Stress and Meditation

We all have very different ideas and definitions of stress, and there isn’t a single unifying definition in the literature. In Eastern philosophies, stress is considered the absence of inner peace; in Western culture, it is viewed as losing control. Stress is problematic because it is ambiguous. Stress definitions and stressors vary, affecting people’s minds and bodies differently. Let’s blend eastern philosophy and western culture and say that stress is feeling out of control instead of inner peace.

There are three steps: perceiving a threat (appraisal), coping with it, and adapting to it. In the stress community, we talk a lot about stress being a relationship between a person’s perceptions, needs, and abilities and the conditions of the environment. How we perceive control over our environment causes stress because perception is everything. We live in a world where we perceive we have control over our lives. Society makes living convenient for most of us, so we think we are in control and that we can control the results of our efforts. It is no coincidence that the most stressed-out people are the most controlling. Stress results from trying to control anything outside of our efforts.

Meditation is one strategy for altering perception. Modern technology makes it difficult for working professionals to spend an entire day away from their desks and displays. Employees are motivated to work more and longer in a competitive employment market. But taking a break a day to power down may be the power up our mind and body needs. Could finding a quiet space to meditate daily combat stress?

Meditation is a mental exercise that has added health advantages. Since a thousand years ago, people have used meditation to promote physical, mental, and spiritual health. Daily practice for a few minutes can improve general well-being.

Uncritically seeking to focus our attention on one object at a time is the practice of meditation. The goal of meditation is not simply to focus to the exclusion of all other thoughts but to recognize the moment thoughts divert our attention and then refocus. During meditation, it is impossible to worry, fear, or hate when our mind is thinking about something other than the object of these emotions.

We act the way we do because we have specific thoughts which, over our lifetime, have become habitual. Habitual thought patterns and perceptions will begin to lower their influence over our lives once we become aware of them. If we focus on the bodily experience rather than the content of the thought that caused the emotion, even the greatest emotion will become manageable.

Emotions and thoughts fade over time, and they come and go. Our emotional reactivity to life’s highs and lows will vanish when we live in the present. One of the key strategies for promoting relaxation during meditation is maintaining a passive mindset.

Meditation has been used successfully to treat and prevent high blood pressure, heart disease, migraine headaches, and autoimmune diseases such as diabetes and arthritis. It has proved helpful in curtailing obsessive thinking, anxiety, depression, and hostility. With proven success rates, meditation solutions can better manage stress and anxiety and improve the quality of life.

Related Articles:

Mindfulness Meditation

Adding Meditation to the Workplace

Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction

The Seven Key Factors of the Practice of Mindfulness Meditation