Does Shikantaza help with anxiety?

[Troy]

Hi Greg,

I think that people with a lot of anxiety try to lower anxiety levels by controlling their environment. Since nothing is constant (with the exception of the nothingness of Shunyata), the control defense mechanism never works in the long term. Shikantaza allows one to be with a situation without the need to control it. Hence, it helps with GAD. But that's just my opinion man.

Gassho, Jishin, _/st\_

That makes so much sense. Thank you for that!

[Biffo]

Hi Greg,

Yes it has most certainly helped me over the year and a half that I have regularly practised shikantaza. I have been through a very bad time over the last three years following the loss my job, relationship break up and more. I could not sleep and found myself awake at 3 or 4 in the morning full of fear and panic and then had to cope with the day ahead feeling too tired to do much - and yes I did seek medical help for a while.

Nothing happened quickly. I saw no immediate benefits to shikantaza; I did it because I felt I had no choice and also because I felt I must seriously try this practice, day in day out. Only later did I discover that gradually, slowly I found I was able to sit with my fear, anger, panic, sadness. Sometimes the fear was with me right from beginning to end, sometimes less, sometimes more; sometimes it simply dropped away.

I don't necessarily understand this process of shikantaza or what is going on. I am still learning and keep coming back to this site. I still do not understand what the fear is or where it comes from. I just know that over this year and a half, learning to sit with this fear or any state of stress - but particularly fear and occasional panic - has fundamentally changed how I relate to 'it/them'.

What can I say? Things have softened. I find a new freedom. I don't think the fear will ever go, but that is no longer so important. What is important is that I keep sitting!

Gassho

Gavin

[Ugrok]

Hello !

Sitting also helps a lot to not act on fear. Anxiety had me flee classrooms, run away from difficult situations, avoiding going to vacation because i feared driving my car and being far from home, etc, etc. All of this is gone. I still fear the same stuff, i still have anxiety in some situations, but it does not lead my life anymore. I do whatever i want. I started a serious therapy while also beginning to sit, maybe 4 years ago, so i don't know which did what, but being able to sit with stuff rather than acting on it did me a ton of good. It helps to put everything in its right place : fear and anxiety, or even my so poor so sad so terrified little self, are not the most important things in the world anymore.

Still, really, therapy helps a lot. Especially when you sit with a strong anxiety, you may encounter deep questions really fast, have strange experiences or feel quite bad sometime while sitting ; having someone to talk about this, someone who is grounded and quiet and knows how to listen, is a tremendous help. Sitting helped with the therapy (sometimes difficult stuff arises and sitting with it allows it to pass) and the therapy helped with sitting in the beginning. In the end if you have the will to just sit everyday whatever happens, it will help, that's a sure thing.

All in all, life, little by little, becomes a very interesting adventure.

Gassho,

Ugrok
Sat Today

[KellyRok]

Hi Greg,

I too have been diagnosed with GAD. First, yes shikantaza can help with anxiety. There is already some really great advice here I don't want to repeat what others have said. My advice was close to what Jesse mentioned.

The brain cannot distinguish between fear that naturally occurs, and fear brought about by yourself. What do I mean by that? If a tiger were to pop up behind your bedroom door, you would instantly feel fear, anxiety, until the danger passes. You run away.

Now, you have the choice to let it settle, as it always does; or, you can worry endlessly about tigers behind every door. The brain remembers this initial experience, and by worrying about it, it makes you feel the same anxiety WITHOUT any real danger.

Therein is the beginning of the cycle: anxiety brought about by fear, fear kept alive by fear of fear.

So what do we do? We accept. As the great Dr. Claire Weekes says, "We notice, accept, float, and let time pass."

Will zazen remove your anxiety? Absolutely not. That's impossible.

Will shikantaza practice remind you of Dr. Weekes' suggestion? That's up to you, friend.

Check out the book, "Hope and help for your nerves" for a much more in depth and accurate form of help from the good doctor.

Hope this (kinda) helped.

I have read this book and it has helped me tremendously. Start out sitting only a short time if it helps. Sometimes I could only manage 10 minutes, but that was enough. I also cannot stress enough how much exercise - walking, yoga, lifting weights, jogging etc; has helped me. I hope you find a combination that works for you.

Take care,
Gassho,
Kelly/Jinmei
sattoday

[Kakunen]

Hi! Greg.

Shikantaza is good for anxiety,I think.

I was at Antaiji in Japan,so at that place I sat Shikantaza style.

Maybe Soto-zen and another kind of Buddhism have lots of style of Zazen.

In Antaiji sat at Shikantaza.Shikantaza is only just sitting without meta thinking.
(Meta thinking is think too much about one things)

If you sit with meta thinking ,that is not good I think.
But you just sit at Shikantaza ,that is good.

I used to suffer some kind of mind trouble,but Zazen is good for me.
Good things is concentrate one things.Shikantaza is like concentrate such like your good mind!

[Entai]

First, much metta to you and others suffering from mental illness (myself included). I've been diagnosed with major depressive disorder and GAD. A few years ago I was re-diagnosed with bipolar disorder (heavy on the depressive side). I think it's important to remember that mental illness is a physical illness. It's usually chemicals misfiring in one way or another. I don't think sitting is going to "fix" that. However, like others have said, it can help greatly with grounding and perspective. Both very important tools for managing symptoms such as full-scale panic attacks. In the end, the question is does sitting shikantaza help YOU? I can't answer that one.

My best to you.
Gassho, Entai
#SatToday

[Bodhitreemonkey]

I've had a more severe case of panic disorder ever since I was a kid. I have often had panic attacks during sitting sessions, and in some ways sitting has made it worse in an increase of sensitivity to triggers, which was disheartening after reading article after article about how meditation supposedly helps. But I gave that notion up after I've studied beyond pop-psychology's twist on buddhist meditation and deeper into the Dharma, that improvement of these conditions is not the point, with the aim being to penetrate delusion and into the Buddha-nature of everything that arises here. My anxiety is still crippling, and I'm unable to leave my house a lot of the time, but I have saddha that the path will yield the proper fruits, even if my conditions of life don't improve in regards to this anxiety.

Gassho
-Gil