magicianmew:

starr-medicine:

siavahdainthemoon:

I have now been told by two mental health professionals in two days that under NO CIRCUMSTANCES EVER am I to practice traditional Mindfulness exercises

Apparently ‘feeling like I’m dissolving’ and also that ‘I’m rising out of my body’, and being passing-out-exhausted afterwards, are all the complete OPPOSITE of what’s meant to happen

Who knew???

But seriously – this is something that apparently happens to people who are low-key (or not so low-key) disassociating semi-constantly, and is really really not good for you. So if you’re one of those people, like me! then there are other forms of mindfulness that may be more appropriate for you – specifically touch/sensation based, rather than the guided-thinking, breath- and sensory-focusing exercises that make up traditional mindfulness programs/exercises. Talk to your local health care professional if at all possible. 

But basically, if you know you have issues with disassociation, and somebody recommends a mindfulness program to you, BRING UP THE FACT THAT YOU DISASSOCIATE. Because normal mindfulness can be super bad for you. There ARE apparently mindfulness programs that can be helpful, but they have to be catered to the disassociation. So.

Please bear that in mind, everybody.

I post a lot about meditation and I know someone who preaches mindfulness, constantly. I didn’t know if you’re struggling with disassociation that you should not try being mindful.

Absolutely a thing. I cannot do normal mindfulness. I either have a panic attack or spend the next 2 days so dissociated I can’t do much of anything – like, so bad that I wouldn’t feel safe driving, or even trying to navigate any travel by any means more than a mile away from my home.

What works better for me is more grounding-based meditation. As OP says, touch-based is especially effective. I also find conscious muscle contraction helpful, but YMMV on that one depending what your dissociative triggers are, I suspect.

It took me about 15 years to learn how to meditate because everyone kept telling me to “empty my mind,” which was usually impossible because my mind RIGHTFULLY fights against me doing that, and then on the rare occasion I ever succeeded, immediately resulted in me being too fucked up to life. It took all that time for me to see someone say, “Hey, ya know, you could also, like… try other means of mental focusing, besides exacerbating your PTSD.” Like fuck man, really? Shit. Tell that to all these “gurus.”

The point of meditation and mindfulness is resting and defragging the mind. Much like on a metal computer, there is more than one way to do that with our meat computers. If neurotypical methods don’t work for you and whoever is advising you can’t or won’t suggest any alternative methods, go find someone else.