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Cydney Dunn
Matthew Arndt
Meditation (HLTH 1240)
10/15/15

Battling Your Own Mind: Can Meditation Relieve Anxiety?

Youre panicking. You feel that awful, cold sweat cling to the back of your neck. Your
stomach ties itself in knot after knot and you cant catch up with those ever-racing thoughts.
Your heart beats heavily, as if training, preparing itself for a violent boxing match against its
biggest opponent yet. Your jaw is clenched together, fixed shut like a vice grip, your hands are
balled into such tight fights that your knuckles are turning white And yet despite being so
tense, you just cant sit still. You fidget, you tap your foot in an uneasy manner and nothing
seems to help you settle downnothing helps you catch your sweet, ever-evading breath. If this
is a familiar feeling, rest assured, you are not alone. This is anxiety, an evil little emotion that
takes fear to a much higher (and more horrifying) level; it can literally destroy you from the
inside out and if you suffer from it at a bad enough degree, any little thing can set it off. It is
estimated that nearly seven million Americans experience chronic anxiety and in many cases,
those who know someone with anxiety simply accept that they are born worriers without truly
understanding how hard dealing with such a mean disorder can be. In many cases, people that
have chronic anxiety will visit their doctor, receive a prescription for anti-anxiety medications
and will be completely complacent with popping pills daily without consideration for cleaner,
healthier alternatives for dealing with their high levels of stress; acting as though medications are
shields to anxiety, when they can, in fact, do more harm than good to your body. While taking
pills is definitely an easy answer, I submit that practicing meditation is a much better option for

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the purpose of relieving anxiety as well as strengthening your mind and keeping your body
healthy.
Anti-anxiety medication can be extremely addictive and very harmful. Its no secret that
you can develop a dependence on medication to function. This fact has been pounded in all of
our heads since our days in junior high school. As reported by Doctor Joseph Mercola, studies
have found that popular anxiety medications such as Xanax, Ativan, and Valium can have the
same addictive effect on your brain that both heroin and cannabis boast. They exert a calming
effect by boosting the action of a neurotransmitter called gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) in
the same way as opioids (heroin) and cannabinoids (cannabis) do. This in turn activates the
gratification hormone, dopamine, in your brain. (Mercola.) These medications are not without
their common side-effects, either: drowsiness, dizziness and falling, loss of coordination,
difficulty speaking or slurred speech, confusion and memory issues are among much worse
others such as mood swings, depression and thoughts of suicide. Unfortunately, despite these
restricting reactions, people still choose to run the risk by continuing daily activities while on
these medications such as driving, working and using heavy machinery. Sadly, these are not the
only dangers associated with using these addictive medical substances. It has been reported that
benzodiazepines (anti-anxiety medications) have been known to have long-term effects on the
body, especially in elderly patients. Further, some benzos have even been found to contribute
to the incurable mental condition known as dementia. One final disadvantage that anti-anxiety
medications have is that they can be very difficult to discontinue. Stopping these drugs can cause
serious withdrawal symptoms such as major anxiety attacks, insomnia and in some cases,
seizures. Unfortunately, withdrawal symptoms are even worse when these medicines have been
taken for longer durations of time.

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However, you are not out of options being that meditation and relaxation skills are such
great tools to relieve stress and anxiety. According to a study written by Manjushambika
Rajagopal, associate of the College of Nursing in Kuwait, Meditation helps to achieve a relaxed
mind, free of tensions and worries. (Rajagopal.) In his study, Rajagopal writes about an
experiment conducted at the Manipal College of Nursing in India. This experiment found that the
total of forty-four first-year nursing students met the standards of generalized stress and anxiety
by facing factors such as job obligations, children and/or dependants to take care of, spousal
expectations, transportation issues and health concerns, as well as adjusting to being away from
home, facing new places and situations and general tension overall; common dynamics that can
be coupled with being a first-year student. For twenty-one days, these students were asked to
practice a half an hour of Rajayoga Meditation, a simple method of meditation that trains the
mind to create quality thoughts and feelings, thereby opening the door to inner peace. After the
twenty-one days, a survey was conducted and found that students anxiety levels were lower than
before and in a direct response with students, it was shared that meditation had been helpful to
them by helping them to relax, stay concentrated and their practice even help raise student
interest in their studies. It was also reported that practicing meditation helped control anger,
helped students adjust with their peers and some students said it helped them make good
decisions.
Anxiety is pretty scary stuff. Fears become reality and sometimes you find yourself
wrapped up so tightly in its grip that you cant know whether youre coming or going. Some
people cope by swallowing their daily pill and continuing with their life, while others choose a
healthier alternative to dealing with anxiety: meditation. Upon reading all of these examples and
doing the research on the effects that meditation has on anxiety, I have a firm belief that with

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practice and determination, it can help keep your mind healthy and stress-free. The reason I
chose to participate in this meditation class was to help gain control of my own anxiety and after
having done this assignment, I am certainly glad I did. Born worriers are not doomed to stress
their entire lives; there is an answer that doesnt require feeding your body nasty chemicals, and
Im glad Im pursuing it.

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WORKS CITED
Chopra, Deepak, M.D. "How Meditation Can Help Anxiety." Chopra.com. N.p., 24 Mar. 2015.
Web. 15 Oct. 2015.
Mercola, Joseph, Dr. "Why Anxiety Drugs Are Addictive." Mercola.com. N.p., 04 Mar. 2010.
Web. 15 Oct. 2015.
Antony, Martin M., and Peter J. Norton. The Anti-Anxiety Workbook: Proven Strategies to
Overcome Worry, Phobias, Panic, and Obsessions. New York: Guilford, 2009. Print
Rajagopal, Manjushambika, Sanchitha S. Pugazhanthi, and Linu Sara George. "A Study On
Effectiveness Of Meditation On Subjective Wellbeing, Anxiety And Study Habits Of
Undergraduate Nursing Students." International Journal Of Nursing Education 4.2 (2012): 137140 4p. CINAHL Complete. Web. 15 Oct. 2015.