Among the information that has come to light about aaron alexis (34 years old), the man suspected of killing 12 people in a shooting at the facilities of the United States Navy, in the city of Washington, highlighted one: he was a regular meditator.
How does someone who is engaged in meditation, who is supposed to have learned to focus his mind, which is associated with decreasing behavioral violence, rather than encouraging it, perform the acts Alexis is accused of?
Alexis had a history of violent behavior. His father said his son's problems stemmed from anger related to post-traumatic stress, suffered after participating in rescue efforts during the September XNUMX attacks in New York City. A former boss, who met Alexis at a Buddhist temple in the Texas city of Fort Worth, said he was a heavy drinker and attended the center's meditation practices regularly.
Most people see meditation as boring and harmless., but as studies, on people who practice it, begin to show how this practice can help combat stress, blood pressure, addictions and many other mental and physical disorders, it is also increasingly Of course Meditation is not always so benign, especially if it is used in a context where there is mental illness.
Time magazine reported that: People with depression or traumatic experiences may become increasingly anxious during meditation, or their practices may be filled with intrusive thoughts, feelings, and images from the past.
That's why the University of Washington researcher Sarah Bowen suggests that people with depression or trauma problems, who want to benefit from meditation, should deal with expert guidance. "If you get stuck in some meditations, there are ways to work with that," he says, "It is important to have teachers who are very familiar with meditation to guide you in the practice." Experts can let people know what to expect, and offer emotional support to help them get through difficult times.
Brown University neuroscientist Dr. Willoughby Britton, who has published a research showing how meditation can be used in the treatment of depressionShe is running what she calls the "Dark Night" project, which explores the difficult parts of meditation practice.
Britton was inspired to do her research by two patients she treated during her psychiatric residency, both of whom were participating in a meditation retreat and had to be hospitalized for symptoms they developed during practice. Later she attended a retreat, and experienced for herself what it was like to follow meditation and bring her into an extreme and painful state of mind. As she described in an interview: “I thought I had lost my mind, that I was having a nervous breakdown. I had no idea why I was suddenly feeling all that, terror at that moment was my main symptom "
Over time he learned that overwhelming anxiety, fear, and emotional pain can be stages within meditation practice, which are well known in the East, but that these same experiences can lead to symptoms serious enough to warrant a psychiatric diagnosis.
Although Britton's research has not yet been published, there are enough anecdotes about these dark experiences in the writings on meditation to suggest caution in prescribing this practice to the seriously mentally ill without proper guidance.
Although it is impossible to know the impact that it may have had, but it is known that it has, the practice of meditation on Alexis's mental states. It is clear that most of therapies and practices that are powerful enough to have positive effects are also capable of doing harm when they are used incorrectly and in people not prepared, or not indicated for this practice.
When faced with the practice of meditation, our attitude does not have to differ from the attitude we have towards anything else in life. In our daily life if we are doing something that does not make us feel good, we stop doing it and look for another way, or we discard it; In the practice of meditation it does not have to be different: a person decides for himself if what he is doing is good for him and he wants to continue doing it. Although the advice of a professional person or expert in the practice is recommended, it can never replace our own criteria. Source
[11/10/2013 0:00] 
Article written by Álvaro Gómez. More information about Álvaro here