Properly speaking I wouldn’t call meditation self-help, but it can be used as a self-help technique to help you cultivate more calm, acceptance, stillness, relaxation, and generally less neuroticism. You can read about mindfulness meditation, which is most relevant to self-help, lots of places online, but the general idea is that you sit in a comfortable and alert position, tell yourself you’re allowed to relax, put your attention on your breath, and if your mind wanders simply notice that and return your attention to the breath.
It seems to work by allowing you to get our of your own head and gain more perspective on the world. Literally noticing what’s happening with your breath and what’s going on around you seems to change how people think of themselves and their place in the world, which leads to decreased neuroticism.
My own experience is that meditation practice has correlated with a decrease in neuroticism, less anxiety, and a cessation of OCD symptoms (to the point I was able to go off medication (but talk to your doctor before you do this if you read this and think “oh boy, someone on the internet said I can stop taking my meds if I meditate instead” because that’s definitely not what I’m saying)).
Meditation
Properly speaking I wouldn’t call meditation self-help, but it can be used as a self-help technique to help you cultivate more calm, acceptance, stillness, relaxation, and generally less neuroticism. You can read about mindfulness meditation, which is most relevant to self-help, lots of places online, but the general idea is that you sit in a comfortable and alert position, tell yourself you’re allowed to relax, put your attention on your breath, and if your mind wanders simply notice that and return your attention to the breath.
It seems to work by allowing you to get our of your own head and gain more perspective on the world. Literally noticing what’s happening with your breath and what’s going on around you seems to change how people think of themselves and their place in the world, which leads to decreased neuroticism.
My own experience is that meditation practice has correlated with a decrease in neuroticism, less anxiety, and a cessation of OCD symptoms (to the point I was able to go off medication (but talk to your doctor before you do this if you read this and think “oh boy, someone on the internet said I can stop taking my meds if I meditate instead” because that’s definitely not what I’m saying)).