Mindfulness Meditation

[GonePirate]

spoke with my psych the other day
finally
we did some mindfulness stuff to work on persistent negative thoughts

that inner voice sort of shit

wondering if anyone has any tips to deal or cope with this sort of shizzz

[Silenus]

Hey @GonePirate - I've had years (decades in fact) of negative and cruel self talk...

I used to know just what to say with that inner voice to do the most damage to myself. Very logical. Very clever. Very tricky...

And damn near impossible to refute. At the start of my journey to better mental health, that voice ate CBT for breakfast and laughed at my stupidity...

Now, I take a more nuanced approach than the bumbling sledgehammer of CBT, trying to crack them nuts...

I separate. I step aside. I become aware of that nasty inner voice, and my insights about what it is doing allows me to calmly observe it without the sting in those words doing me in...

I have even been training my inner voice to speak with a more civil tongue. If it starts with all those "You ******* useless ******* ****, ****" stuff, I just say "Nope. Not listening. Talk to the hand. Speak calmly and nicely. Then we can have a conversation."...

It's worked well for me so far. I'm much gentler in my thoughts to myself these days... some very vivid dreams trouble me from time to time, but the inner voice has learned to play nice most of the time...

Sending you hugs, brotherman...

[Silenus]

@GonePirate - I resurrected my imaginary pet parrot Cyril in order to monitor my self deprecation. These little gedankenexperiments (thought experiments) can be a wonderful tool for investigating and changing self for the better...

Cyril is not just for giggles (though that's definitely a part of it - trying to get better should be fun after all, and not a chore). Cyril is a "monitoring program" within my mind, alerting me to become fully "present" in the Now and observe what is happening with my thoughts and emotions. Cyril is a well crafted and clever parrot...

Cyril wanna cracker?

[Sqwuaarrk]

Good boy. Now remember, no poopies on my shoulder, yeah? Good boy...

[GonePirate]

I'm trying to find a guide to leaves on a stream that isn't like an old dude

all the ones ive found are like 50 - 60 year old psychs murmuring and mumbling there way into my brain

why cant they get sexy voiced ladies to guide me through this little activity

[GonePirate]

youd think being a pirate and all that a parrot on me shoulder would be helpful hahaha maybe a wobbly old wooden leg enchanted by some ancient magic would do the job ???

[Silenus]

Hahahaaa... perfect, @GonePirate 🙂

[BlueBay]

@Silenus

Struggling to do mindfulness meditation at the moment. I start and can't concentrate or even get my mind to shut off even for a few minutes. I start with good intnetions and end up so damn angry and frustrated.

how do i do mindfulness meditaoitn when in bad dark headspace?

[Former-Member]

Hello, just thought I'd throw in my bit in M
Mindfulness saved me, in the middle of the night shaking in the throws of PTSD on my own - the grounding with the five senses just me & God..Mindfulness woke me up to NOTICING things without reacting. In the 'noticing' i started bewakinf throygh the fog of depression & notice there were in fact pleasant things in the world that bring me actual joy, and peace (even in brief moments of respite it has a positive ripple effect on my being). I'm lucky my therapist gave me his CD of mindfulness exercises that were short, only 5 or 10min which is all i could handle then. I copied the exercises into my smartphone so i listen & do them any time. Sometimes just hearing my therapists voice was a comfort in easing the pain of isolation. Even short exercises are useful in maintaining skills. I found & open what i call 'reflex neural pathways' that it easier to think of when under stress.

When I'm agitated its sometimes more helpful to use movement meditation. I like TaiChi but some do yoga & so many others. Some mindfulness exercises even involve walking & eating.

[GonePirate]

I found my old mindfulness CD

its got 4 activities on it

thinking of using it when I get a chance

[Silenus]

Hi @Former-Member - sorry I missed your post until now. That's great to hear about your successes with Mindfulness.

Sometimes all it takes is that little crack of light to banish the darkness...

And like you say, sometimes all you can manage is a few minutes here and there. That's okay. It all helps... 🙂

Hugs and happy vibes beaming to you...