Serious Mental Health Issues and AYP

[yogani]

quote:Originally posted by ag_dwh

I am suffering from violent impulses , and obsessive thoughts and compulsions accompanic with anxiety neurosis.
Can anyone please guide me with what type of breathing excercises and asanas will help me out.

Hi ag_dwh:

This, or any resource that offers yoga practices to the public, is not really the best place to be seeking this kind of advice.

While yoga practices can aid in stabilizing serious emotional and psychological difficulties, they need to be applied carefully under the supervision of mental health professionals. Most people here, myself included, are not trained or equipped to do that, and certainly not in a public forum.

So the suggestion is to seek professional help with these issues.

Once the psychology is settled down and interest turns to matters of enlightenment from a more positive perspective, then there is much more we can help with here.

Your sincerity in coming here seeking answers is much appreciated, and shows that you can work through this with the right kind of help. People who sincerely want to get better can get better. The good that we persistently intend for ourselves is the greatest power in our life. I wish we could do more to assist. Unfortunately, it is beyond the scope of what we are doing here, and that is our shortcoming, not yours.

Perhaps someone here knows reputable mental health professionals who include yogic techniques in their treatment regimen. That would be the best kind of advice you might find here.

Wishing you all the best on your path.

The guru is in you.

[emc]

I do not know of any special professional who is working with this in the States, but I would suggest to try to find a therapist who is trained in the so called third wave of cognitive behavioral therapies, for example:

- Dialectical Behaviour Therapy
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
- Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT)

They focus on the value and acceptance of personal struggles as a part of human nature. Thoughts from buddhism, yoga, and other traditions on acceptance, meditation and coming at ease with all aspects of life, are being introduced to a greater extent in these modern psychotherapies. This new perspective in psychiatry and psychotherapy includes an allowance of psychic pain and psychic health to co-exist. The assumption that the "normal" state of life is absence of pain and suffering results in a fight against all "bad" and "abnormal" states, and resistance usually cause more pain. Instead, if a person by greater acceptance can learn to live with all ingredients of life, even anxiety and depression, the "pain" will diminish.

Mindfulness is nothing else than working with an expanding consciousness, the inner witness. For many persons with severe mental pain issues attending such a therapy is a great way to simultaneously find understanding on the cognitive (mind-related), emotional and behavioural aspects of the problem, AND to work on the personal spiritual development.

See for example:

 "Integrating mindfulness meditation with cognitive and behavioural therapies: the challenge of combining acceptance- and change-based strategies." Lau MA, McMain SF. (2005) Can J Psychiatry. 2005 Nov;50(13):863-9.
Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Ontario. mark_lau@camh.net

"Recent innovations in psychological treatments have integrated mindfulness meditation techniques with traditional cognitive and behavioural therapies, challenging traditional cognitive and behavioural therapists to integrate acceptance- and change-based strategies. This article details how 2 treatments, mindfulness-based cognitive therapy and dialectical behaviour therapy, have met this challenge."