Relatively New to Meditation

[AndrewF1984]

Hello all,

So I'm not going to tell you my life story, suffice it to say I have been severely depressed since my early teens. I am almost 31 now. About four months ago I started practicing mindfulness on my own after reading about it on the internet. The results are unbelievable. I can't really say that I feel depressed anymore. I am definitely getting better at living moment to moment. The trouble is that I have never felt like this before, and quite frankly living in this present state that mindfulness has created, is scaring the living **** out of me. It is so new and foreign to anything I have experienced in my life. Is this something that will pass as I continue to practice? Really I just need to reassurance that I am on the right path. Thanks for reading, and have a good day.

Andrew

[JonW]

Hello Andrew,
Welcome to the forum. Please make yourself at home here and feel free to ask any questions that arise or join in any of the conversational threads.
It's not unusual for mindfulness to have a sudden impact on the practitioner. Perhaps for the first time in our lives we are not living in thrall to all our thoughts and we're finding space around difficult emotions. We're learning to be.
All that can set the mind to wondering, "Will this sense of peace last?"
There's no reason why it shouldn't.
Practice is key here. I've found that keeping my practice fresh is very important to me. That involves varying my meditation practice, reading a lot, meeting like-minded people (I run a mindfulness meet-up group here in Brighton) and, not least, being involved in Everyday Mindfulness.
All best wishes,
Jon

[Gareth]

Is this something that will pass as I continue to practice?

The answer for me at least as been both yes and no.

My baseline level of peace and happiness has undoubtedly been raised for good. Mindfulness has had an enormous positive impact on my life overall.

That said, life still happens: sad events still happen, negative moods still happen, physical and emotional pain still happens. There will be some days that you don't feel so good, and it probably serves you well to remember that.

[paulpsych]

Hi Andrew
Your experiences may vary. At the moment you're getting a lot of benefits and at other times you may feel frustrated and even desperate and start questioning if you're doing it "right". Mindfulness practice (for me) has a profound but subtle effect over time. It's well worth sticking with though!