The feedback I have received from individuals is that their anxiety has been greatly reduced or eliminated.

The demographic of individuals taking the course is usually those people in the “helping” professions - nurses, doctors, social workers, and lawyers (some may not deem the last group helpful). To my surprise, beginning a couple of years ago, I’ve had a large influx of psychiatrists. Inquiries to them about their interest, revealed that a journal of psychiatry has published papers showing that mindfulness meditation is the only “cure” that the medical profession has been able to find. Pharmaceuticals are a bandaid; mindfulness meditation heals. They said it is the first time they have been able to use the word “heal” in relation to clinical depression.

I still wouldn’t use the word “heal”, but will quote the psychiatrists.

I’ve seen it work for normal anxiety and substance abuse. Though, often substance abuse is a way of self-medicating for undiagnosed depression.

Thanks for this. Good to have a practitioner’s first hand thoughts.

Do you find mindfulness meditation useful in the way that the Times article describes?

Martin

Very good to hear!!

Martin

As somebody who is a psychotherapist, and who teaches mindfulness meditation, I can say that what I have had to do is have potential participants whom I don’t know, complete a questionnaire before their registration for a course is accepted. I also request that they have some outside support, if they don’t want to see me, in case their feelings become too intense for them.

Somebody who is unskilled at teaching this technique, may not know how to deal with this rare occurrence, and that can be a great detriment.