Meditation, the best medicine for mental illness

The cause for most illness today isn’t physical factors or physical fitness but mental factors and therefore a challenge to deal with. Unlike physical illnesses, mental illness cannot be diagnosed through physical examination like a blood test, MRI or CT scan. They can never gauge a person’s mental suffering.

Most mental illnesses begin with stress, negative thoughts and fear. These take root and remain with a person for an extended time giving rise to mental illnesses such as psychosis, neurosis, depression and PTSD or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

Today I shall explain how you can keep yourself in a condition where the possibility of mental diseases itself is eliminated.

The primary cause of any mental illness is bad memories of the past and fear of the future. For PTSD specifically, it is only bad memories of the past that affect a person’s present. The memory needn’t always be something as serious as a sexual assault or an accident where one has lost a loved one. It could be a daily occurrence like joblessness, financial loss, a relationship problem or a chronic health problem. It could even be a seemingly small incident where one has felt insulted in the presence of others.

A person goes through a mental repetition of the same incident or memory making the brain feel one is going through the same situation all over again in the present. Now the entire system is unknowingly reliving the past in which he has gone through unavoidable pain and suffering.

But how does one prevent themselves from bad memories of the past? Consider this metaphor…

If a stone is thrown into a clear pond the water gets unsettled and muddy and cannot be used. To use the water, you must wait for it to settle down to its still state. Same is the case with the mind. A bad memory from the past acts like a stone to a still pond, it instantaneously disturbs a perfectly functioning mind unsettling it with uncontrolled negative thoughts.

As the pond must settle by itself before the water can be used, similarly, the mind too should be allowed to settle down. Avoiding memories of the past isn’t under one’s control, but one can raise their consciousness where they are no more affected by these memories.

The only solution here is stillness and stillness of the mind can be experienced only through Meditation. It is like creating a protective shield over the pond. Now, no matter how many stones are thrown they cannot disturb the water. Meditation works similarly on the mind, many past bad memories may arise but they will not disturb the stillness of the mind. Failing to understand this requirement of the mind and treating a mental illness with medication only damages physical organs like brain and liver. The mind will continue to suffer pain in the present through memories of the past. Meditation is a must to maintain mental health and to perform the best in every situation. Practice meditation to progress in life!!

Wishing you a life of Peace, Success and Happiness.

Aham Brahmasmi!!