What if I Don’t Like Meditation?
You're likely to encounter meditation or be recommended it at some point. But what if meditation is not for you? Well, we have good news – there are other effective ways to work on your mental health.
Meditation includes a range of techniques largely focused on relaxation and present moment awareness. These techniques are used for many purposes around the globe – from psychological wellbeing to workplace productivity – and you’re likely to encounter meditation or be recommended it at some point. But what if meditation is not for you? Well, we have good news – there are other effective ways to work on your mental health.
Is meditation beneficial for everyone?
Research shows that meditation can be useful for managing stress and anxiety, lengthening attention span, treating addictions and self-control difficulties, improving sleep, managing pain, increasing compassion and kindness, and promoting overall mental wellbeing. Sounds pretty great, right? But here’s the catch – meditation is not effective for everyone, and even among regular meditators, about a quarter of people have unpleasant experiences while meditating. It makes sense that these unpleasant experiences could happen – observing negative thoughts and feelings without reacting or trying to change them can be a very challenging task. For some, this challenge might be a process to work through, but for others it could be that meditation is not their best option.
What can I do instead?
First, it might be a good idea to work out what is deterring you from meditation. Some people might not like its connections to spiritual or new age practices. It might be helpful to know that meditation does not have to involve any spiritual meaning or intention, that it is backed by modern science, and that you can make the experience personal to you and your values.
Other people may be interested in the idea of meditation but find that it is not useful, or even unpleasant, whenever they try it. If this is you, you might start by looking at how you’re approaching meditation. It’s not easy to get the hang of right away and might take some practice or experimentation with different types before you notice any benefits. If difficult emotions are coming up for you, consider whether it might be helpful to work through these experiences with gentle exploration and support. It can also be helpful to be aware that meditation is not about chasing some mystical or transcendental experience — viewing it this way is likely to cause disappointment. It’s usually about focusing on the present moment in whatever way you can, and there is not necessarily a “right” way to meditate.
It can also be helpful to be aware that meditation is not about chasing some mystical or transcendental experience — viewing it this way is likely to cause disappointment.
However, if you really do feel that meditation is not for you, there are many other options for focusing your mind and managing your mental health. Techniques drawn from Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), such as evaluating and questioning your thoughts and making changes to your daily routines, might be helpful alternatives, particularly if you are an analytical and practical thinker.
If you’re more of a creative type, research has shown that engaging your imagination in the form of daydreaming or becoming absorbed in a creative task can be very beneficial for mental wellbeing. Music, exercise, hobbies, or really any activity that helps put your mind in a focused and calm state can be useful alternatives to meditation. Being kind and compassionate to yourself usually goes a long way as well – if you can’t get it right away, that’s ok, and if you can’t ever really get into it, that’s ok too!
Music, exercise, hobbies, or really any activity that helps put your mind in a focused and calm state can be useful alternatives to meditation.
How can Mind Ease help?
Most apps for mental health have a large focus on meditation strategies. Mind Ease aims to be a little different – while the app does include a range of meditation-based exercises, it also includes various other options. For example, Mind Ease draws upon elements of CBT, self-compassion, and other evidence-based therapeutic strategies for managing anxiety. We think meditation can be extremely useful for some, but we don’t expect that any one way of calming down will work equally well for everybody. After all, everybody experiences anxiety differently. If you’d like to find out what works best for you specifically, you can try Mind Ease for free today.
