I am new to the site and just wanted to introduce myself. I am male, in my 40s and live in the UK. For as long as I can remember, I have suffered from depression and anxiety. I have been on so many different anti depressants and they all give me such bad side effects which make my moods even worse. I have tried all sorts of alternative therapies from CBT, St John's wort, exercise, diet and acupuncture. A few years ago I was introduced to Mindfulness and did the standard 8 week course. This has been the only thing that has helped me and its effects have made a huge difference in my life. I work full time and have a very busy life and so fitting in 30 minutes of meditation everyday is not easy but it is the most important thing I do in the day. I have had periods where I have slackened off and my low moods soon follow. As soon as I begin practicing again, the symptoms ease significantly. I prefer to follow guided meditations and found that I got bored listening to the same guides and so I have bought many different books and downloaded guides which I can listen to on my ipod. I now have many different guides to choose from which keeps me interested and keen to practice. If anyone is wondering if they should invest their precious time into mindfulness, I would say, try it for the 8 weeks and see for yourself how it can help. Just do it!
May you all be free from pain and have peace of mind.
Jabber
