I'm curious why this always gets downvoted on HN with no comment. That's quite a bit of disconnect with other groups.
Is it because a difference in terminology? On HN, meditation seems to mean 'relax and do nothing'. Elsewhere, it seems to mean 'concentrate on only one thing', which usually makes people recall traumatic situations.
Or does it come across as too prescriptive with little evidence to back it?
Re:Ask HN: How is your mental health?
by Blakestr on Wednesday November 06, 2019 @09:14AM
(#21462754)
People confuse the term meditation and mindfulness. Maybe like development vs programming.
Mindfulness is what has been spreading, but usually it is intoduced as meditation.
I didn't downvote but I can't imagine someone vomiting by simple guided mindfulness exercise. Telling someone to "focus on your breathing" or "if you find your distracted by thoughts, just be aware of those thoughts, and return to your breathing" doesn't strike me as very invasive.
Re:Ask HN: How is your mental health?
by theli0nheart on Thursday November 07, 2019 @10:07AM
(#21473809)
Why would meditation lead to vomiting and/or diarrhea? I suppose I can understand where the sobbing might come from if you're in a tough space and dwelling on sad thoughts, but the other two?
One meditation coach once told me a story of one of his clients who did a 20 minute guided session, and he went out of it with vomiting, diarrhea, and was really angry at the guy. But a few days later, he felt something clear up and asked for more sessions. He says it's normal, and with corporate counseling, he normally restricts them to 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 15, 20, 30 for a week each.