Meditation freak out

[JooG]

Hi

I've meditated for some weeks now. I had an unpleasant experience som time ago, which resulted in some anxiety and depression. A friend (doctor) told me to start meditating to help with this. I'm pretty much over the anxiety and depression stage now, but I still think meditation is something I should keep doing. For instance, it seems to help my sleep better.

The thing is, sometimes I fall into a wierd state where I don't realy feel connected to my limbs/body when I meditate. In general I sometimes get wierd sensations when meditating, which kind of freaks me out. For instance, if I touch my own skin the sensation is different. And these feelings started to pop up when I don't meditate as well.

Don't get me wrong, these feelings aren't negative, but they are very unfamiliar, and I wanted someone elses perspective. Does anyone have something to contribute, or has anyone experienced similar stuff?

Thanks,

[Edwin]

Hi JooG,

Sorry for not answering sooner, its kinda hectic at my bizniz at this moment.

First of all, you have a great doctor ! I wish the doctors in Holland would give this kind of advice. Most doctors only prescribe a bunch of chemicals instead of giving meditation advice.

The sensations during meditation vary from person to person. Some are considered funny, some just weird or strange, others slightly scary.
To me, reading your post, I would be tempted to say it is nothing serious, allthough it is hard to pass judgement on something that you feel. Your feeling is always genuine to you, as you are the one experiencing it

All I can tell you is not to concentrate on it too much. Just like I say to people who have positive experiences ( beautifull colors, feelings of joy, feelings of floating ), don't linger on them, it will go away.
All these side-effects are just that, side-effects. As soon as a different part of the brain is stimulated, the side-effects if any, will change or disappear.

Try it for one more week, and try to totally accept the feeling you described as something that is needed for your meditation to improve.

If after one week the feeling hasn't changed or disappeared, please give some feedback here.

Oh, btw, it might also be that you are over-meditating, how much time do you spend on meditation daily ?

[JooG]

Originally Posted by Edwin

Try it for one more week, and try to totally accept the feeling you described as something that is needed for your meditation to improve.

If after one week the feeling hasn't changed or disappeared, please give some feedback here.

Oh, btw, it might also be that you are over-meditating, how much time do you spend on meditation daily ?

Thanks for the advice. I'll do as you suggest.

I'm currently doing two 15-20 minute sessions per day.

You kind of gave an answer to another question as well. The feelings are not negative, but a bit unsettling. When you sit at work and peel a banana, and feel like you observe your arms doing the peeling, "without partaking yourself", you feel a bit weird. I really really don't want to quit meditating, but if these feelings are gonna get stronger or persist, I don't think I want to continue. Hopefully these experiences will go away given a little time.

During my bout with anxiety, alot of things happend in my body and my perceptions, so I was thinking maybe this is something similar. Kind of a "cleansing process".

[Edwin]

another thing you might try is to bring your meditation back to once a day for 15 minutes, and see if that has any effect on these unsettling feelings.

I think I understand your feelings, it's kind of like you are not completely "in" your body, right ? I can understand that this is a somewhat scary feeling.

It is hard to tell if this is caused by meditation, or by your anxiety attack in the first place. I do know that meditation does help cure anxiety attacks in the long run. You also might want to take a look at "The Sedona Method" and/or "EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique)".
Sometimes certain feelings can be adressed to suppressed emotions or memories, and it could be that they have been released back into your conciousness by meditation.

Either way, I think it would be a waste if you decide to quit meditation. I hope I can persuade you to try for some time longer, the benefits of meditation are considerable.

[JooG]

Originally Posted by Edwin

I think I understand your feelings, it's kind of like you are not completely "in" your body, right ? I can understand that this is a somewhat scary feeling.

It is hard to tell if this is caused by meditation, or by your anxiety attack in the first place. I do know that meditation does help cure anxiety attacks in the long run. You also might want to take a look at "The Sedona Method" and/or "EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique)".

Have you or anyone else you know had similar experiences (when NOT meditating)?

I've learned from my period battling anxiety that the mind is extremely powerfull and that thoughtpatterns can produce profound effects on the way you feel and your connection with your body.

I'll try to "cut back" a bit and see how this evolves.

I think the feelings I've had are quite similar to what I experienced when smoking cannabis when I was younger. Also a bit weird.

[Inedible]

There is a category of techniques referred to as grounding - you solidify your connection to the physical body and your environment by sending used / stagnant / negative energy into the ground and pulling up fresh energy into your body. Some people are concerned that grounding means losing energy because they focus too much on sending out excess energy rather than also taking in fresh energy. Some people are concerned about sending out negative energy because it could be harmful to the planet, but it doesn't work that way because this energy is very efficiently recycled so that it does not remain negative or stuck in any way. One way to ground is to spend some time visualizing roots like a plant's coming from the bottom of your feet and going deep into the ground, then imagining that the roots are drawing up qualities of energy that you need most and releasing the things that no longer serve your highest good. Some people find it helps to alternate these accepting and releasing cycles by coordinating them with the breath. Breathing in, you accept the qualities of energy that support your body and mind. Breathing out, you release blockages and excess energy and stangant energy and unwanted thoughts and emotions.

[The Rainbow Ray]

I have had similar experiences while meditating. For me it is a sign that I am going deeper into my meditation. Almost like I am feeling more on an energetic level.
It's like I can feel my hands and it is like I am not a part of them. Sometimes they feel really different and I think ... that isn't the way I remember placing my hands. Sometimes I have the urge to look and see but fight the urge (curiosity killed the cat lol). By opening my eyes or touching my hands my attention would be brought back more to the physical and I would lose the deep state of meditation that I began reaching.
Finally after this all happened a couple of times I just let the feelings happen. I realized it doesn't matter how my hands or limbs feel, I know that I am safe. If I do not feel a part of my body or if it feels weird than that is ok. I just go with the flow

[JooG]

Thank you all for your reassuring words and for taking time to share your thoughts and experiences. I really appreciate it!

[seatrend8899]

Hi Folks,
Just a quick point to mention. When one meditates we are entering brain wave states that one normally reaches during sleep (Alpha > Theta > Delta). As a result of this we will experience many different body sensations that our bodies normally "have" during sleep. Since we are "awake" we then can experience and observe them.

hope this helps


take care

jim

[bashmaki]

is a crazy place to hang out, eh?

gus