Many times we will suddenly lose our temper because of a small thing, and we will scold the other person, throw things or grab the door. In this case, when we think about it, we often sigh, "Why are we so excited at that time?"
As the friends who are here to consult, they always ask a question, that is: "Why do I suddenly get depression ?" "Why am I suddenly so anxious?" "Why am I suddenly become like this?"
In fact, these are not really happening "suddenly", but are caused by long-term accumulation of stress.
"You Are Your Own Psychologist" says: Generally, emotions caused by something will last for about 10 seconds at most, and then will automatically disappear. Otherwise, it means that this emotion is likely to have been accumulated in the past.
When we lose our temper, we can use this method to examine ourselves. Is the current emotions triggered by this matter itself or it comes from the accumulation of the past?
If the previous emotions have not been well processed and accumulated more and more, and they cannot vent their temper even if they lose their temper, they may develop mental illness.
Therefore, what we call "depression", "anxiety", and " obsessive-compulsive disorder " are not caused by years of emotional accumulation.
So, if we are in "depression", "anxiety", and "obsessive-compulsive disorder", how can we help ourselves?
The best way to get rid of troubles and pain is to be aware and live in the present.
When negative emotions come, we do not reject or resist, because when we have any thoughts or actions towards negative emotions, we are already entangled with them, and this entanglement is like aquatic plants, which will pull us deeper and deeper.
Li Hongfu Teacher Li told such a story in the book "Fighting Obsessive Compulsive Disorder", which vividly illustrates this theory:
Hercules Herglith has subdued many fierce beasts and cunning monsters. One day, he was walking on the road and suddenly tripped by an apple-sized stone. He was very angry and drew his sword and chopped. Unexpectedly, this inconspicuous stone was cut bigger and bigger until it blocked Hercules' path forward.
The smart goddess Athena told Hercules: "The more you cut, the bigger it will be. If you cut it down, it will not only continue to grow up, but will also come up with other ways to deal with you. If you ignore it, it will be very peaceful and quickly shrink to its original shape, lying there without moving."
Higheris followed Athena's advice, stopped his stupid behavior, put away his sword, and the stone became smaller immediately, and after a while, it shrunk to the original size of an apple.
Our "depression", "anxiety" and "forced" are like this stone. The more we are entangled with it, the bigger it will become. The more we want to control it, the more we will be tied to it.
And the pain felt by many friends who are in "depression", "anxiety" and "obsessive-compulsive disorder", in addition to the disease itself, is also part of the pain that comes from the "struggle" with the disease.
Whether they are working, studying, walking, eating or sleeping, although their bodies are doing different things, their minds are fighting against these negative emotions. They are always trying to find some information to tell themselves that they have improved, but the results they get are often reversed, so they fall into a situation of even greater disappointment or even despair.
"Living in the present" is also the essence of meditation. A young novice monk once asked a monk: "Master, do you have any secrets to cultivate your body and nature?" The monk replied: "I eat when I feel hungry and sleep when I feel tired. Many people always think about other things when they eat and don't concentrate on eating; they always dream when they sleep and cannot sleep well.And I eat just to eat and think nothing; I never dream when I sleep, so I sleep peacefully. "
This is the power brought by "awareness". It seems very simple, but if you want to truly achieve it, you need to go through repeated awareness practice. (It is recommended that you start to cultivate awareness from the practice of observing the breath)
Only by staying aware and living in the present can we truly be liberated from pain.
