Meditation: An effective medicine for depression

From the time I woke up in the morning until the time I went to bed at night, I was unbearably miserable and seemingly incapable of any kind of

joy or enthusiasm. Everything -every thought, word, movement-was an effort. Everything that once was sparkling now was flat. I seemed to myself to be dull, boring, inadequate, thick brained, unlit, unresponsive, chill skinned, bloodless, and sparrow drab. I doubted, completely, my ability to do anything well. It is virtually useless. The wretched, convoluted, and pathetically confused mass of seemed as though my mind had slowed down and burned out to the point of being and shortcomings in character and to taunt me with the total; the desperate gray worked only well enough to torment me with a dreary litany of my inadequacies hopelessness of it all. (Jamison,1995b,9.110)

Depression takes over the whole person’s emotions, bodily functions, behaviors, and thoughts. The most common emotion in depression is sadness. This sadness is not the garden variety type, which we all feel sometimes, but is a deep, unrelenting pain. As Jamison wrote, she was “unbearably miserable and seemingly incapable of any kind of joy or enthusiasm”. Besides, many people diagnosed with depression report that they have lost interest in everything in life; a symptom referred to as anhedonia. Even when they try to do something enjoyable, they feel

no emotional reaction. There is no particular cause or reason which causes depression. But it surely happens to the one who’s mind is weak. People who often get distracted by their surrounding and company. That person loses focus on his/her self and gives more importance to others. This happens when you are in an unhealthy relationship, stressed workplace, etc. The one who has an awake mind is always far from this distraction. To keep your mind awake meditation is very helpful. Meditation is the mental development of mind cultivation. One becomes increasingly aware of oneself, of others, of one’s environment. This increased awareness helps us to deal with everyday life situations with greater calm and insight. By building up good habits of the mind in meditation, our behavior in daily life gradually changes. As our anger decreases, we can make better decisions and we become less dissatisfied and restless. It is very beneficial to have a regular meditation practice, even if it is only for a short time each day. It’s incorrect to say “I’m a working person. my day is so busy with career, family, and social obligations that I can’t meditate”. It is not necessary to practice meditation like saints or monks. You can simply engage yourself with something you love to do or something that you’re good at. For example, drawing, listening to music or singing, watering plants, cooking, etc. It not only helps you to calm yourself but also it makes your day productive. We must learn to like ourselves and to be happy alone. We always have time to nourish our bodies; we never skip a meal because we see it is important. Likewise, we should reserve time to nourish our mind and heart as well, because they are equally important as our body 😊.