Hi Anne and Group,

Meditation is a powerful tool for managing and alleviating symptoms of depression. It offers a holistic approach to mental well-being by addressing the root causes of depressive thoughts and emotions. Through regular practice, meditation cultivates a state of mindfulness and awareness, allowing individuals to observe their thoughts and feelings without judgment. This non-reactive stance helps break the cycle of negative thinking patterns and promotes a more positive and compassionate mindset.

One of the key benefits of meditation for depression is its ability to reduce stress and anxiety levels. Deep breathing techniques and focused attention during meditation activate the body's relaxation response, leading to a decrease in cortisol levels and an overall sense of calmness. This can be particularly helpful for individuals with depression, as excessive stress and anxiety often exacerbate symptoms and contribute to a downward spiral of negative thoughts.

Moreover, meditation encourages self-compassion and self-acceptance, which are crucial elements in managing depression. By developing a non-judgmental attitude towards oneself, individuals can cultivate a sense of kindness and understanding, counteracting the self-critical tendencies often associated with depression. This practice helps individuals build resilience and fosters a more positive self-image, promoting a greater sense of overall well-being.

Meditation offers a valuable approach to managing depression by addressing its underlying causes and promoting a more positive and compassionate mindset. Through cultivating mindfulness and relaxation, meditation reduces stress and anxiety levels, contributing to improved mental health. By fostering self-compassion and self-acceptance, it helps individuals break free from negative thinking patterns and build resilience in the face of depression.

When I feel an anxiety bolt coming up, I focus on my breathing, it took a couple of years before it really had a good (noticeable) effect, but now sometimes I find myself without noticing doing some deep breath at work, when the stress levels start coming up.

There are great resources online, specially on Youtube, note for the purposes of using for meditation I suggest try for a couple of months the premium option (I got lucky and when I bought my Samsung phone in 2019, it came with one Year of Free Premiun YT), without ads, there is a fee, but no interruptions, I noted that some meditation channels only place ads at the beginning of the tracks, but my best experiences with that site were sleeping with 6-8 hours tracks, without ads.

Life will throw you some curve balls, and as we learn to take a deep breath and be 99% in the present moment, before be able to do daily meditation, I experimented a lot of some passive alternatives, like playing subliminal music all the time, at one point I had someone mix a subliminal track on the back of some 2 hour dance music track I like to play while doing errands.

I grew up watching Superman, and the concept of the "Fortress of Solitude", always got my attention, so I also brought some crystals into my daily meditation, each person has a different energy field, but for me Rose Crystal (learning to love myself and say NO) helped a lot. And I just started experimenting meditation with Selenite (before I only used to clean other crystals) and there something to this crystal...

Namasteh

Francisco

Some online options:
... links removed but you can search on Youtube for "abraham meditation" and the other link was "10 Minute Meditation for Anxiety"