Thread: Why Therapy?
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Old Nov 19, 2015, 11:55 AM
BudFox BudFox is offline
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Member Since: Feb 2015
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DechanDawa View Post
I think meditation can be therapeutic but should not really be seen as the same as therapy. I respect Mark Epstein's work but I think he should be a bit more conservative in his claims that medication can heal trauma.
My take on the book is that he is arguing for both meditation and therapy, based on his experience as a both a therapist and practicing Buddhist. And he's comparing the similarities in the mechanism of healing. You would know more than I though. Interesting that the Buddha himself apparently healed his own very serious trauma (mother died when he was an infant) via spiritual practice.

I can say that my own personal experience is that formal meditation did not trigger any unbearable or overwhelming emotions or sensations (though some strong stuff did come up), whereas therapy traumatized me and re-traumatized me like nothing ever has. I get that the brain is a social organ and needs other brains to heal, but therapy clearly can be very dangerous.
Thanks for this!
DechanDawa, Out There