Does anyone meditate? My mom is always telling me it might help with my anxiety and depression. How do you clear your mind long enough to relax?
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Thank you for that. Iāve tried once or twice but gave up like a minute later. I think I will try it now 
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Have you tried guided meditations? Sometimes that can help you ease into meditation. Insight Timer is a great app for easy guided meditations. Also YouTube has some good guided sleep meditationsā¦two of my favorite practitionersā¦
Lauren Ostrowski Fenton
Kenneth Soares
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Iām about to do my morning meditation (I slept in). I meditate every day. I downloaded an app called ācalmā that teaches you how.
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Meditation is great and so many ways to do it. Iām still stuck with Guided Meditations. And ya know? Thatās ok with me. The important thing is Iām doing it. If your mind wanders try not to beat yourself up over it. I just try to focus on my breathing. And then I settle down. And then sometimes my mind wanders again. Then I focus on my breathing again. That is where having a guided meditation really helps.
Google 
Richard Burr. Guided Mindfulness Meditations.
I met him at my sons sober living house. He works basically with addicts going to different sober living houses in the LA area and heās got a lot of years of recovery under his belt. I actually downloaded some of his guided meditations. The really cool part is that heās got some guided meditations that are only 15 minutes. Or 10 minutes long. I think one of them might just be 6 minutes. If I am too stressed out to meditate then I know I really need to meditate. Thatās when I usually do his 10 minute one. 
Richard Burr.
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I find that 2 weeks after alcohol my anxiety begins to get less n less. Sometimes after smoking a joint my anxiety is flared the following day. Have you looked into your diet. Some foods, certain body creams (if you have psoriasis), medications also can trigger anxiety, I found sometimes if u just let your anxiety run through its course and that worry if heart attacks dizzyness.black out moments r gonna happen then just run with it then ur mind will start to calm down as you know nothing bad will happen. Itās as tho your telling your brain ur in control and nothing bad will happen. (if that makes sense). Yoga is good also. I started trying that and it really does help with the tightness on the chest
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I mediate daily sometimes twice a day. Itās super relaxing and recharges you or calms you depending on which kind you do. I find it really helps with my anxiety. Give it a try! You may like it. 
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There are different reasons why people meditate and different ways to do it. No specific way is necessarily better than another. Meditation isnāt always about clearing your mind. Dr. Joe Dispenza has meditations where you specifically work on issues you might have (I highly recommend reading his books and trying his meditations).
There are a lot of different guided meditations that you can find online or different apps like Insight Timer that will have guided meditations. There are a couple other āstandardā ways to meditate on your own, like clearing your mind, or focusing on somethingāthis is where you see people doing candle gazingāor to repeat a mantra to yourself, or chant.
One of my favorite āmini meditationsā is to put my hands together in a āprayerā position and touch my thumbs to my chest, eyes closed. I focus on my heart center and bring up feelings of gratitude. Doesnāt have to be for anything in particular, but just to feel gratitude and love.
If sitting and meditating isnāt your thing, there is always yoga, tai chi, qi gong, or walking meditations. Again, there is no right or wrong. Try different things and see what works for you. Good luck!
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Well said @Chiron!! I also find yin yoga incredibly meditative. Especially when the instructor doesnāt speak the entire time or play music. Yin Yoga with Trishy on YouTube is a very good stretch for your body and peace for the mind.
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Iām going to check this out. Always looking for something new to try.
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Daily meditation has been great for me as I have worked through almost one year sober. In addition to Insight Timer, you might find Rolf Gates books a good resource. Pena Chodron books and codes also bring some thoughtful nd often humorous perspective.
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Thank you for the recommendations. Iām definitely going to check them out.
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When im out in the highlands walking i like to have alone time to sit and meditate .
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This reminds me to start meditating again.
I used binaural beats and guided meditations on YouTube.
I was at a point of not silencing my thoughts but I was able to let them flow. Like a slide show. I watched my breath and at some point my body felt like it wasnāt there any more. Not easy to explain bc english is not my native language 
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Hey, Iām not sure if anyone mentioned it but thereās an app called āBalanceā. It helps with meditation. I wasnāt really feeling it but a good friend recommended it. Tbh I use it sporadically like maybe if Iām having trouble falling asleep or to wind down. But I have heard from a friend that went through anxiety issues and depression that it was helpful. So maybe give it a try. Possibly set a ātrialā period for yourself,evaluate and then see what you wanna do after.
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I love that. I hadnāt thought of it that way
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Hi, I love meditation and it works really gd. I like to pick a quiet location and play some relaxing music depending on my mood. I like African drums, or the ocean moving played quietly. I put myself some where els and start trying to see what I can point out in my surroundings. I vividly paint a picture that brings me to a calm place mentally and spiritually. It takes practice but can be achieved.
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Thank you so much! Iāve been doing at least 5 minutes every morning. Iām trying to find a comfortable place in my house. The couch is a good idea.
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Looking to start meditation in the morning to start the day focused. Just starting the day being ok with mind flowing, practice acceptance and just being grateful to be. Good thread!
I started off using an app Insight Timer around 3 years ago. I meditate at least twice a day.