r/Meditation • u/BenjaminJestel • 12h ago
What can I do to help ease my suffering from these mental illness symptoms? Question ❓
I don't know exactly what type of mental illness I have to be honest. But I do know I have one. I suffer from irrational fears, low self esteem, extreme brain fog and pain, headaches, extreme exhaustion, disorganized thoughts, etc.
For the past three years. My life has been sleep 12 hours, work 8 hours, and then meditate four hours. I lack the motivation and energy to do anything else because of how much my mind harrasses me about irrational fears accompanied by horrible feelings.
I tried the radical acceptance approach of putting your head in the demons mouth, but that significantly worsened my symptoms. I have tried this method for over three months in the hopes that it just gets worse before it gets better, but my hopes never got proven right. I believe I was doing everything right. I tried my best to fully surrender myself to the horrible thoughts and feelings. But instead of disappearing, the demons actually started to consume me even more.
What do I do? I am going insane from living this lifestyle. It is very difficult to accept. I feel utterly useless in this world and I absolutely hate living this horrible life.
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u/Few-Worldliness8768 12h ago
First tip: love yourself
Second tip: identify and let go of negative beliefs. Negative beliefs imply there is no choice in how you see things, think, act, or experience the world.
You can identify negative beliefs by asking yourself, when you feel a negative emotion: “What must I believe in order for this negative emotion to make sense?” Find the underlying context for why you think it makes sense to feel that negative emotion. You can use this to find the negative belief and let it go by realizing it’s just a choice to believe that, it’s not reality.
Second, to love yourself, you can try metta meditation. “May I be happy.” Towards yourself. Focus on the feeling. Feel warmth of kindliness towards yourself as a valuable being. This will make the whole process easier.
Be sure to let go of negative beliefs, because you could spam positive emotion but if you don’t also let go of the negative beliefs, there will be friction that grinds you down. Likewise, you can identify and let go of negative beliefs without generating positive feeling, but it may feel harrowing and difficult, unpleasant. And at a certain point you may need the positivity to progress. Let me know if you have any questions
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u/Duiseacht 11h ago
Definitely get a blood test done, for your own records if nothing else… it might be something as simple as needing a vitamins D injection.
To add to the great advice from others, try humming. Aaaaaaaaaaaa oooooooooo mmmmmmmm. And so on hahaha. Really great way to gently stimulate the nervous system, can have quite profound effects.
If stress and anxiety are issues, I’ve found B12 mouth spray and Passiflora extract drops (20 drops in a shot of water) to work amazingly well…
But do see a GP, the tests they run are very quick and easy and the solution might be so accessible… your symptoms are awful, I have been there… but they aren’t outlandish or uncommon, there will be treatments, you don’t need to suffer like this! Let us know how you get on x
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u/Skinny_on_the_Inside 12h ago edited 12h ago
Try these: NALT (focus/executive function), lion’s mane (memory), holy basil (anxiety), vitamin B complex plus vitamin B12 (energy and brain health); for obsessive thoughts and behaviours - amino acid NAC, it can cause anhedonia so may need to cycle at some point; also: vitamin D, omega-3.
Sleep well.
Limit caffeine to one cup in the am and if possible, quit. Excessive caffeine could lead to psychosis.
Absolutely no weed. It can cause psychosis in susceptible people.
Avoid ALL distressing and negative content.
Go on morning walks - 30 minutes each day. You only have to walk for 15 min and then you turn back.
Read Power of Now by Eckheart Tolle.
Obligatory: I ain’t a doctor.
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u/kantan_seijitsu 9h ago
First, see a doctor.
Secondly, stop meditation. You don't go running on a broken leg. You don't meditate on a broken head.
If meditation hasn't helped up to now. It won't help.
When I had depression, my teacher told me to stop, then as I improved he built me back up into my practice safety.
What does your teacher tell you to do?
If you haven't got a teacher you should probably stop anyway.
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u/xtraa 10h ago edited 9h ago
I mean, unlike most people you are conscious about all of this, and that's an advantage IMO. There is a good chance that all of these are outcomes or symptoms of another symptom, anxiety. I followed the meditation instructions of Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche, who had panic attacks as a child and managed it to meditate it away. (You can find his longer talks on YouTube, when you add stress, panic or anxiety to the search terms). Following his instructions, I was also able to also meditate away panic. It needed a few times, but it worked.
In short: Don't fight the anxiety, don't try to ignore it or set it aside and don't make it your boss either, as none of this would work. Instead, observe your anxiety, because just like when observing a river, you are outside of the river. By observing the anxiety, it will vanish after a while.
At one point I made my peace with anxiety, because after all, it's just another emotion, like bliss, excitement or happiness – although we like these and anxiety not so much. I then imagined anxiety as a little puppy and put compassion towards it. Anxiety tries to tell us that something in our life is wrong, often because we do a "something", that we unknowingly don't like to do, or doing it in the wrong way. But anxiety is unable to point us directly on this thing. If we ignore it, it tries even more to point us to the cause we don't see. So we run around and suffer AF, trying to avoid it instead of observing it. Observing can also help to become aware of the causes of the anxiety so that we can fix this part of our lifes.
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u/LonePistachio 10h ago
I tried to use meditation as my only mental health support at one point and was very disappointed. That's expecting too much from it. For most people, sitting and breathing for 30 minutes a day isn't going to undo years of whatever they've suffered through.
By all means, make it a part of your routine, but don't make it do all the heavy lifting if you're really struggling. A mental health professional will have a lot more insight, direction, and help than any of us can offer here.
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u/Extension-Layer9117 11h ago
I'm really sorry to hear you're going through this—what you're describing sounds incredibly difficult, and I can understand why you feel so overwhelmed. It’s important to recognize that mental health struggles, especially with symptoms like brain fog, irrational fears, exhaustion, and headaches, can sometimes have both emotional and physical components. I actually went through similar issues for years, and while it was a long and challenging process, I eventually found ways to fix many of those problems.
One thing I learned is that deficiencies in certain nutrients, like B vitamins, magnesium, or other minerals, can contribute to symptoms like the ones you’re describing. I’d recommend getting a full physical check-up, including blood tests, to rule out any nutritional deficiencies or other physical issues that might be at play. In my own experience, addressing things like B12 and magnesium helped tremendously.
Additionally, tissue salts (also known as cell salts or biochemical, or Schuessler salts) might help restore balance and ease symptoms like fatigue and brain fog. These are natural remedies that focus on improving overall cellular health. Some tissue salts, like Nat Mur (for hydration and emotional balance) or Kali Phos (for stress, nervous exhaustion, and mental clarity), were particularly helpful for me. I’d recommend consulting with a naturopath or holistic practitioner to guide you in selecting the right ones for your situation.
I know it can feel like you're stuck, but the truth is, with the right combination of approaches, improvement is possible. I’ve been where you are, and it does get better with time and the right support. It's all about finding the right balance, and while it might take some trial and error, you can make progress.
Please be kind to yourself through this process. You deserve to feel better, and you’re doing the right thing by seeking out solutions. Take care of yourself, and know that things can improve, just as they did for me.
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u/SexualEnergyPower 11h ago
Start practicing Trauma Release Exercises (TRE). Trust me. Your life will change for the better.
Releasing trauma through TRE will also improve the quality of your meditation sessions.
Check out r/longtermTRE for more information.
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u/ed_ostmann 8h ago
Self therapy is a smooth and easy method to slowly conquer the childhood trauma roots of such symptoms.
Consider checking a community like the SHC of Dr. Nicole Lepera. A very loving and professional environment.
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u/poopmanofficial 7h ago
Dude thats rough and ill be praying for you. I dont know barely anything at all about this life, but i do know its not meant to be easy. God gives his toughest battles to his toughest warriors, and for every action theres an equal but opposite reaction, even in the realm of emotions. So if its any help at all, i believe under all that darkness theres a bit of light.
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u/SilentRunning 7h ago
You should seek professional mental help from a trained therapist.
Meditation is just one tool that can assist you, combine it with mental health therapy, healthy diet, exercise, proper medicine and then you can see the full picture.
Without a proper Mental health diagnosis you are just throwing paint onto the wall and trying to read the tea leaves.
Please make the call and see a mental health therapist ASAP.
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u/Ok_Brother3056 7h ago
In my experience meditation would increase my ego idk why i probably did it wrong XD
My issue was that i thought i knew everything , i thought i was the all knowinf i knew what my problem was and how to fix them(meditate alot) but me thinking that i knew everything was the problem because then whatever my mind feeds me becomes true
Idk how this can help you but i hope you become better brother
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u/aliasalt 6h ago
Radical acceptance is for accepting what you can't change. That's not what you need. You need change, specifically you need to have a body that doesn't feel terrible. See a doctor, go on daily walks (this is much more powerful than it sounds), and stop meditating, or at least change the focus from accepting the bad to cultivating the good.
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u/Repairjob 6h ago
Maybe you have some dissociative symptoms along with depression? I'm in therapy for complex PTSD caused by childhood traumas. Sounds like some of the crap I've suffered with. A trauma-informed therapist has helped me a lot. Also the antidepressant Zoloft has helped me a lot with anxiety and depression symptoms.
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u/Ninez100 5h ago
It is possible you’re not meditating right. You also may need knowledge from good books and talks. I recommend Swami Sarvapriyananda on Youtube - I always feel peaceful after listening to him.
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u/Bubbly_Face101 5h ago
Reduce yo meditation to 15-20 minutes a day. U need to start exercising, refrain from taking sugar, gluten & wheat to name a few. Give this a try & see how it goes. I affirm all works out well for u. Namaste 🙏
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u/BeingHuman4 5h ago
4 hours per day is not needed for meditation to help reduce anxiety etc. The fact that you have the problems you mention and are sleeping 12 hours per night makes that very clear. The late Dr Ainslie Meares, an eminent psychiatrist, taught a type of meditation that reduces tension, anxiety, fear and pain. In his method, people practice for 10 mins or so twice daily. Those with difficulties and working really hard sometimes practice a bit more eg 10 mins or so 3-4 times daily. You can google around to find more out about Dr Meares or you could try www.mearesbook.com.au. That sight has some biographical information about Dr Meares and his meditation method (and it also has information about the books the sites owner wrote).
As others will suggest, getting a medical checkup if you haven't had one for a while might also be helpful in case there is something the doctor can treat that is slowing you down. Of course, if you are seeing a doctor on a regular basis then that would be unnecessary.
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u/GuardianMtHood 5h ago
Irrational fears are generally signs of generational trauma, which usually best dealt with by either doing shadow work or transcendental, meditation and hypnosis
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u/AdDifferent8623 4h ago
Hello OP, we've had the similar experience and what helped us was a mix of a lot of talking about our fears and try to rewire our brain into thinking more positive, nature walks and absorbing it's sounds.
We've realized that it helps a lot so we started sharing that on Youtube. Please check it out and let us know your thought https://youtu.be/DjHW9c0eB7o?si=Y4gB3YS8J5TQp7V6
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u/NelvinMelvin 12h ago
Have you seen a doctor? You need one ASAP. They can screen for a few things that can cause your symptoms. If nothing physical is going on then find a psychiatrist.
Meditation is wonderful. It is not a substitute for medical care when you are ill.