Do you experience anxiety, and wonder whether your coping skills are effective or not? Have you ever tried meditation and wondered whether it really helps or not? Meditation may not be the only answer to your anxiety problems, but it happens to be something that really can help if used correctly.

Meditation as a Tool for Combating Anxiety

Anxiety is such a huge problem these days, it demands you utilize all the tools at your disposal.  It’s not such a matter finding the ‘right’ medication that will help, although medication can often help with this issue.  There is a need to have the best coping skills available that can help take the pressure off medication, as well as commonly abused substances, to do the job.  Meditation can help to give you more tools to address the problem, the root of which is often in the mind.  

Meditation Can Help to Ease Anxiety

There’s been so much talk about how meditation can help for this or that, but not a lot of solid evidence for its benefits. There have also been proponents, or gurus, who will say this type or that technique is most helpful for the problems that you suffer from.  The problem with anxiety is that the mind is not becoming still so anything that helps to still the mind will help with anxiety. There are numerous techniques that have been shown to help with overall health and well-being. The primary ones that have shown to be helpful for overall health in general fall into the category of mindfulness techniques.

The Kinds of Meditation That Do Help with Anxiety

There are several forms of mindfulness meditation that are generally quite helpful and simple to practice. One of the simplest ones is known as the body scan, or Vipassana. There have been many adaptations to this, but whatever form you try, its primary positive focus is on the body instead of the mind. Some people benefit from also doing a progressive muscle relaxation exercise, which also helps to bring the focus back on the body. Purists might not consider the latter of these two to be meditation as such, but the benefit is very similar to the body scan.

Other Forms of Meditation That Can Be Helpful With Anxiety

Many people with anxiety suffer from insomnia, and one of the primary forms of meditation that helps with this is one that’s derived from the yoga tradition, and is called Yoga Nidra. There are several other types like this, derived from the Hindu tradition. One that I typically practice with my clients that could be more accurately described as guided imagery, is the safe place meditation. This is often coupled with bilateral stimulation that is used in EMDR, but is very helpful for anxiety. They key to any of these techniques is using them regularly, preferably at least once a day.

The Key to Meditation That Helps with Anxiety

As I mentioned above, getting the focus off of the mind and the brain, and into the body is of primary benefit in treating anxiety. This is especially true if you suffer from trauma as the main cause of the anxiety. Most people have experienced some form of trauma in their lives, and this serves to make people basically live “from the neck“ as the noted psychiatrist, and author, Bessel Van der Kolk has written about. Again, key to improving your anxiety level with any of these is to practice them regularly.

What if Meditation Hasn’t Helped Your Anxiety So Far?

I’m not a meditation teacher, but I have used various forms of it, relaxation techniques, and guided imagery with many of my clients. Most everyone benefits from using one of these techniques, and I would be happy to talk to you about how I might be able to help you to learn one of these to help with your anxiety. While there’s no one thing that remedies all anxiety, I can talk with you about how to help find a combination that will help you. If you live in Texas or Maryland, feel free to call the number at the top of the page or fill out an inquiry form below, and I will get back to you as soon as possible to schedule a free 20 minute phone consult. That way you can get a better idea yourself about whether I can help you with your particular anxiety problem. Whatever the case, you deserve to have as much peace in your life as possible, and let that begin with you, taking positive action on your behalf, to find the answers.

Visit our page on anxiety therapy to learn more about how Scott can help you with meditation.

About the author:  Scott Kampschaefer, LCSW is a private practice therapist in Frederick, Maryland.  He has an extensive background in working with depression, anxiety, and bipolar disorder at a clinic for older adults with these disorders in Austin, Texas.  He now works with adults and adolescents 14 and up in private practice. His most recent book is titled The 5 Pillars of Addiction Recovery and is available for purchase on Amazon and in paperback on this website.