MEDITATION FOR ANXIETY DISORDERS TREATMENT: MISCONCEPTIONS
There are other misconceptions which people have about meditation. Some people see meditation as an escape from reality or a selfish preoccupation. It is neither. A normal meditation time is twenty minutes, twice a day. This hardly constitutes an escape from reality, nor can it be regarded as selfish. Everyone needs to have time to themselves. It is not selfish to want time alone, it is natural and normal.
The disorder and agoraphobia mean we cannot contribute as much as we would like to our daily family situation. Practising meditation can mean a major step for our overall recovery. Recovery means we can contribute more, not only to the family but also to ourselves. Wanting to take time out, to help the recovery process, should never be considered selfish.
Taking the time to stop and meditate can be a problem for some people. Meditation is usually practised for two twenty-minute periods each day, although a number of people meditate for only one twenty-minute period each day and still find it beneficial. Other people tell themselves they can spare no time for meditation at all, despite the fact that the disorder may consume them twenty-four hours a day. It is a matter of making a choice in our priorities. It can mean the difference between ongoing anxiety, and our recovery.
Another myth about meditation is the idea that, when meditating, we may be leaving ourselves exposed to other influences. This does not and cannot happen. Even in the deepest phase of meditation we are always in complete control of ourselves. We are always aware of everything within and outside ourselves. When we are asleep we are not consciously aware of anything, yet we will wake up should there be any internal or external threat. In meditation we don’t need to ‘become’ aware because we are consciously aware, and consciously in control, the whole time.
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