Front Page › Forums › Dharma Practice in Daily Life › Low mood since meditating?
This topic contains 7 replies, has 5 voices, and was last updated by Jem 6 years ago.
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February 24, 2018 at 3:18 am #2597
Since I have stepped up my practice after reading TMI, I am aware that my mood has dropped. Is this a coincidence, or a possible side effect of the meditation?
It doesn’t help that my destination driven / perfectionist ‘I’ is already counting the ways that I’m falling short of equinimity. I am letting these thoughts go but am still aware of a heavy cloudiness that I remember from my teenage depression many years ago!
Other than resetting expectation, is there anything else I can do because I really want to continue with meditating.February 24, 2018 at 6:58 am #2598Instead of “letting those thoughts go” how about allowing them to manifest within, and be permeated by infinite silence? What helped me a lot in the past with my meditation is doing Dr Les Fehmi’s Open Focus Training, which teaches you how to move away from a tense narrow focus of attention, to an open inclusive relaxed focus.
February 24, 2018 at 10:21 am #2599Hi Jem,
Here’s some food for thought from my own experience.
I’ve found periods in my practice, especially when focusing on vipassana, where I was inexplicably angry or upset off the cushion. I regarded them positively as indications of purifications in process due to years of repressed anger and did my best to avoid triggering situations.
It may well be that you are making contact again with those parts of your mind related to your depression as a teenager. Now, as a more resourced adult, you have the opportunity to work with them.
So long as you can remember who you are, where you are, and what you are doing (meditating), the emotions will arise, pass away, and eventually “purify.” I like this analogy: your mind is like the sky, open, expansive, so transparent we seem to forget it exists. We see the sun, moon, clouds, thunderstorms arise and pass away in this space and we fixate on those objects. Sometimes the sky is overcast and it is almost as if it isn’t there. But it is, of course, there all along. Look for that sky, not the thunderstorms.
If you find yourself overwhelmed by depression, taper back. Don’t bite off more than you can chew; it won’t help you. Above all, be gentle on yourself. As Ram Dass says, you can’t peel the skin off the snake. It’s an unfolding process.
You may wish to read Stage 4 again as it has good advice for working with these emotions. Perhaps replace some of your core samatha-vipassana practice with metta and walking meditation in nature. Work in a gratitude practice, positive psychology, and other forms of self care. Exercise, dance, and eat well. Spend time with friends and loved ones. If you can keep up enough of your samatha-vipassana practice to generally stay in Stage 4+ while building in some of these other activities, I think you’ll find it effective. Don’t be ashamed to slow down or stop and seek professional help if at any point this becomes overwhelming.
All the best to you.
- This reply was modified 6 years, 1 month ago by Chris Gagne.
February 25, 2018 at 11:51 am #2601Hello, Jem
In addition to the previously stated advices keep in mind that if you are new to meditating or at least new to a daily meditation practice as suggested in TMI that you may well be experiencing some low energy states that can also manifest as low moods.
If the body/mind are not used to meditation it may find it quite dull and lead to low energy. To still the body and mind, with eyes closed, often leaves a beginning meditator with feelings of dullness to drowsiness and that means low energy. Until the mind can engage the meditation object with some clarity and intensity then the mind may well be manifesting a low mood in the low energy state. Once you can readily engage the object in stages 3, 4 then your mind begins to be energized with the practice and the work to be done, and then you may feel your mood doesn’t drop after sitting.
If the low moods tend towards depressive states of mind then you should pull back some and not let that develop too far. Always rejoice in your practice at the end of your meditation, mentally, pat yourself on the back for your efforts.
Michael
DT Teacher in trainingFebruary 27, 2018 at 1:08 pm #2615Firstly, thanks for all your comments guys!!! It’s great to know there are people out there who can help and I very much appreciate you sharing your knowledge and skills!
I think the response which resonated with me most was Michael’s. I am new to longer, twice daily sessions and I checked last night: I am falling into dullness, even though I thought I wasn’t!!! So another quick question inevitably is, apart from checking in more often, any tips for spotting / avoiding dullness???!!!
(I have also started mixing in more metta meditation which can only be a good thing!)
Thanks ?
Jem
February 27, 2018 at 1:16 pm #2616P.s. i have been feeling better over the last couple of days as the mood has lifted! I am also consciously ‘high 5ing’ myself for completing my meditation sessions – just to keep the happy going!
February 28, 2018 at 11:47 am #2620‘So another quick question inevitably is, apart from checking in more often, any tips for spotting / avoiding dullness???!!!”
I got alot out of following article i was linked to on a question on dullness
https://dharmatreasure.org/on-mindful-awareness-vs-dullness/
February 28, 2018 at 1:19 pm #2621This is brilliant! Thank you!
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