Daily mindfulness practice reduces anxiety for autistic adults
Daily mindfulness practice reduces anxiety for autistic adults
After six weeks of practicing mindfulness with the help of a smartphone app, adults with autism reported lasting improvements in their well-being.
But it’s so harrrrrrrd! 😩
Asking me with my shit attention span to focus on something as boring as my breathing for ten fucking minutes? Even counting them doesn’t help! I tried keeping up with it for a month or two and every time I’d just space out into a long string of connected thoughts and didn’t feel any benefits.
I’ve been meaning to try it again, but even my therapist says it’s not for everyone/it may just not be for me, which would be a shame because it’s such an accessible mitigator if it worked.
This is me just venting out loud in response to this article. I’m aware I should probably get back into it, I’ve just been dragging my feet.
Being focused isn’t the point - noticing that you got distracted is. I’ve been meditating for quite a while, and I still get just as distracted by thoughts as I did when I started. That’s okay. The practice is in noticing the distraction and gently beginning again.
Criticizing yourself for getting distracted is just more thinking without realizing you’re thinking. You can even meditate on that, or on sounds, sensations, and so on. There’s nothing inherently special about the breath - it’s just a neutral, ever-present thing to focus on that we all share.
It really isn't for everyone! There can even be negative side effects for people with some kinds of mental illness. (depersonalization and derealization are the big problems it can lead to, i think)
If you want to try it again, though, i had some small luck sticking with like 2 minute sessions. And sometimes when I'm stressed now I'll sit in my car and do the exercises for a bit and it can help, years after i made it in an organized thing i did.
If it can make you feel better, as a neurotypical person, it is hard to do as well.
I got young kids, I got work, I got a life to live, I am stressed out of my gills and it is really easy to forego taking 5-10 mins a day to stay put and be mindful.
My therapist always tells me what is worth doing is worth doing badly. Meaning that if you only do it for a minute instead of 5, or if you got distracted while doing it, it is still better than not doing it.
My ADHD laughs in contempt for meditation and mindfulness. My tinnitus doesn't need to say anything (but does anyway).
It's part of the process to lose focus, then you just get back to it. It's fine.
As for the article I'd say not surprised; everyone from neurotypicals to any neurodiversity should choose a daily practice for their mental and emotional health. It doesn't have to be only meditation.
Humans brush their teeth, why not also do another routine that is less effort and has wider results. (And those in such a slump where any routines like brushing teeth is difficult do eventually start their journey somewhere.)
if that's what meditation is, then meditation is what's been getting me depressed all these years and i would like to know how to stop doing it please.
No shit. If I had the time and the constant motivation to add yet another job to do I'd feel better. I do everything I'm told. Medication, therapy, exercise, sleep, mindfulness, eat well. They all feel like work and they in themselves are draining. And them I have to actively avoid cruxes because they're unhealthy. Binge eating, alcohol, smoking. Also draining. It's all exhausting.
The app the study used is Healthy Minds. I downloaded it this morning to give it a shot. Seems better than other guided meditation or breathing apps I've tried, is free, and has a learning path sorta like DuoLingo which makes it gamified for my brain. Gonna try to do at least one activity per day and see how it works.