I've been fighting a combination of SAD (to which I am susceptible) and PTSD (bad things happened last summer). My doctor suggested Mindfulness Therapy. The book I purchased from Amazon arrived the day before yesterday so I am going to start the eight-week course this weekend.
In the interim, for the last two weeks or so I've been using a mobile app that provides guided meditation sessions, awareness of breathing to start, little 10-minute sessions once a day, and already I feel less "on edge". So I am hopeful that this program (the 8-week course) will produce the results I am looking for,
Just starting
Welcome to the forum, Xenon62.
If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to to ask!
Good luck!
Peter
If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to to ask!
Good luck!
Peter
Hello and welcome to our community 
“Being mindful means that we take in the present moment as it is rather than as we would like it to be.”
Mark Williams
http://adlibbed.blogspot.co.uk/p/mindfulness-me-enjoy-silence.html
Find me on twitter - @feehutch
Mark Williams
http://adlibbed.blogspot.co.uk/p/mindfulness-me-enjoy-silence.html
Find me on twitter - @feehutch
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JonW
- Team Member
- Posts: 2897
- Practice Mindfulness Since: 08 Dec 2012
- Location: In a field, somewhere
Hi Xenon,
Welcome to the forum.
If your book is Finding Peace In Frantic World by Williams & Penman, you might find this thread useful:
viewforum.php?f=30
Otherwise, please feel free to ask any questions or join any of the numerous conversational threads we currently have running.
All good things,
Jon, Hove
Welcome to the forum.
If your book is Finding Peace In Frantic World by Williams & Penman, you might find this thread useful:
viewforum.php?f=30
Otherwise, please feel free to ask any questions or join any of the numerous conversational threads we currently have running.
All good things,
Jon, Hove
Jon leads the Everyday Mindfulness group meditation on Zoom every Monday/Friday, 6pm London-time. FREE.
Follow this link to join the WhatsApp group and receive notifications: https://chat.whatsapp.com/K5j5deTvIHVD7z71H3RIIk
Follow this link to join the WhatsApp group and receive notifications: https://chat.whatsapp.com/K5j5deTvIHVD7z71H3RIIk
Actually, the book is "The Mindful Way Workbook" by John Teasdale et al. And after two weeks I am feeling a lot better, getting closer to my normal self (or what passes for 'normal' in my world). Part of it may be the longer days, meaning that I am walking to and from work in daylight (well, almost-daylight in the morning, but full sunshine in the afternoon) instead of in the dark.
But I also feel more... I can't find the right word. "Centered" comes to mind.
Had a one-on-one with my supervisor at work yesterday; she said she noticed I had been quiet and withdrawn for the last few months, but also noted that I seemed to be coming out of it. I didn't tell her what I was doing, just that I was taking action; she seemed to approve.
(Incidentally, I did reach out to the 'Employee Assistance Program' my employer offers via a third party organization; their suggestion was to go to my doctor and get him to prescribe an antidepressant. I wasn't willing to go that route, having bad experiences with antidepressants in the past.)
But I also feel more... I can't find the right word. "Centered" comes to mind.
Had a one-on-one with my supervisor at work yesterday; she said she noticed I had been quiet and withdrawn for the last few months, but also noted that I seemed to be coming out of it. I didn't tell her what I was doing, just that I was taking action; she seemed to approve.
(Incidentally, I did reach out to the 'Employee Assistance Program' my employer offers via a third party organization; their suggestion was to go to my doctor and get him to prescribe an antidepressant. I wasn't willing to go that route, having bad experiences with antidepressants in the past.)
PS: In my initial post I made reference to PTSD. Last summer, a blister on the outside of my foot became infected... badly. I spent three weeks in the hospital, during which time they had to amputate two of my toes (fourth and fifth). Plus three months on sick leave, recovering. Everything has healed (physically), I have custom orthotics for support, I can walk normally again (though I walk with a cane for extra balance if I go outside)... but the psychic damage took longer to heal, and I still feel 'fragile'.
On the plus side, my injury prompted me to move, as in the immediate aftermath, climbing stairs was extremely difficult. My old place was a condo apartment I bought in the year 2000 in a walk-up building (no elevator.) I bought a new condo in a high-rise (with elevator), and I absolutely love it -- it's 10 minutes to walk to/from work instead of a 40-minute bus ride (with a transfer)... AND the old condo sold for more than it was listed for, as two buyers got into a bidding war. (It has an excellent location.) Anyway, the other day my mother suggested that had this injury not happened, I would still be living in my old apartment...
On the plus side, my injury prompted me to move, as in the immediate aftermath, climbing stairs was extremely difficult. My old place was a condo apartment I bought in the year 2000 in a walk-up building (no elevator.) I bought a new condo in a high-rise (with elevator), and I absolutely love it -- it's 10 minutes to walk to/from work instead of a 40-minute bus ride (with a transfer)... AND the old condo sold for more than it was listed for, as two buyers got into a bidding war. (It has an excellent location.) Anyway, the other day my mother suggested that had this injury not happened, I would still be living in my old apartment...
Thanks for sharing your story Xenon!
I hope you keep recovering mentally!
Peter
I hope you keep recovering mentally!
Peter
Let us know if you want to write your story as a blog.
Good luck!
Good luck!
Status update: I feel great.
I meditate for 10 or 15 minutes every day, consistently at least 6 days out of 7; sometimes I do a 30-minute guided 'body scan'. Family, friends, and co-workers all agree that I am back to my old self. Still use a cane when walking outside, but otherwise I can walk normally (though stairs are still a problem... thank goodness I moved to a building with an elevator.)
It was a year ago today that I had the surgery in which two toes were amputated... I was wondering how I'd feel about that on the anniversary date, but it turns out my attitude is "It is what it is", and that I came through it all okay.
Short answer: Mindfulness works!
I meditate for 10 or 15 minutes every day, consistently at least 6 days out of 7; sometimes I do a 30-minute guided 'body scan'. Family, friends, and co-workers all agree that I am back to my old self. Still use a cane when walking outside, but otherwise I can walk normally (though stairs are still a problem... thank goodness I moved to a building with an elevator.)
It was a year ago today that I had the surgery in which two toes were amputated... I was wondering how I'd feel about that on the anniversary date, but it turns out my attitude is "It is what it is", and that I came through it all okay.
Short answer: Mindfulness works!
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