.
Mindfulness meditation is a practice that is dear to my heart because when I was 18, I suffered from severe anxiety. My anxiety was brought on by having to deal with the day-to-day stresses that our children are currently facing. Stresses such as having to do perfectly on tests, needing to fit in, and being required to sit in a classroom and focus for hours without breaks. Because of the overwhelming stress in school, I did what any young kid does when he's under pressure -- I rebelled. I became a cowboy, I got in fights, I got suspend, and I spent the majority of my academic career in the principal's office.
Then I was introduced to a meditative practice that forever changed my life. I started to very simply close my eyes and focus on my breathing. This very simple technique took away my stress, and in a short while, I no longer had any anxiety and never got in trouble again. I went on to graduate from college and never had to deal with serve anxiety again.
I was fortunate. Most kids are not -- stress builds up so much in school that some kids go find a gun and shoot someone to relieve stress. We have a stress epidemic occurring in schools all across America that is leading to violence, kids dropping out of school, and even worse, children committing suicide. Recent research has found that suicide is the third leading cause of death among young people ages 15 to 24. (MORE)
Source: Huffington Post
No comments:
Post a Comment