always having anxiety feelings during meditation

I've been told by my doctor that meditation is the best thing for my panic disorder. This furthered my interest in it as I was already into trying it to become a better person. So, one night I tried to meditate using the standard lotus position with no lights on and just Ravi Shankar music playing in the background. I sat for a few moments and then I felt like I was floating and I really started to freak out, like I was having a panic attack. Now this kind of pissed me off, as you would guess, so the next week I tried it again, and the same goddamn thing happened again! Now i'm scared to try meditation, because it seems to make my panic disorder worse. Has this happened to anyone else, or am I just insane?

 

Maybe you should try meditaion during the morning instead. That might make you feel less panicky. I find meditation usually brings new feelings and sensations so getting used to them in daylight would be less intense. You could also try a meditation with your eyes open. I've tried this in situations where I haven't felt so secure and I find that's the best technique when you feel like that.

Let us know it goes.

Peace and love and happy vibes.

 

try to relax very well before start meditation...

dont try to get the panic feelings away from ur mind by force during meditation, instead, let it go like a cloud passing by ur mind....

take deep breathes...

dont use music... use natural sounds like birds singing or water falls..

during the day, try to be more relaxed and less stressed...

When i'm over stressed, i sometimes even couldnt relax when i try to!!

 

Your problem is that you're using the wrong type of music. Put on some good death metal, and then try it again. Music with blastbeats has been known to cure and heal for generations, and now I pass it down to you. Use it wisely.

 

^^ ....

smile before you start to meditate and try to relax, as patience said! it helps when you feel into several parts of the body, from feets up to the head including your eyes and jaw aso., try to relax them...
and look forward to meditate, ... its cool and it can give you the feeling of being safe somewhere...
steffi

 

citrus_seas,

It is natural for all kinds of thoughts and emotions to arise during meditation. I think the best practice is to sit there accepting the fact that these things arise and gently let them each go. Try to learn that you can observe the coming and going of these fleeting risings and not let them control you.
I recently joined a local meditation group. I had been meditating by myself for years and was a little skeptical, but I'm very pleasantly surprised with my experience with the group. You might find it helpful to find a group or teacher too.

Peace,
Ryvr

 

I think that whenever this fear comes up, go as deep as you can, try and explore the deepest scariest depths.

 

Citrus,


Work with youself, with who you are. Convert your impulses to good impulses, this is what we are naturally trying to do. See (lookup) vipassana meditation.

http://www.dhamma.org/en/vipassana.shtml

Work with yourself; be peaceful, listen to you.

David




.

 

Don't meditate but do mantra therapy instead. Try to do 125,000 Green Tara mantra. She is more action less thought. Use her as a method. Here it is. Om Taray TooTaray TooRay Swaahaa. Okay you intone it. Mumble it to yourself. One or Two or more malas a day. That's it! I am mantra meditation master and will lead you straight. Your anxiety will quickly disappear. Come back in a month and tell us.

 

I'm going to disagree with everyone's responses, though I'm sure they have equal validity.

Firstly, try meditating in silence, as that is what you want to have in your mind. If that doesn't work for you, then try music.

Second, the panic you felt was most like an ego-based response. When you meditate, your ego will disapear to the point where you eventually have no ego. At first when you've entered into a somewhat deep meditation, and then your mind realizes the ego isn't around, it panics. This is very similar, if not identical, to the panic that many people experience on pyschedelics. The important thing is to realize that 1) that is normal 2) you are not your thoughts, or your ego.

Just stay calm, and if you can, focus every bit of your energy towards your "third eye." That's not to say look at it. It's more like an imagining it type of thing. The absolute best advice I can give you when that happens is to observe yourself panicing, then ask yourself, "who's observing this." I think the answer will come.

 

My Type Of Meditating Is To Go In Forest And Relax And Listen To Birds, Waterfalls, And Natural Sounds. Fake Natural Sounds Arent Good For Meditation.

Peace, Love And Harmony Forever!!!

 

I am going to add to this, I haven't read through everyone's post so it may have already been stated. I have panic attacks as well. Through research and with help from somebody who studies the body, breathing and yoga we finally got to the root of the problem. It was my breathing. A panic attack can be brought on by hyperventilation. My attacks were brought on by this BUT I didn't know I was hyperventilating. I was trying not too breath hard because I thought that it was a symptom of the panic attack, so I would sort of hold my breath, then take in too much air. I didn't know it was the cause of one. I recently confirmed this, I was sitting in a small room and had blown a candle out, the smoke from it was making it hard to breath, as I tried to gasp for more air, I started feeling the panic attack. My thoughts that were stressful caused me to start breathing incorrectly, and in turn started the attack. So when you meditate, try it in silence and use your breathing as a focus point. Concentrate on your inhales and exhales. Slow and relaxed breaths. This helped tremendously, I went from having an attack every day sometimes more than one, to none at all. Whenever I get stressed about something, I start my breathing technique and the panic goes away. Smoking also caused these attacks (I quit) but the way I was breathing started them.
As for the feeling of floating. I had same experience, but I did not feel panicked. I knew that it could happen and knew not to focus on it. Your mind is used to constantly having thoughts. When you first start to meditate, your mind creates distractions to keep itself busy. I allowed myself to focus on the floating feeling and I thought it was cool, but was told that I should ignore it, to force myself to go back on focusing on my breathing. Because you are having panic attacks use your breath as your focal point so that you do not allow it to become irregular. Later on when you have this under control and are able to keep your mind focused you can use other things as a focal point or add music. I know from experience that anxiety is caused by your mind overthinking and this overthinking makes your mind stop controlling your breathing pattern properly.
I was very surprised to find that this can cause panic attacks. I tested it out by forcing myself to hypervenilate and sure enough I started to have an attack. I was able to stop the attack by making my breath slow and controlled. Dont hold your breath either, this just makes it that much worse when you start to breath, you take in too much air.
Good Luck, hope this helps. you will eventually be able to think of things that have stressed you out without it having as great an impact on you. I can think of things that bothered me before without them freaking me out.

 

I have found that people in your age group often have these panic sensations. I had them too, once upon a time. It's not easy for a spirit to fully incarnate into a body..you felt the loosening of the physical density..and your ego/mind tried to control the experience and felt discomfort. This is why so many folks have had "bad trips"..they had too much come in too fast. Just keep working with this, and let go. Your body is so used to "holding on" that it gets afraid. (this often happens as you drift off to sleep, that sudden jolt)
OmGanesha