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For me it was the reverse: The first half of the article describing the warped perception is far more interesting to me than ABMT. Having a mindfulness practic
by hosh 10y ago
For me it was the reverse: The first half of the article describing the warped perception is far more interesting to me than ABMT.
Having a mindfulness practice, I don't see ABMT as going to be anything more than a bandaid. That bandaid might have some temporary effects, but it doesn't address existential suffering at all.
Further: stuff like the Wim Hof (Iceman) breathing method has greater effect because it teaches your mind to gain awareness and control over your body's fight-or-flight response. It won't address the emotional and mental stuff (which therapy and mindfulness practice addresses), but it does teach your body not to spiral out with fight-or-flight responses, and gives you enough space to work with these emotions.
I was also thinking about it: what do I see when I see pictures of violence and threats? Maybe I am idiosyncratic, but when I look at it, I tend to feel a lot of pathos for the suffering involving both the aggressors and the victims rather than personalizing it as a threat to me. (That is, instead of thinking "OMG the world is not safe for me", it is "That's a lot of suffering we're inflicting on each other"). Having pleasant pictures is not enough. The deep mental programming also needs to be addressed.
- ksenzee 10y agoTreatments other than mindfulness training are not simply a "bandaid." CBT is the gold standard, for example, and countless thousands of people have found it alleviates their anxiety without their ever even learning what "existential suffering" means. Mindfulness is certainly one of the major tools in the anxiety toolbox, but it is neither the only nor - arguably - even the best tool available. This is especially true given that anxiety is not a single problem with a single cause.
- hosh 10y agoExistential suffering underlies all anxieties. CBT, at best, gets to certain levels of deep seated programming, but does not go to the root cause. Alleviating anxiety is not the same as a cure. Being functional is not the same as a cure. CBT may be considered the gold standard in the mainstream, but it will not always be like that.
- apatters 10y agoThis is certainly an interesting idea, but is there a body of research behind it? (How does one prove that anxiety is caused by "existential suffering" anyway?) What is the amount and quality of that research? Even if CBT is flawed it has an established track record of clinical success so I still think it should be regarded as a "tool in the box."
- ksenzee 10y agoYou may be correct, but without any research to back it up, this reads very much like a statement of religious faith.