OCD and meditation

[Guest Azamour]

I went to a meditation class tonight as it helps with mindfulness which is one of the keys to unlocking ocd. Has anyone tried this?

Tonight was difficult. It is a group class and meditation is all about lowering your guard and relaxing. The problem is that I've been fighting hard for the last week and now that I've stopped it feels like everything is catching up with me. I almost wanted to cry.

Oh well I'll keep on keeping on. Perhaps the break will do me good.

[PolarBear]

I haven't done meditation but do partake in relaxation nearly every day. Wonderful stuff but it takes practice.

[taurean]

I went to a meditation class tonight as it helps with mindfulness which is one of the keys to unlocking ocd. Has anyone tried this?o

Tonight was difficult. It is a group class and meditation is all about lowering your guard and relaxing. The problem is that I've been fighting hard for the last week and now that I've stopped it feels like everything is catching up with me. I almost wanted to cry.

Oh well I'll keep on keeping on. Perhaps the break will do me good.

Hi azamour

I use mindfulness and meditation and practice them regularly.

I am not sure where your statement "one of the keys to unlocking OCD" comes from. Breaking free from OCD is all about not believing or engaging with intrusive thoughts, and using CBT including ERP is the way to face up to the irrational fears it throws at us.

I don't think mindfulness can be achieved unless you have made significant strides in overcoming OCD. Meditation is a great way to calm body and mind, and is helpful in achieving relaxation which will boost a person and make them feel able to engage with OCD.

Mindfulness is an incredibly calm state where we are solely living in the present, in the moment; effectively it is utopian nirvana.

Edited July 31, 2014 by taurean

[Guest OCDChineseFighter]

I heard people burn a joss stick with it. Different scents you could choose. I have not tried it yet. But I found music works better for me.

[Guest Sisyphus]

I heard people burn a joss stick with it. Different scents you could choose. I have not tried it yet. But I found music works better for me.

Me too. I find the noises outside are too distracting sometimes - e.g. cars, screaming children, voices. So I have to put some kind of background music on. My favourite is bamboo wind chimes, but have also used instrumental music, the sound of the ocean or tide, thunderstorms, rain, waterfalls. It's all good. Oh and I did try those binaural things a couple of times - never again - my tinnitus went through the roof!

For years, I avoided meditation due to a mis-conception that it was some jedi discipline requiring a zen attitude or some kind of mental trick. However I went on a retreat in 2012 and as part of it we had to do group meditations for substantial periods of time. This was a real test for me, but I did pretty well and got a lot out of it.

So I was determined to try when I got home. Took me a surprisingly long time to get round to it but I did start to do it. Had a really good spell last autumn. Then there was a lot of disruption here with new noisy neighbours and it really stole my peace. But I really need to get back to it now as I believe it is good for the mind and for combatting OCD.

Also, I couldnt do it sitting cross legged due to a knee injury so chose to do it sat upright in a chair. Worked fine though of course it's easier to go to sleep like that!

[Guest itsnotmeitsmyocd]

Hiya,

The essence of meditation (zazen aka zen, i only know about these teachings) is to allow and not judge any thoughts or emotions that come up during this practise.

Sometimes it will be really taxing, sometimes it wont be (this applies to people without ocd too BTW), other times it will be neutral.

The aim is to allow anything that comes up - to do just that, and allow it to be there. Sit with whatever comes up, make space for the feelings and let them be - in a non-judgemental way. This ultimately will help you create distance from anything that comes up, which in turn will give you a mind break.

I have recently re-started practise myself, i am finding it quite challenging as my thoughts race around like wild fire. But actually that's exactly why it's called practise

[Guest Sisyphus]

So when you are doing it, what's your basic regimen? Sitting cross-legged? On a cushion? Silence or background music, chanting or not?

I've really got to get over this current block and get back to it. I feel so poor for having not done it for so long - I mean it's free for heaven's sake! How ridiculous.

[taurean]

Hi David

I meditate sitting in an easy chair or lying on a bed.

The easiest one is diaphramatic breathing, just breathing deeply concentrating solely on the breath.

You can use counting, or say a mantra - or move onto a guided meditation from a download or CD. Favourites of these take me swimming with the dolphins or driving through countryside with green rolling hills.

Edited July 31, 2014 by taurean

[Guest jayjay89]

I'm having the opposite problem, usually my mind is dead quiet, but when I do mindfulness meditation it kicks off!

[battlethrough]

The thing with meditation is its no quick fix,like everything it takes practice and practice,but if a little is done regularly then overtime the brain starts to change and see things things differently

Theres an intresting peice about the science of meditation and how it changes your brain

Its on a site called phycoligytoday, and the article is called what happens to your brain on meditation

Stick with it if you can,best wishes

[Guest itsnotmeitsmyocd]

Hiya Sisyphus,

I didn't reply sooner, as i was waiting to talk to my best friend, who has studied and practised various teachings about meditation and also happens to be a "dan" in various martial arts- i mention this last bit as i know you have interest in MA's too.

So today i had a long convo with him, about the in's and out's of meditation, the different styles/teachings and so on. And basically it all came back to the most simplistic and oldest meditation teachings, which is called "breath watching" . On paper it's so simplistic, but of course in practise it's challenging (ocd or not) - as is practise is of anything.

I am absolutely exhausted now, so i just wanted you to know that i will reply properly tomorrow with the in's and out's of the conversation.

[Guest Sisyphus]

itsnotmeitsmyocd, on 01 Aug 2014 - 03:11 AM, said:itsnotmeitsmyocd, on 01 Aug 2014 - 03:11 AM, said:

Hiya Sisyphus,

I didn't reply sooner, as i was waiting to talk to my best friend, who has studied and practised various teachings about meditation and also happens to be a "dan" in various martial arts- i mention this last bit as i know you have interest in MA's too.

Hi Itsnotmeitsmyocd,

I appreciate that - thank you.

Well put it this way - I wanted to have an interest in MA's but I got badly nobbled as soon as I started, and am avoiding them now because my knee is still a bit ropey. But yeah, I wanted to get into them. Left it a little too late obviously, and my body had different ideas

Anyway for the time being, I'm doing Ashtanga yoga instead. I'm only a beginner but it's a pretty good workout if you do it properly. Still - don't think it would help you much in a ruck, but hey!

QuoteQuote

So today i had a long convo with him, about the in's and out's of meditation, the different styles/teachings and so on. And basically it all came back to the most simplistic and oldest meditation teachings, which is called "breath watching" . On paper it's so simplistic, but of course in practise it's challenging (ocd or not) - as is practise is of anything.

I sometimes listen to the Mindrolling podcast and somebody on there said something about how all you need to do is just observe your breath - e.g. focussing on it as it enters and leaves your nose. And just the act of focussing is enough to take you out of yourself. I personally suspect that meditation is much more simple than we would have ourselves believe - just the discipline to stop thinking for a period of time once or twice a day. And you can use whatever tricks work for you to do that, like chanting or watching breath, or if you've got it in you, you can just naturally refuse to engage any thoughts that come up. But it all results in the same net effect, however you get there. That's how I look on it anyway, but clearly I'm no Yoda here so I could be talking rubbish!

hey you might even be interested in some of the themes on the Mind Rolling podcast - check it out:

http://mindrollingpodcast.com/

QuoteQuote

I am absolutely exhausted now, so i just wanted you to know that i will reply properly tomorrow with the in's and out's of the conversation.

Oh no worries - listen I appreciate a reply at all, so thank you.

All the best,

David.

p.s. I like your picture and signature too.

Edited August 1, 2014 by Sisyphus

[Guest itsnotmeitsmyocd]

Hiya David,

I too have also just re-started yoga! Until i am better at getting further away from home (working on this exposure wise of course) i am following Dr Melissa West's yoga teachings. She is Canadian and i find all her teachings beyond amazing (esp when it comes to sorting the trapped nerves i get and old injuries i happen to have) , can you believe after i joined her site, she sent me a letter with a lovely message inside it- all the way from Canada to the UK! This act of kindness really made me stop and think about human gestures and of course very happy

Thanks so much for the Mindrolling pod cast, i will certainly check it out and report back to you.

So back to the meditation (not to be confused with relaxation techs) and of course not ever to be seen as a cure for OCD - we wish eh!

In a nut shell the aim is not a state of relaxation or any wanted or unwanted state actually. The aim is the practise and no matter what does or does not come up, see it through to the end. At times is will be challenging, frustrating, boring, calming, easy and so on. How you actually feel during practise is very much irrelevant, it's the practise that is the point.

* choose a time length that you will practise for (never go over or below this time limit, if it's hard stay at it, if it's easy don't stay on for longer) I have gone for 10 mins for now. Later down the line you can increase the time.

* choose your place of choice to practise, set an alarm for your chosen length of practise.

* how to sit, this depends on you and your body tbh. For traditions and posture sake your pelvis would be tilted forward, so that your spine is straighter, legs crossed. I sit on the edge of a sofa cushion with crossed legs, and a prop under my right knee - as i have an old injury that plays up (always be propping lol) . I asked my friend about the importance of how you sit, he said weather you're crossed legged, legs out straight, whatever, all that really matters is that your spine is straight to aid good posture.

* hands laying on your lap, palms facing upwards with one hand on top of the other, thumb tips touching eachother.

* Practise - breathe at your normal rate of breathing, consciously going slower or faster is not the aim, or the focus. Breathe in and on your out count 1, second breathe out count 2, and so on up-to ten. Then go back to number one and carry on as stated.

* During practise, you may notice your thoughts/feelings coming away from your breath, that is totally normal and to be expected, don't dwell on it, just bring yourself back to breath watching as soon as you realise that you have been distracted. You may well be distracted many many times, again that is normal (ocd or not) , bring yourself back to the breath. You may well forget what number you are on, that is normal, don't dwell go back to number one. My BF says he often goes onto 11 upwards, then may dwell on this. As soon as you realise you're dwelling, go back to your breath and counting from one

So in summary it's not about which thoughts/feelings that come up (supposed good or bad ones) , it's about bringing yourself back to the breath watching.

I did ask about playing music, burning scent and so on. He said "well it's only about your breath" breathing keeps us alive and it deserves our attention in itself, no need to add anything else into the breath.

LOL, i am making myself and my BF sound like hippies now, we are both very far from it.

Are you an OCDUK member? If so i would love to move this discussion to the members area, so that we can check in with each other and discuss the findings of our daily practise (it's really hard for me to do this practise due to ocd going wild when i do it) which is exactly why i have started doing it again!

Peace Out, and i hope everything above makes sense, been a very long day and night work wise for me. zzzzzzzzz.

[Guest Sisyphus]

Wow that's a very thorough good answer - thanks Itsnotmeitsmyocd

I'm afraid I'm not a member. I'm unemployed and living off the remnants of my savings so trying to watch the pennies at the moment. But I guess you could PM me instead? Best I can offer at the moment.

I have been hoping to get back to meditation but have failed as yet. I don't know why. Easy to blame everything and anything on OCD, but I'm just badly organised and unmotivated lately really.

So the method you've described is similar and different to how I was doing it. I wasn't counting though I was trying to watch my breath. I think my hands were either clasped together in my lap or on my thighs(as I was sat upright in a chair). I would breath normally without putting any effort into it, allow my head to slump forward and just stare into the blackness imagining myself sat back watching any thoughts that came up as clouds drifting by in front of me. This worked so well sometimes for me.

However time wise, I would set an alarm, say for 20 minutes, but I didn't strictly stick to it. So if I was having a bad meditation and too much OCD or wahtever, I would ignore the alarm and stay there until it went better. So I could be there 45 minutes. Sometimes it didn't work at all. Other times I just did 15 minutes and it was fine pretty much start to finish.

But maybe this disciplined approach to time and counting breath it important, they use beads in Tibetan monestaries don't they? For counting the breaths? Or did I dream that?!

I think I would probably keep playing the background track as long as Im doing the meditation here because there's just too much potential for disrupting noise and while more noise may not seem like a solutiuon to that, somehow it helps me - like good noise drowns out the bad noise to put it in OCD-esque terms! Though I'm pretty sure it's not an OCD thing, but a concentration thing.

What's up with your knee then? I tore a meniscus and damaged the ACL just over a year ago. Was out of action for a while. Then they operated on the meniscus but told nme the ACL wasnt bad enough to operate on. My running days are over now much to my chagrin. But I can do yoga so it aint all bad. These injuries are an inevitable part of life somewhere along the line. It could always be worse.

Nah you don't sound like hippies - just people trying to improve themselves with what's available. Respect.

That's nice that Dr. West sent you a letter like that. Personal touches like that go along way in this day and age.

Well thanks again for that very edifying reply. I appreciate you taking the time to explain it all. I must bookmark this and read it again before meditating next.

All the best,

David.