Reddit mentions of Mindfulness: A Practical Guide to Finding Peace in a Frantic World [With CD (Audio)]

There's not really enough information on this post to give you an answer.

Does it happen immediately? How far /long do you have to run before you get it? Does it happen with other exercise?

Depending on those answers, it could be different things.

One thing that is reasonably common amongst people who have been through a stressful time is an inappropriate cortisol response. This is basically your 'fight or flight' response kicking in. It happens a lot amongst combat vets - Their heart rate goes up, so their body things they are in a stressful place and triggers their stress/anxiety response

The first thing I would suggest is training at a lower intensity and work up. Wear a heart rate monitor and see if a particular level triggers it. It may be that you have to walk before you run, so to speak.

Also, try and exercise in nature (if you feel comfortable there). This has scientifically proven stress reduction properties.

You may need to find another form of exercise. Walking, Swimming, aqua jogging, ultimate Frisbee (auto correct just suggested ultimate crossbow, lol), rock climbing, crossfit, skipping, rowing, yoga, spin classes, HIIT classes, dog walking, anything you can find that you enjoy and that doesn't spike your anxiety

Also, I highly recommend mindfulness meditation. This is a great science and evidence based book/course on the subject.

I also think this book... The upside of stress would be really good for you. It too is science and evidence based and has some amazing insights into stress and wellbeing

Take it easy out there. Glad you are still with us.

GP

It is fucking hell. I have had this for years. I was given this book by my sister, and it supposed to help a lot with the ruminating brain...but I haven't gotten around to finishing it yet.

Now that I've remembered again, I'll start it again myself.

I take these which helped for a while...but lately have not been.

I relate to a lot of this. Lots of anxiety in my family, on both sides. I was born and raised to have anxious tendencies. First thing you should take to heart: you can get through this and get better than you've ever been before.

It sounds like you realize your thoughts are the problem. Negative, irrational, horrible thoughts that just rip around and around your mind. You need to get control of them by learning to recognize them when they first arise and to let them go. They are just thoughts. Peoples' minds throw lots and lots of thoughts at them to see what they're interested in. Anxious people take one look at a horrible thought and get transfixed by it. We brood over it for hours and hours. We wind up giving them all of our attention, and they make us feel horrible.

If you can't seek help until late August, buy this book: Mindfulness: A practical guide to finding peace in a frantic world. You can download it on your iPhone or iPad, Kindle, or whatever. Seriously, trust me on this one.

Here is an article where the author explains how mindfulness helped her get over a lifetime of anxiety. It has had profound effects on me as well. Its effects can take hold in a matter of days or weeks.

I can understand why you're getting frustrated with other people's responses so I'm going to suggest some practical steps that start with easy and safe actions. Read this book and this book. After the second book, start practicing mindfulness meditation regularly. Also start exercising regularly if you don't already and learn a bit about nutrition and eating healthier. These are all evidence backed ways for you to feel better about yourself and deal with problems you have socially. As a side note, I know it's a cliche thing to say, but looks aren't everything. Practice good hygiene, wear clothes that fit and don't underestimate what a bit of confidence and self-deprecating humour can do for your level of attractiveness. Better confidence will come by following the above steps.

Oh darling I want to give you a big hug. Staring into a mirror and obsessing over every perceived flaw will only magnify them so it becomes all you can see. It's a very unhealthy thing to do and is really going to distort your body image. If you then compare it to the fake images carefully selected for social media then of course you will come up short. I'm sure you are much more attractive than you give yourself credit for. But most importantly you are you and you are a person deserving of love and worthy in your own right.

I would echo to stay away from social media and work on your self esteem and self love. Spend time developing interests you enjoy and do them instead of staring into mirrors, I would even go so far as to remove mirrors from your bedroom or wherever you spend most of your time. Take the focus away from your image.

I would really recommend some mindfulness to help calm your anxiety. This book really helped me, the daily meditations are short (5-10 minutes) so not a big time commitment but can gave big results.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mindfulness-practical-guide-finding-frantic/dp/074995308X1

The Confidence Gap

The Chimp Paradox

Mindfulness

These are some great books, by some fantastic psychiatrists. All these can help with anxiety. The Chimp Paradox book especially is written by Dr Steve Peters, who worked with the British Cycling track team and helped Chris Hoy, Victoria Pendleton, etc become the top in their sport (though his book is not specifically for cycling).

Althought some people will be saying 'don't worry about it' or 'just enjoy it', these are particularly useless statements and (through not fault of their own) generally come from people who have never delt with mental help issues. If it was as easy as 'don't think about it', then you wouldn't have made this thread. These books are based on real scientific evidence and help you deal with the anxiety and not just push it away.

I would say that The Chimp Paradox is best for understanding why you're feeling anxious and the other two books are really good for practising how to deal with the anxiety.

Have you tried a very gentle and gradual secular approach to mindfulness. Start, and progress, with baby steps. In a world where we have medication for any ailment we come to expect that a cure will happen over a week. You have conditioned yourself to feel safe in your 'daydreaming' and trying to step out of it is going to feel strange and painful. This book is an excellent start:

Mindfulness

It sets out a very simple step by step introduction, over an 8 week period. Take things gently, if you slip up, that's fine, that's what learning is all about and you are trying to teach your brain something new. The brain is a bugger and it will kick and scream... don't berate it, be kind and understanding, as you would a friend who has been burnt by some misadventure once again :). There are more things like 'mindfulness in plain English' that would be an excellent moving in point, maybe after a couple of months. The good thing about the book linked is it's a simple step by step guide. Keep things very simple at the moment... it WILL feel strange, alien and painful. When starting out it's easy to become bamboozled by the wealth of information out there especially concerning Buddhism and mindfulness. I think I have a PDF text of that book somewhere, if I can find it I'll PM it to you, either tonight or tomorrow.

One more thing if you attempt to do this keep taking your meds there maybe a time when you feel you won't need them... let's say a couple of years perhaps, who knows, none of us are your doctor and can't say what you need and don't need but mindfulness is a very effective approach to helping you with your symptoms... just take it slowly, if you don't finish a chapter in a week make that chapter 2 weeks... the only important thing is keep practicing.

Hi, /u/themotherfuckingfox. I think there are several tacks you can take that will help, and it's important in doing any of them to recognise that they a) don't provide instant relief, b) require effort and c) don't automatically prevent panic attacks and anxiety.

• (Reach out for medical help sooner. Them not reaching you doesn't mean you can't reach them. The NHS will do home appointments. Tell them that's what you need and discuss your problems. In terms of medication, always follow doctors' orders, but if you want a future without meds it may be you need to tell them you want to be reducing, not increasing, your dose; of course, to do this, you also need to want to decrease. If you have diazepam for when needed, try to use it only when totally necessary, in the long term dependency could be nasty, but as I say these are questions for your doctor, not for a random redditor. Medical stuff aside and in brackets, onto lifestyle:)
  
  
• Diet. Eat three times a day, the largest meal at lunch, and eat a balance of foods. If you're at home anyway, why not learn how to cook? It kills several birds with one stone: it's a mental and physical activity, it stimulates the mind, teaches you about food and builds appetite!
  
  
• Exercise. Whatever you can do, if it's running, or just pressups. Morning is ideal, and not too soon before bedtime (this disrupts sleep).
  
  
• Routine. Get up early, even if you're tired, and go to bed as early as possible.
  
  
• Mindfulness. There are meditation techniques that may at first seem hippy/new age but that people do find useful. Be aware that although you can follow a Buddhist scheme, many courses are non-religious techniques for the same practices, and many are approved by doctors. If you do these you have to take instructions seriously and follow the quotas suggested. A generally recommended resource is Mark Williams's book.
  
  
• This is another best-selling book that uses simple exercises and CBT to help with anxiety and phobias, and is often recommended, The Anxiety and Phobia Workbook.
  
  
• Find a hobby that you can do at home. Even if not getting out, you want something that involves activity and concentration. I bake bread, it's a good balance of thoughtful and active.
  
  
• When you have a hobby, and mindfulness exercises, and a diet, refer back to the third point, routine. Your hobby, meditation, exercise, whatever, won't help if you just start them once you begin feeling anxious. You need to build them all into an overarching routine.
  
  I should add, I'm badly agoraphobic and I am almost hypocritical to offer this advice because I don't always follow it. That said, when I more or less follow more elements of it than not, I do far better than when I don't follow it at all. The shitty thing to recognise is that no matter how well you do these things, you still get bad days. Improvement is slow, and it will feel frustrating, but if you force yourself you will feel it. No miracles, no magical bullets, but it gets better, and at 25 it's definitely not the end of the line: far from it. Good luck. :)
  
  P.S. I forgot to ask if you're a smoker (or indeed a drinker). If so, quit (both). It helps.

> I started to look for private therapy/counselling but a) it's a minefield, and b) it's very expensive. If I'm going to pay £120 an hour for someone every fortnight I would like to know that person has a great reputation.
>

Also this mindfulness book/CD: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/074995308X/

You need to combine that app with learning CBT. I don't see why anyone can't just read up on it rather than attend sessions. You need to learn how the brain ends up in fight/flight feedback loops - and how to identify the 'thought patterns' that are bad, and how to break them.

Been living alone for about 4 years now, struggled badly at times due to depression and loneliness. Started doing some mindfulness practices and meditation to deal with it last year and it has made a huge improvement. Still have bad days but the frequency and duration have decreased dramatically and I'm much more grateful for what I have.

https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/074995308X/ref=cm_sw_r_em_apa_i_1LVHDbH3H4W3R

That's the book that got me started. If you're skint let me know and I'll send you a copy, I have a few spare that I bought to give away.

I agree! It is a total rip-off!

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I would recommend that you try reading this book

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/074995308X/ref=as_li_tf_til?tag=drdannypenman-21&camp=1406&creative=6394&linkCode=as1&creativeASIN=074995308X&adid=0C65KDVEXA3E12FA555K&

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It contains a 8 week meditation programme with different techniques. There is also an app if you dont want the book, it is for 5 USD (one time fee). The programme is designed by actual professors and is tried and tested.

Yes, I had very similar thoughts about CBT. I didn't know I was on the spectrum at the time but that's exactly how I reacted to it. In the end I found the Mark Williams Mindfulness book and audio the most useful. It really helped with anxiety and overwhelm specifically, it has useful tools to cope with those. It avoids the CBT issues because it doesn't tackle thinking head-on, it's a subtle roundabout way of dealing with the mind. It was this one: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mindfulness-practical-guide-finding-frantic/dp/074995308X

To be honest, ordinary long term therapy was difficult too, and didn't help much. The thoughts/feelings thing still makes it hard to progress. I also found it difficult to follow the therapist's way of conceptualising things. It was too alien.

Yes, some follow up from ASD specialists would be very welcome. There are some NAS conference videos and similar online where they discuss things like anxiety in ASD which I found helpful.

I hope you will find something suitable. Anxiety is a torment. I'm glad to say that mine is much more manageable now.

Hard to name particular texts, as the psychology and philosophy of happiness and good life is one of my main interests, but this talk made me realize I'm normal for not having just one passion, this book introduced me to mindfulness, this book changed the way I view my own mind and this book gave an alternate view of happiness that works for non-upbeat people. I

I'm currently reading The Upside of Your Dark Side which has already convinced me that the American/Anglophone obsession with happiness-as-emotion, comfort and avoiding "negative" feelings is not just unnecessary but also harmful.

I got this book after seeing it recommended on this sub:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mindfulness-practical-guide-finding-frantic/dp/074995308X

The meditations are available freely:
http://franticworld.com/free-meditations-from-mindfulness/

Currently following the eight-week program myself; it's quite helpful so far. There are probably other resources on mindfulness, but this one seems highly regarded.

Hey brother,

First; reading about your experience truly touched me. You seem like a good, honest guy and it makes me really sad to think of you suffering.

Secondly, you're not alone. My name is Joe, I'm 20 years old, from England (my brother is called Daniel too). At points over the last three years or so I've experienced some pretty serious anxiety too. I dropped out of school when I was 18 with no prospect of going to university and it was during the first few months that I began to feel very unwell mentally. It was almost exactly as you described - horrible unstoppable thoughts all the time, total alienation from my family and friends, I felt incapable, my digestion totally stopped working, I worried about my future constantly. Although I was never suicidal, at its worst I began to lose a sense of my own identity. Like you I was also at the point where therapy and professional help were the next option. The only reason I'm telling you this is that I saw quite a few similarities between us and I want you to know that, although I don't know you or your problems, there are lots more people coping with anxiety than you think, you're not alone.

You're gonna be OK. Mental illness is so confusing, but the fact that you've written here, the fact that you're searching for the answer, for the solution, is what's going to get you through this. Don't give up.

I beg you, please get this this book: "Mindfulness: A practical guide to finding peace in a frantic world" by Mark Williams and Danny Penman.

It’s an 8-week course on Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy, a technique developed by the authors to treat patients with schizophrenia, depression, anxiety and bipolar disorder using Buddism-inspired meditations. I still remember, after a week or so of following the course (20-30 minutes of meditation a day), the first time I finished one of the guided meditations and I could no longer hear my thoughts. It was a relief like none other I’ve ever felt and since that moment, whatever I have been doing and whatever mental state I've been in, meditation has always been the foundation of mental wellbeing to which I return. I credit this book - alongside some other lifestyle changes - to my recovery, and I have recommended it to everyone I know who so much as thinks the word ‘anxiety’. Through this book I learned the power of meditation and through meditation I have come to Buddhism, both now cornerstones of my life. Please, please get this book, read it, and do the course. After a few weeks of the guided meditations, you may start to see some improvement. Even if it’s only enough to encourage you and help you persevere, it’s worth it.

As for your question about medication; my best friend became depressive just over a year ago, and he committed suicide in March 2017. His illness was far worse than what I had gone through and he had been hospitalised and was severely delusional. In that instance, medication was definitely the right way to go and although the pills affected his personality a bit, he was transformed from being unrecognisable and delusional to being slightly subdued. He stopped taking his medication for some weeks before he died and this allowed his illness to return stronger than before. In serious psychosis or anything approaching it, don’t take any risks, seek professional help and follow the doctor’s instructions.

However, when I was unwell medication was not the right way. I was also wary of professional help so I quit my job, stopped studying to retake my exams so I could focus on getting better. I started going for a walk with my Mum every night and told her everything about my drug use and how I was feeling mentally, which helped so much. I spent more time doing things I liked, like making music and cooking. Exercise, sleep, healthy food, social contact will all help. 18-20 is a common age for mental illness, but don’t let it tie you down, think about all the stuff that’s important to you and start living for it, even if your brain is pulling in other directions. You will find your way through this Daniel, I think your intuition has served you well if you’re looking into meditation. Get the book (please).

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mindfulness-practical-guide-finding-frantic/dp/074995308X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1506362269&sr=8-1&keywords=mindfulness+a+practical+guide+to+finding+peace+in+a+frantic+world

I’ll stop here anyway.
Much love and keep going,
Joe

Have you tried mindfulness meditation or prayer? I also struggle with this and i'm trying to get some sort of prayer or mindfulness meditation in everyday. The prayer is easy for me as i'm a Muslim. I recommend the following book for mindfulness:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mindfulness-practical-guide-finding-frantic/dp/074995308X

Edit: Oh and def bring it up with your psych. That is what they are there for.

The UK's NHS recommend/prescribe this one
http://www.amazon.com/Mindfulness-practical-guide-finding-frantic/dp/074995308X

i used to meditate for about 10- 15 minutes a day 2 twice a day. I took about 3 or four months. I have no idea what Jhana is could tell me what it is? . I did mindfulness meditation i followed this particular programme

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mindfulness-practical-guide-finding frantic/dp/074995308X/ref=sr_1_1 ie=UTF8&qid=1466273001&sr=8-1&keywords=mindfulness

First off, you made a massive step just going for therapy. That takes courage even in itself. Have you tried different techniques, such as hand tapping or auditory tones? It may reduce the anxiety a little. Sometimes you will need to have therapy but not EMDR, like one week on one week off to let reprocessing occur. I upped mine from once a week to twice a week and that was hard so I imagine that going from once a week to once every two weeks may help with reprocessing.
Usually the therapist has a method of calming you down at the end of the session, mine showed me a 'healing light' meditation. Now this sounds like hippy bs but its just another form of relaxation meditation in which you visualise a healing light quenching your negative emotions and feelings.
I would speak to your therapist about using a calming technique towards the end of the sessions or if you become overwhelmed, if they haven't already.

Your sleep will improve and so will eating habits, trauma is difficult and can be complex. I found regular mindfulness meditation really helps with anxiety. There is a book based course which greatly reduced/reduces my anxiety if that helps too :)

book on mindfulness!

has great reviews, a few people seem to be having a rough few months so it might be fun :)

Nope, not quite, but it's by the same author.
This is the one I got:
The other one could be as good or better though, I'd be interested to find out. Maybe read a few pages and check out his sample meditation to see if you like the guy's voice.

I think it was this one, not sure though.

What you say makes sense. I just struggle to practically apply that. Just to give you a scenario to explain what I mean:

Let's say you're meditating and the thought pops into your head "Oh I really can't be bothered with work tomorrow", what is the next step? I understand that the aim is to be aware of the thought, without passing judgement. So do you literally say to yourself "That is just the thought, I will return back to the breath" for example? And I also completely understand what you mean with reference to having no control over thoughts, believe me, that bit I get loud and clear haha! I just struggle to understand the distinction between observing thoughts i.e. being mindful and ignoring them. And then I really beat myself up about it all or constantly second guess everything I do in life by thinking things like: "Is this the right way to do it? Am I allowed to do this?" What unnerves me is I know this is so silly as the whole aim of mindfulness isn't to change our experience, but to notice is it as it is. I just really struggle with it and then applying it to daily life. It has become quite distressing, really.

I meditate roughly 10 minutes a day, increasing to 15 minutes this week. I read the following book:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Mindfulness-practical-guide-finding-frantic/dp/074995308X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1453491316&sr=8-1&keywords=mindfulness+a+practical+guide+to+finding+peace+in+a+frantic+world

And I am following this course.

To answer your earlier question: I am tackling my depression on many fronts, I am on anti depressant medication, I exercise 6 times a week and eat well as I am currently bulking up and I see a fantastic therapist every week. Honestly, things are getting better for me in life in general, it's just I'm very much at a crossroads with my meditation practice and I'd thought I'd come here to seek advice before giving up my practice.

Have you tried any courses or books on meditation? I would suggest a couple if you haven't.

First, download the 'Headspace' app for your smartphone, you get a 10 day course for free, which you can repeat again and again; really good intro to mindfulness mediation.

Secondly i'm currently reading/using 'Mindfulness' and this also gives you an excellent intro to the practice along with an 8 week course of meditations, all for less than £10.

If you're not looking to go on medication or get help from a health professional (do really consider this one), take a look at treating your depression with meditation. I used to have crippling anxiety and meditation was transformative. Take a look at Danny Penman's work, he has 8-week programmes you can do at home. What do you have to lose by giving it go?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mindfulness-practical-guide-finding-frantic/dp/074995308X

Actually it was this one: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Mindfulness-practical-guide-finding-frantic/dp/074995308X

First of all, my complements on losing weight, getting stronger, etc., and that only in 5 months. You should be really proud of yourself!

I don't have to tell you but exercising is really important and actually can help when you feel depressed. However, it is really understandable that you don't really feel like it and find it difficult to stay motived. But it is important to keep working out because if you completely stop it will also make it more difficult to start again. The important thing is that you now need to find a middle ground: so don't work till exhaustion but still keep going 2-3 times to the gym. On the days you don't work out, for example, go for a walk/jog. Also, don't worry about feeling constantly exhausted that comes with feeling depressed, and will eventually go away.

Maybe also a good thing is to maybe do a more social oriented sport because working out at the gym or running is still something you do on your own, which leaves you with your own thoughts. Think for example of CrossFit or classes such as Body Pump, spinning. This will force you more to focus on the class, socialise with others and think less about your problems.

What really helps me, maybe your are already doing this is mindfulness. I followed this program for 8 weeks and found it amazing: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Mindfulness-practical-guide-finding-frantic/dp/074995308X.

A form of Mindfulness combined with exercising is ROM WOD. That is really intense and for sure will take your mind away from your problems. You can do a free trail for a week: https://romwod.com/

Hope this helps!

You deserve to call it rape. You are not to blame. When you've been through something distressing it is ok for it to have an impact on you, in fact you can't really stop it from having an impact on you - that's why "just getting over it" isn't an option. You need to be kinder to yourself.


Out of curiosity, why is therapy/counselling not an option for you?


In terms of self-help it depends on the individual but I quite like mindfulness (I know it sounds a bit new-agey, but there is some fairly solid evidence that it can help) - there are some guided mindfulness sessions online, and there is a decent book on it too. Alternatively, there may be workshops/courses for mindfulness/CBT/other forms of therapy in your area that you could check out.

I found this book helpful, Mindfulness is meditation but more medical than religious : Mindfulness: A practical guide to finding peace in a frantic world https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/074995308X/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_w2YxzbPJVEJVD

Second this,

I've also found this book invaluable. It comes with an 8 week program with mp3 guided meditations.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Mindfulness-practical-guide-finding-frantic/dp/074995308X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1409838252&sr=8-1&keywords=mindfulness

Talking therapies and counselling do not work well for depression - simply talking over your problems can end up reinforcing the mental patterns that created them in the first place. Look into Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) instead - it is a meditation based therapy that has a proven track record of helping with depression such as yours. If you can, find a therapist near you that uses it - group sessions will be much cheaper than one-to-one sessions. It is normally done as an 8-week course.

If you cannot find or afford a therapist then there are several books that will help - here are a couple to that I am familiar with and can recommend:

The Mindful Way Through Depression

Mindfulness: Finding Peace In a Frantic World

If you search Amazon for Mindfulness you will find dozens of others. These books include a CD with the meditations on, so you can do the course on your own - it is not enough to just read the books, you have to do the practices as well.

If you are in a deep depression it is advisable to take a course of antidepressants first to get you into a state where you can do the course and stick with it.

This book has helped me and a few of my friends, not sure if it has already been suggested or not. I would highly recommend it.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mindfulness-practical-guide-finding-frantic/dp/074995308X/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1485182584&sr=8-5&keywords=mindfulness+for+beginners

A quick search on amazon.co.uk came up with these books I cant say I have read anyone apart from this one which is excellent.

As far as I am can tell anything that gets your heart rate up and makes you break into a sweat counts as exercise. Go for it.

A good way to reduce anxiety is to use mindfulness practice -

"MINDFULNESS reveals a set of simple yet powerful practices that can be incorporated into daily life to help break the cycle of unhappiness, stress, anxiety and mental exhaustion and promote genuine joie de vivre. It's the kind of happiness that gets into your bones. It seeps into everything you do and helps you meet the worst that life can throw at you with new courage. The book is based on Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT). MBCT revolves around a straightforward form of mindfulness meditation which takes just a few minutes a day for the full benefits to be revealed. MBCT has been clinically proven to be at least as effective as drugs for depression and it is recommended by the UK's National Institute of Clinical Excellence - in other words, it works. More importantly it also works for people who are not depressed but who are struggling to keep up with the constant demands of the modern world. MINDFULNESS focuses on promoting joy and peace rather than banishing unhappiness. It's precisely focused to help ordinary people boost their happiness and confidence levels whilst also reducing anxiety, stress and irritability."

Here is a link to the book, http://www.amazon.co.uk/Mindfulness-practical-guide-finding-frantic/dp/074995308X. It is fantastic.

This ^

This book has changed my life

Honestly you'll realise you didn't know you were alive. I'm still a beginner but even the small difference in my awareness has had a really profound effect on me.