Have you been feeling discouraged that you’re still paying the price and living with pain from the trauma and injustice done to you? And whether you should reach out to a nearby counsellor to heal from your trauma? If so, let’s explore meditation to manage symptoms of trauma and PTSD in Winnipeg.
The Power of Meditation to Manage Symptoms of Trauma and PTSD in Winnipeg
Meditation offers practitioners powerful benefits, yet many people are confused as to what exactly those benefits are. In a nutshell, meditation focuses attention in a deliberate manner, taking you from a state of noisy mental chatter to calm and quiet inner peace. And isn’t that something most of us could use?
While meditation has been practised for thousands of years in the east – and more recently in the west – as a way to grow spiritually, modern medicine is now finally extolling the numerous health benefits that meditation offers.
Meditation has the ability to reduce stress hormones by calming the parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous systems. These systems are what activate our main panic responses (fight, flight, freeze, fawn) to stressful situations. Because of this, meditation can be a powerful tool to help manage symptoms of trauma and PTSD.
Is Meditation Better than Medication?
Historically, people battling post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) have been given medication to help alleviate unwanted and unpleasant symptoms. But a new study has found that regular practice of meditation “… enables some active duty service members battling post-traumatic post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) to reduce, or even eliminate, their use of psychotropic medications and to better control the often-debilitating symptoms of PTSD”.
This is great news for anyone who is battling PTSD. Not only can meditation help to calm your nerves and rewire your brain, it can also reduce the risk of developing negative side effects to many psychotropic medications used to treat PTSD and anxiety disorders.
How to Begin Meditation to Manage Symptoms of Trauma and PTSD
If you are suffering from the effects of trauma and PTSD and would like to try meditation, here are some steps you can take to get started with meditation to manage symptoms of trauma and PTSD in Winnipeg:
Meditation to Manage Symptoms of Trauma and PTSD Tip #1: Find a Group Practice
If you’re completely new to meditation, you may want to join a group meditation course that meets every week. You can usually find groups through a quick online search for groups in your area.
Tip # 2: Online Resources
There are great online resources available, such as mindfulness and meditation apps and youtube videos. A quick online search will help you find an option that fits your preferences.
Meditation to Manage Symptoms of Trauma and PTSD Tip #3: Be Open Minded
Meditation has long been associated with new age and other religious movements. But you would be amazed at the different kinds of people that now practice meditation. Many practices don’t require any affiliation with or belief in a particular set of spiritual/religious beliefs, or spiritual/religious beliefs at all.
If you tend to be a skeptical person, try to have an open mind as you begin your practice.
Tip #4: Be Patient
It’s called a practice for a reason. You won’t “get” meditation overnight. You’ll have to keep at it before it becomes natural for you and you really reap the benefits. Try to have patience and just keep at it.
If you or a loved one are suffering from trauma symptoms and would like to speak with someone who can help, please get in touch with us. We’d be happy to discuss the treatment options that would work best for you.
Check Out Other Pages
Sources