There’s a pill for that

“Suppose you read about a pill you could take once a day to reduce anxiety and increase your contentment. Would you take it? Suppose further that the pill has a great variety of side effects, all of them good: increased self-esteem, empathy, and trust; it even improves memory. Suppose, finally, that the pill is all natural and costs nothing. Would you take it?   That pill exists. It is meditation.“

This quote is from Jonathan Haidt’s book, The Happiness Hypothesis.

He writes that to make a point. Meditation is typically an Eastern solution for the problems of life. Western Civilization instead pulls out the toolbox and frequently the prescription pad to accomplish so much of what Eastern practices accomplish by stillness, knowing one’s own body and emotions.

In addition to the positive effects Haidt’s writing tells us we can achieve by meditation; research has shown many more.

Emotional and Physical Benefits

• Gaining a new perspective on stressful situations
• Awareness that our thoughts can be controlled
• Awareness that our thoughts can be much different than reality
• Building skills to manage your stress
• Increasing self-awareness
• Focusing on the present
• Reducing negative emotions
• Increasing imagination and creativity
• Increasing patience and tolerance
• Lowering resting heart rate
• Lowering resting blood pressure
• Improving sleep quality

Meditation and Illness

Meditation can also be helpful if you have a physical medical condition, especially one that may be worsened by stress.

A growing body of research suggests that meditation may help people manage symptoms of conditions such as:

• Anxiety
• Asthma
• Cancer
• Chronic pain
• Depression
• Fibromyalgia
• Heart disease
• High blood pressure
• Irritable bowel syndrome
• Ulcers
• Sleep problems
• Tension headaches

It is important to discuss meditation as part of your overall health plan with your doctor. I am not suggesting meditation as a substitute for traditional western medicine. I am suggesting the benefits of a regular meditation practice are often overlooked as part of our overall health and well-being practices.

We love our prescriptions

In our western medicine model, we know there is a pill for almost all the benefits of meditation I have just mentioned. And in North America, we love our prescriptions. In fact, so much that over half of us take prescriptions and have an average of four prescriptions we take. Of course, this does not include over the counter medications.

From 1997 to 2016, less than 20 years, the number of prescriptions filled grew from just over 2.6 billion, to over 4.8 billion. That is an increase of about 85% while the population only increased by slightly more than 21%.

We have been led to believe that we should take these drugs because their positive effects are supported by science. And that is true, they are supported by science. But we have also been led to believe that meditation is not supported by science. As scientific research into the benefits of meditation continues, we see more and more proof of the benefits.

Here is some more of the science around pharmaceuticals. We have all seen the ads on TV and heard the warnings about the side effects at the end that they manage to pack into the last five seconds of the commercial. After telling you for 95% of the commercial how the medication will improve your life, they ad disclaimers like this one. Side effects while uncommon may include, dry mouth, dizziness, headaches, nausea, irregular heartbeat, difficulty sleeping, worsening depression, suicidal thoughts and sometimes death. And often end with do not take this medication if you are allergic to it. How would you know if you were allergic to it unless you took it?  And just how do they know about these uncommon side effects that the drug may cause? Because they have tested them, and they happened.

Yet, people practically line up to get their prescriptions filled by the millions, each and every day. In fact, over thirteen million times per day in North America alone.

Please don’t get me wrong. I understand that many drugs not only improve the quality of life but also save lives and are a God send and the effects of those drugs should not be diminished.

But I’m wondering how frequently a person goes to their family doctor telling them they are struggling with stress and anxiety and walk away with a prescription that says: Go home and meditate daily for 20 minutes.  The negative side effects of that prescription – zero.  

Instead, the most frequently prescribed class of drugs for anxiety are benzodiazepines or benzos which are highly addictive and very difficult to get off of and when you do try to get off them the withdrawal symptoms are horrible.

Enough ranting about prescriptions. Let’s focus on meditation. Remember, the prescription with no side effects. But before I do, let me tell you about a client I worked with for about 4 years on and off. When this person first started seeing me, they were on eleven different prescription medications. They literally did not know whether they were coming or going.

I’m a therapist, not a doctor so I do not profess to know why these drugs were prescribed by the doctors or how the client presented to them. I do know that some of the prescriptions were prescribed to counteract the negative side effects of ones that had previously been prescribed and that the person was still taking.

I did not suggest the client change any medication because that is not my training or area of expertise. Instead, we went to work on internal, emotional and trauma issues both past and recent. We dealt with self-esteem, unhealthy relationships, adverse childhood experiences, negative self-talk, and core beliefs.

We talked about diet, sleep hygiene, exercise, and you guessed it – meditation. Which is now part of their daily practice.

Today, the client is down to one prescription, and I never suggested once that they stop taking any of them.

Almost without exception, I recommend a regular practice of meditation as part of my clients’ plan of health and well-being.

Who meditates?

Interestingly, with all the benefits of meditation, research shows that only about 14 – 15 % of the population meditate regularly. This percentage is similar in three different studies conducted in the United States (2017), Germany (2018) and Britain (2020).

Author Ryan Kayne took the research even further in 2022 and found these numbers to be consistent across a wide number of countries including those in East Asia where you might expect the numbers to be significantly higher. Meditation is most popular in Australia.  

With modern scientific research showing that meditation offers a host of benefits, zero negative side effects and being free, why do people resist meditating?

I will admit, I resisted meditation when it was first suggested to me. For me it had a negative image of Monks and Yogis with nothing else to do sitting around contemplating the mysteries of life.

There were also people in my spiritual community who suggested it would open channels for the evil of other beliefs to enter into me and destroy me. It was my therapist, himself a former minister who convinced me to open my mind, stop letting fear and other people’s opinions influence me, to try it and then make up my own mind.

That was seventeen years ago, and I have been meditating ever since. It was difficult at first. At times excruciatingly so. Back then I had trouble sitting still and always had to be doing something or I felt guilty. I came to understand that we are human beings not human doings, partly through my meditation practice.

Now when I meditate, I feel balanced, less stressed, more competent, calmer, connected to my authentic self, more positive and I relate better to those around me.

If you have any of the previously mentioned conditions and most of us have at least some stress and anxiety or could benefit from more contentment, better sleep, or more patience and tolerance, then why not try the free, no negative side effect practice of meditation.

Why do we resist meditating?

Yet, we resist. These are the seven most common reasons people resist meditating despite the known benefits.

Avoiding feelings. Being still, with no distractions and trying to clear your mind will connect you to your emotions. Busyness can prevent you from feeling. The stillness of meditation connects you more closely with your emotions, some of which may be unpleasant. We can be very creative in finding ways to avoid feelings. When you think of all the ways we try to numb out or avoid feelings such as substance abuse, television, food, surfing the internet, gambling, pornography, and gaming to name a few, it is easy to see how we would avoid meditation if we don’t want to be in touch with our feelings.

Convincing yourself you don’t have time. Just think of all the ways you busy yourself looking at social media, texting, chatting with friends with no purpose in mind just to pass the time, or shopping with no intent and ask yourself if you could squeeze in a few minutes per day to meditate.

Guilt about taking time for self-care.  Many of us believe if we aren’t doing something others would see as being productive, it is wrong. All movement isn’t progress and taking time to meditate will make you more productive when you do need to get things done. Keep in mind we are human beings not human doings. We grow up in families and societies that measure worth by what people do or accomplish. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to live in a society that honors us for who we are not what we do. And that would include caring for ourselves, our spirituality and inner peace.

Fear of being judged. Seriously, it is hard to say you are one of the only fifteen percent of people who sit in quiet meditation and reflection each day as part of your well-being. Some people will roll their eyes or worse. If people really believed in meditation, they would embrace it and practice it. People fear what they don’t understand, just as I did when I was first learning how to meditate. What we don’t understand and fear, we tend to judge because that helps us rationalize our position. There were certain people in my life who I thought would laugh at me. Today I don’t care what they think of me – largely because through meditation I have become comfortable with who I am and who I am becoming.

Delayed gratification. Often, in the early days of learning to meditate, it can be frustrating. We may think we will never get it right. Our negative self-talk will kick in and we will tell ourselves we will never get it so what’s the point. When you could first stand, you couldn’t walk but you kept trying. You couldn’t ride a bike the first time you tried, or throw a ball or catch one, or drive a car or play a musical instrument. Meditation is the same.  If you want the benefit, you need to keep practicing. We live in a world of instant gratification. Buy a house with no money down, no need to save for that new car, we will finance it for you, put a major purchase on your credit card – or – feeling stressed, no need to meditate, there is a pill for that.

Some people experience small immediate benefits from meditation. It is most common to notice significant benefits within about eight weeks. Given the wide range of potential benefits and the total absence of negative side effects, delaying gratification might not be so bad.

Meditation is boring.  So is brushing your teeth and cutting your toenails. You wouldn’t stop doing those two things. Sometimes exercising regularly gets boring too but you are conditioned to understand that your physical health is important. So is your emotional and spiritual health. And don’t forget meditation can improve your physical health too.

I don’t know how.  This is when you get to surf the internet – with intention. Google it. I just did and my search returned eight hundred and thirty-five million results in just over half a second. Find what works for you, what you can believe in, what you can buy into.

How do I get started?

First, review the list of benefits I have given or research it yourself. Then ask yourself: Why would I not want to do this and which of the previous excuses – yes excuses, am I using to keep me from meditating. Remember there is no downside.

Next, prioritize self-care. Consider meditation as an investment in your overall well-being, similar to proper nutrition, exercise and sleep.

Then try meditating. Keep it simple to start. You will find all kinds of different meditations and meditation techniques when you are searching. Remember all meditation is focused on your breath. The simplest one is, breathe in deeply through your nose for a count of four, hold it for a count of four, breathe out through your mouth for a count of four, exhaling completely and then hold for a count of four. Then repeat. There, a sixteen second meditation. Focus on your breathing. With this simple meditation you can evolve to noticing the rise and fall of your chest, the air as it enters your nostrils and any sensations in your body.

Meditation is an evolving process and one of the things that reduces the boredom is to try different meditations and techniques.

There are many types of meditation but what they have in common is a conscious attempt to focus attention in a non-analytical way.

In the beginning

It sounds easy. After all, we all sit, and we all breathe. Most forms of meditation involve sitting and focusing your attention only on your breathing, a word, image or sensations in your body. But it is extremely difficult. Few things with the possible exception of learning how to golf are as frustrating. And confronting your early failures will give you lessons in humility and patience. Of course, golf will too but without all the added health benefits and may actually be stress inducing.

It looks so easy when you see someone meditating but it is SO hard. Twenty years ago, when I first started meditating, I remember thinking: “It doesn’t work” and more importantly, “I don’t have time for this.” Then I read this Zen proverb. “You should sit in meditation for twenty minutes each day – unless you are too busy, then you should sit for an hour.”

I realized, the more difficult or uncomfortable it is to calm the mind, the more important meditation is for your well-being. I dug into my discomfort and committed to a daily practice of meditation. Some days I could only manage a minute or two before my inner dialogue took over and started driving the bus. At times it seemed I would never be able to quiet the noise in my head.  And to make matters worse, the noises around me stole my focus and seemed ten times louder than normal. I persisted and found ways to settle into the routine, to block out the noise, and to actually meditate. 

Today, meditation is a critical part of my routine and if for some unexpected reason I can’t meditate in the morning, my day can quickly feel out of control until I get myself re-centered. I am a little less stressed and less crazy than I was 20 years ago, my life is great and a big part of that has been meditation.

Tips

Find what works for you and when works for you. I meditate first thing in the morning to get myself centered for the day. I do this before I get myself wound up checking emails, text messages and anything else on my devices. This makes me feel prepared and like I am running the day instead of outside sources running it. If I can start my day with inner calm, I can usually end my day the same way.

Some people prefer meditating at night to help prepare their mind for sleep and to get into a relaxed state. I never have trouble falling asleep, so nighttime meditation doesn’t do the same for me.

Wear comfortable clothing. Sit in a comfortable position, head over heart, heart over hips. If you want, you can sit on the floor, if not, a comfortable chair will work just fine. I do believe in being grounded, so if you choose a chair, put your feet on the floor. I do not believe in laying down to meditate – that is called a nap.

Your mind will wander. That is normal, just pull it back gently and focus on your breathing, image, word or sensations in your body.

You may get emotional. Don’t avoid the feelings or try to push them away. Give them the time and space they need. I have broken down in tears while meditating because I got in touch with something I needed to be in touch with. It is healing.

Start small. Just a few minutes to start and be gentle with yourself. As your meditation practice grows, so will the length of time you can and will want to meditate.

Once you have established a meditation practice and routine, it will give you a sense of calm, peace and balance that will benefit both your emotional well-being and your overall health. Throughout your day or week, during times of stress, you can stop and take a few minutes to meditate which will help you reduce the feelings of being overwhelmed and out of control. Meditation helps you stay centered and maintain inner peace.

The benefits of meditation don’t end when your meditation session ends. It can help carry you more calmly through your day. I have developed micro meditations for myself which I can use throughout the day when I feel stress or anxiety or just need to settle into a place of feeling back in control of my mind and body. These simply involve taking a two- or three-minute break and dropping into my breathing to slow my heart rate and clear my head.

I was a naysayer, a non-believer in meditation. Now, as someone who has converted to meditation, I would no more cut it out of my routine than I would a healthy diet, exercise and a good sleep routine.

Here is something I believe and try to practice. I try to never take a prescription pill for something until I have exhausted all the natural methods for accomplishing what the prescription promises. Meditation is one thing that helps in many areas of my life. If you compare the list of benefits to the list of harmful side effects, which are zero, why wouldn’t you try it instead of falling into our western love of prescriptions and thinking: Oh, there’s a pill for that.