronic pain symptoms, or any aches and pains in general, meditation has been shown to help manage these and improve your quality of life.
Not only that, but people who meditate are less prone to low self-image. They tend to gain more insight into themselves that can help them to structure their lives in a productive way and make choices that truly benefit them and their goals. Meditation can increase your level of emotional understanding and help you to healthily compartmentalize your thoughts and emotions in a way that is constructive. If you find that you are often times overwhelmed by the world around you, meditation is a great way to let go of those stressful feelings and take a moment to recharge and get yourself back on track.
Because of the stressful state of the world we live in, a lot of people turn to negative coping mechanisms. It can be very easy to gain access to things that claim to ease our stress, like cigarettes or alcohol or other addictive substances. And a lot of people do turn to these things as their escape. It is easy to do and these negative things are very accessible in our culture. It is unfortunate how easy it can be to become an addict. Even if your addiction is something as innocent seeming as an addiction to unhealthy foods.
However, meditation can prove an even better coping mechanism. And, if you know you or someone you love has an addiction, meditation is actually scientifically proven to help redirect the attention of an addict from a negative substance to one that is not so harmful. Meditation is a great way to help you change the course of your thinking and reprogram yourself to be more mindful and focused on positive changes rather than negative.
Addiction can be difficult to get through alone or without resources, but utilizing meditation as a resource for recovery is a great tool. It can help you look inwardly, hold yourself accountable for your actions, find insight into why you may act the way you do and the triggers that cause you to reach out to your addiction, and also provide you with a healthy outlet for your stress and anxiety that helps you to feel refreshed and renewed with a better outlook on life without resorting to negative coping strategies like the thing you are addicted to.
It may not be a perfect fix or the one thing that will make it possible to quit your addiction or make your life a hundred percent better, but it is definitely something that you can use to your benefit and help you gain insight into yourself and your behaviors so that you can interrupt the negative patterns and replace them with positive patterns. Anybody can take a time out and focus on the light in your life rather than the darkness, and doing so has many scientific benefits that will help you to keep moving forward, even when there are times that moving backward might feel like an easier choice. We have the power to create the life we want for ourselves. There is nothing more important than figuring out what it is we are doing to make progress toward our goals and maintaining ourselves and our peace of mind, body, and spirit. Meditation is one of those things that can help all three, so utilizing it for yourself is an incredible joy.
But don’t just take the word of this guide for it. Instead, consider implementing it for yourself! If you are curious about the ways you can use meditation for your personal progress, the next few chapters will outline the different types of meditations you can use to really get the ball rolling in the right direction so that you can improve your life!