Ad Le N.
Maybe I can help. Meditation gives peace but for some people it's only for a short while, especially when you're stressed out it makes it harder to clean the mind from negative thoughts because you have a lot to think of. You can Find another path to relax like listening to soothing musics, Dennis Kuo's music has been accompanying me when I'm dealing with difficult subjects, maybe you can give it a try? And You can also try a different posture while you meditate such as lying on your back. For extra relaxation, light up some scented candles and put soothing sounds and just close your eyes. It helps me all the time. I'm sorry if this is not what you meant but If it is, I hope it will help you.
Danielle E.
I’m an introvert too! I found meditation really hard at first (and stressful!). With paractice I’ve gotten much better at bringing my thoughts back to my breath even while not meditating.
To stop the post meditation analysis I politely thank my thoughts, tell them I am busy and go do something that requires a bit of focus like reading or exercising or breathing or listening to some music (I have been finding that “Chill lo-fi study beats” on YouTube have been really helpful 🙂
With time and practice you can get really good at acknowledging your racing or critical thoughts and look at them without judgement or stress. Then you can analyze yourself more dispassionately.
Don’t despair and keep plodding along — you’ll calm your mind eventually. It just takes time and patience and regular practice. No one manages it instantly.
Enzo F.
Try adopting a "mantra", which is just a word or short saying you repeat consistently to keep your mind focused when not meditating. Combined with regular meditation, some say it is quite effective.
Emile Z.
One of the things I do is immediately change my environment. So the moment negative or anxious feelings are triggered, I make an effort to put my shoes on and go for a walk. This simple act changes your focus and let’s go of the negative self talk. Also, I’ve started to really take note of my triggers. So there are things that set you off… which then make you think a thought which then make you feel bad. Start understanding what your own triggers are. Is it a phone call, a text, a social media site, a thing someone said? Understand your own triggers so you can distance yourself from them and / or control the thought that follows to stop the negative emotional reaction.
Gracielen Q.
Train of thoughts especially centered around self-criticism is one of the worst thing one can do for oneself, and I know this because I also have strong tendency towards it 🙂 Even if one begin with positive criticism toward oneself, most of time it ends with negative side effect. The fact that you have insight of yourself, that you can analyze yourself step by step is a gift. There’re many people go about their days without noticing anything about themselves or others. People with this kind of gift can’t help but analyze because that ability comes naturally, that’s what it means to be “gifted.” So trying to stop thinking or analyzing will make it also very stressful. Instead embrace it by focusing the subject matter towards outside. Instead of focusing individually, like yourself or specific person or a group or an event, focus on the whole of your world and try to see yourself as part of that world and also others you encounter as that part of the world. With this view analyzing can be very useful tool to understand the meaning of anything. So rather than trying to stop analyzing, try to refocus the subject towards world around you and then focus on you as one of the individual who’s part of that world. Meditation will not stop your thoughts but it will keep the thoughts flow like water and you standing in front of that river. You can’t stop the river from flowing but you can stand next to it and watch it flow and see how beautiful and calm the river is…
Sasha Y.
Self judgment is more damaging than judgment from others. Practice self love by becoming the Curator of your thoughts. Carefully choose the language you chose for yourself and then watch your confidence around others grow!
Vera T.
How long have you been meditating? If this is still a new habit, you need to continue doing so for the changes to appear (I'm assuming the meditation is about affirmations n to stop this self-taking, overthinking, over analyzing habits). This reaction is merely from your body rejecting n protesting changes you're making (in this case, for the better). Give it some time, try rationalizing this self talks to make you aware this are merely thoughts that won't make you go anywhere. In time your mind n body will be attune. It's just a new habit the body trying to get use to
Malou E.
I'm new to meditating but I know you just need to keep practicing, you will get to the point where you will have greater ability to move past this emotions, the self awareness is obviously already happening, just be patient and keep going
Flenn F.
Practice makes perfect with meditation. The more (and longer) you can do it the easier it becomes to see thoughts for what they are…just thoughts. Think of them like clouds passing by, sometimes the sky is stormy and sometimes clear. Appreciate when your head is clearer and don't get caught up in a never-ending cycle when it's stormy. The fact that you see the bombardment of thoughts is progress in itself! Next time when you get that feeling just think "ah I'm over thinking again" then try and anchor yourself on your breath. Hope this helps.
Piotr F.
It's interesting how when you're talking to yourself, you percieve it as though you're talking to an actual person. At least that's how it sounds according to your question. If that's the case, I'd say let the conversation go on. Your subconscious mind controls about 90 percent of your total brain function. Think about it, simple things like eating a bowl of cereal aren't that simple when you take into consideration the amount of coordination it would take between your eyes, and your arms and your hands, and then to twist all those appendages in such a way that it actually scoops up the cereal and then transfers it to your mouth. All the while, you also have to breath (otherwise you'll die of course). But you don't think about all those things when you're actually doing them. They don't require thinking. The point is: your body, including your mind, knows way more about what you want then that conscious part of you ever could. And it'll tell you, you just have to listen. Sometimes it'll make you thirsty, sometimes it'll put some details into your dream that might seem irrelevant until you think about what it's trying to show you. So let the conversation go on, and figure out what the main things are that occupy most of that conversation. See if there's a pattern. Does the conversation include a particular girl/guy? Why does it do that? Do you lack companionship? Is that what you want? Is that what you're missing? Does your mind keep bringing up embarrassing moments in the past? It looks like you lack some much needed confidence. What should you do about that then? Build up your skills and make yourself impressive I'd say. Let yourself tell you what it thinks it lacks and what it thinks it wants. You're only talking to yourself. So if you do find out what it is you want, be prepared to negotiate. What is it that you're willing to do that will put you closer towards that better version of you? Keep it simple, but continue to add on to it once it feels necessary. You don't have to come out of that conversation totally peaceful, but try and make sure you come out of that conversation with some ambition. Maybe that'll give you some peace of mind.
Al Sia Z.
You can practise mindfulness. Mindfulness thought us how to not judge any thought that came through our mind while we enjoying our present moment.
Micheal Z.
Acknowledge the thought, thank it, then put it into a pink bubble and hand over to the universe then return to the breath.
Isaac E.
Stress is created by having multiple thoughts and worries at the same time. During meditation is most important that you focus on training your mind to not to wander around. During stressful situations, try to close your eyes for a while and think that is this stress worth full?? Find out the reason? Whatever in future is not in our hand so why to take stress now? Sometimes we think more than out brain capacity which leads us to be anxious. Trust in yourself. Build that trust on you that you will pass the phase.
Vicki P.
Meditation is not about a quick fix. It works best in the long run. It's important to keep up on a daily meditation routine and it does not have to be long. Even if you fall off the horse, just get right back on. And the pesky thoughts during the meditations, don't stress about them. Just let them be. They'll get quieter with time.
Grace J.
Hey! Ive found that mediation works the most a the level beneath the concious. The flurry of thoughts that come up by be your minds response to the change going in you. If you're experiencing high levels of anxiety that won't go away and are impedeing your functional capabilities I would suggest seeking out a therapist that you bode well with to work through the heart of what's troubling your soul… I would keep meditating though if you can.
Paul P.
I strongly recommend therapy! A good professional can help you find the dource of racing thoughts and ways to cope. Try and schedule time specifically to lwt yourself worry. and only worry in that time
Karlheinz O.
I think that you do not have the right meditation. For meditation, you have to learn the right way. I do meditation every morning and before bed, and the next day I see this wonderful effect. My inner calm is more than before and I love life more. Now I tell you my own way. First, select a quiet place, then find a place that is more comfortable to sit. Close your eyes and take a few deep breaths. If you use a sedative music, it's better. Then remember what you want to remember in your mind. Strong imagination has greatly contributed to its effectiveness. For example, when you say, I'm happy to imagine yourself exactly as happy and smiling. After reviewing your wishes, take a few deep breaths and open your eyes slowly and enjoy the effect. Be happy and victorious
Louanne T.
I know exactly what you're talking about because after even after two years of steady meditation practice my mind also does not seem calm and friendly at times. All I can say is that this gets better with time. Meditation allows you to develop a sense of composure and control over your mind. Don't think of it as taking a pill and expect immediate results. It is in the long term you'll find yourself better equipped to face challenges in your daily life. Stay consistent.
Marine E.
i'm also an introvert. meditation is about letting go of all your thoughts. no thinking about the past or the future. just being in the present. focus on your breathing and on the ambient sounds around you. if you start to think, it's ok. it's completely normal. just let go of the thought and go back to the breathing.
Monique A.
That's perfectly normal to experience. Meditation is a skill that you develop over time with practice. As you mentioned, you're an introvert. I am too. One of our hurdles is that we internalize things very strongly because that's where we reside most of the time, in our minds. My friend when you start to feel stressed as you self analyze, take a break and come back to focusing on breathing. When you're ready take each thought one at a time, maybe even write them on paper. Analyzing yourself is a very mature skill, like meditation, it takes time to master. Most of life is a journey of self mastery so never feel down when you find it takes you many more days of feeling overwhelmed as you continue your practice. In fact, feel happy and pat yourself on the back because you're doing something most don't consider until they have to look back at an old age and wonder "What did I do wrong?". Take your time in processing yourself, take it in pieces, and just ask yourself "Who do I want to be?". The answer to that question will help your process flow with much more ease.
Amalie P.
Meditation is a practice that teaches you to notice your thoughts and acknowledge them without being caught up in them. It sounds like you're already aware of your self talk, and how it influences you – and that's great! The next step is observe your self talk as it occurs, and simply note it. Think "Ah, I'm having the thought such as such". Then, take a few deep breathes, and notice how your body feels when your self talk is occurring. Focus on your breath, and channel it to the areas of tension in your body, expanding them and making room for your thoughts and feeling. In this way you can apply meditation techniques to your everyday life, and be less affected by your self talk. The more you practice meditation, the more observant you become, the easier it gets!
Good luck!
Emeline T.
Think of meditation as process. A process, where you don't have to stop your thoughts or control your feelings. The idea is to be at peace with how you are. Being alive is more important than anything. So when stress hits you, take a step back, find a quiet place, close your eyes, and breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth. Not to change anything, but just to find some me time. Do it for 10 mins, and go out and get the thing done. Hope this is helpful.
Alicia C.
I’m not an introvert and I have the same problem, but I believe you have to continue to execute the practice of meditation to train yourself to trust that in the calming of your mind better potentials are forming than in the chaos of looping negative self analysis. When you begin to beat yourself up mentally, perhaps then is the time to remember that precious moments are invested in the same way when you’re abusing your self with talk as they do when you are quieting yourself with meditation and trust in the process of letting go of mental control. Your thoughts are not reality but they will boss you around and create a complet mindset that will sabotage you if you don’t intervene with a different mindset. Both mental events happen in the same framework of time…one is letting things just be whatever they are, good or bad. The other is trying to cont things with invisible billy clubs – useless. The self abuse talk does not reflect reality and most likely is untruths and indefensible if brought to the light. Meditation has the potential to create bigger space for you to comfortably allow things to be as they are and trust yourself and the creator to help you get through the broken places.
Annette Y.
Fabulous
Practice, practice, practice. You may be feeling the peace while you are meditating, or for a little while after, because that self-talk is seen for what it actually is, the unending function of the human mind. It is when you allow your attention to get lost in anything but that fact, when you lose your focus and allow those thoughts to become, once again, the voices that work to take over your emotional and conscious direction, you have then given up being the observer and began again to think without knowing that you’re thinking. It is hard and it takes a lot of time but understand that the same voice that you are looking to better identify, the same voice that is reading these words, is the voice that quietly directs your conscious attention.
Waldemar J.
I think the practice of Mindfulness might help. Noting your emotions/thoughts draws awareness without giving them control.
Primitivo Z.
I myself am not a pro mediator. But I do understand stress and its effect. I have been meditating for a little over two months and my stress levels have decreased dramatically. I'm not sure what type of meditating you do but I have been using the Sam Harris waking up meditation app. He gives you a lot of different excersizes and kind of explains what to do in different situations. I think that's helped me a lot.
Wesley E.
I wonder if perhaps you are fighting the experience. It’s okay if the mind is busy. Could you observe it, acknowledge it and try and ground yourself by focusing on your breath and the sensations in your body.
Elaine Q.
It's not an immediate change. I'm an introvert as well, and I had similar feelings. I thought I might be doing it wrong, or that maybe I was just a meditative person generally so it had no effect on me. Let me tell you, it does. You start to let that bombardment of judgement slide off of you, noticing it but not attaching to it or judging yourself for feeling it. It just slides off, like it's happening to someone else. This allows you to maintain that peaceful feeling you started with.
