I'm in a very bad way in my life right now. Therapy has only been so beneficial, and medication rarely brings anything aside for a slight normalizing effect. I won't get into the specifics, but basically my biggest problem is that my life is full of inner and outer hatred and depression towards things. Everywhere I look I am constantly reminded of bad things, or just thrown into irrational feelings of anger. I always focus on negative as opposed to positive things. I'm not some sort of guy who gets off on personal anguish, but I've just been like this my whole life, and because everything else around me has become so negative, my negative environment feeds my negative psyche.

I have much inner pain, and I am desperate for some help. I looked into TM and it looked very appealing until that price came up. I was literally shocked when I saw it. $2.5k is not an amount I can just go and spend since I make around $25k a year. At the same time, I don't want to get my hopes up and delve into this only to get disappointed. I understand the money back guarantee, but that still isn't enough for me.

I need more in terms of advice and real support of the benefits of this system. I am someone with ADHD and my mind constantly wanders into horrible places. Can someone like me expect to find some inner peace, or at the very least stress relief with this method when properly applied? Or is my mind and psyche in such bad shape that I require more than what this system was made for?

I could go into more specifics about what troubles me, but I don't think I should make my first post a book. Any feedback I can get would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you all in advance.

David,

I prefer to answer questions like this privately, to connect with you better and for your confidentiality. However, experience indicates that it might be difficult for you to make a second contact with us, so I will give you an answer here in this public forum. I emphasize that this answer applies only for David.

Since I am not a physician, I cannot provide medical advice.

It is not clear whether you are working with a psychiatrist or psychopharmacologist currently. If you are, it will be best for that professional to be aware of any other efforts you are making to help yourself, such as considering NSR. You did not say whether you are seeking meditation with your doctor's approval or not. Psychiatrists generally recommend and approve of relaxation and meditation techniques, but they should know what you are doing. In some cases, they may be open to coordinating your treatment with us in a more active way.

If you are not receiving medical care for the problems you mentioned, I recommend that you resume professional treatment. There is no substitute for appropriate medical treatment for medical conditions such as severe depression.

Natural Stress Relief is a completely natural technique. However, it is not simply relaxation, like listening to music. It is a powerful technique that leads the mind inwards, towards the experience of pure consciousness (which has variously been called Transcendence, nirvana, satori, etc.). Although this process of transcending is effortless and enjoyable for healthy people, it is a delicate one that may need special attention for someone who is suffering from mental health conditions such as severe depression.

For these reasons, learning a transcending technique such as NSR or TM may be helpful, but should only be done if we can work closely with you and with your doctor's approval.

You are welcome to respond here or in private with me via the Contact Us form at www.NaturalStressReliefUSA.org.

David Spector
Natural Stress Relief/USA

Thank you for your prompt response.
I have not yet told my therapists about using meditation. I have two of them: One who I primarily talk to who I've had since my parents were divorced, and another who I primarily get my medication from. I was not going to delve into any sort of meditation until I consulted at least one of them. I will be seeing one of them this Friday.

I was first turned onto TM, or rather informed about it, by an unlikely source. Howard Stern has advocated the benefits of TM and how he and his family have used it for years and how it has been positive for everyone involved. When I first read on the TM website my hopes and feelings of a potential help grew exponentially. Unfortunately that all came to a crashing halt when I saw the pricing involved. While I could pay for the treatment, I can't risk spending that much money on anything that is not a sure thing, and how many of those are there in life?

The NSF seemed like an economical alternative, but I think I was under the misconception that this was more of a product, as opposed to a service provided. I thought the NSF stuff was more restricted to the audio and the book, as opposed to TM which goes beyond a "product" for lack of a better term. Is NSF more of a treatment with personal assistance as opposed to going out and getting a book on meditation or something like that? The website did not seem to say anything about more personal assistance.

Again thank you for your responses so far.

David,

Good, it sounds like you are taking a good approach to this.

Although many listeners have been offended by Howard Stern during the years he was on regular radio stations, I found many aspects of his humor to be entertaining and enjoyable. These are the aspects that are shown most clearly in his 1997 movie. Regular transcending does not change who you are or how you act, it just dissolves the pesky stress that interferes with so many aspects of our functioning.

We provide Natural Stress Relief in two different ways, through our two websites. NSR/Italy (Istituto Scientia) provides the manual and audio file as computer downloads, directs the overall NSR activities, and supports the large number of Italian-speaking clients. NSR/USA
ships the manual and CD in hardcopy and also provides personal email and telephone support (from myself).

It may be relevant to mention that the NSR business model is very different from that of TM, since we offer our instruction for a tiny fraction of the price of TM. This decision has two main results: we charge for personal support (it is free in TM), and we do not as yet have sufficient income to set up local centers or train instructors. (Click for further comparisons with TM)

I hope you and your doctor decide that Natural Stress Relief is appropriate for you. Be sure to bring the material on scientific research on both of our websites to your doctors' attention, so they can understand the range of scientifically documented benefits.

Thank you for contacting us, and I wish you the best of luck, whatever you may decide.

David Spector
Natural Stress Relief/USA

Overall I have found NSR to be very beneficial in reducing stress.
It really does seem to help with making life easier/less stressful.

However, since I had finals and I am on vacation, I haven't been meditating consistently for the last two weeks. Big mistake! I can feel the stress creeping back in. So if you start NSR, make sure to keep it up. I liken it to people who are on antidepressants etc, take their medication, and then go off it after a while because they feel "better." Then that's when things start to go wrong.

This is similar to if you start meditating and it doesn't feel as if anything is happening. Not true! I think David has posted before that stress release is different for each person. Some people feel something during meditation, others feel bored like I sometimes do. But it's actually working. I feel "blissful" after meditation. I think you should try it for a few weeks and see how it goes. If you find it helps you at first, then keep it up. In fact tomorrow, or perhaps tonight I will go back and start up my meditation sessions again and will try not to miss any more sessions.

Thanks to David and the others for providing this program for such a low cost.

Andy.

Hi Guys,

I just want to add my voice. I've been diagnosed with major affective disorder which is basically a fancy way of saying bad depression and anxiety issues. I've never been suicidal, just plain ANGRY at the world and everything. It's a major effort not to blow up at anything and everyone. For that reason, I pretty much keep to myself.

I also have turned to NSR for relief/help. Of course, I'm working with a responsible doctor and taking meds too. My family are also always around to provide support. So, in other words, I think I'm handling the illness responsibly.

I do hope NSR can help. I found the first few meditations to be quite relaxing actually but it didn't take long to go back to my painful ways. I'd definitely appreciate tips and guidelines from the experienced meditators out there.

thanks,
Jan

Jas/Jan,

I am pleased to hear that NSR has been helpful for you, and that you are using it as part of an overall treatment plan under medical supervision. This is the right way to go for those with affective (mood) disorders.

The experience of NSR meditators has shown that NSR improves or makes bearable a wide range of medical conditions, confirming the beneficial effects on disease experienced by TM meditators over the last 50 years. Unfortunately, there are other techniques available today that promise everything to everyone, playing on our hopes. NSR is unique in many ways, and one of those ways is that we do not offer our technique as a panacea, only as an effective means of stress relief. Ours is not a "New Age" or pseudo-scientific technique, but one that is practical, proven, and scientifically validated.

Diagnosed mood disorders are clinical conditions, comparable in some ways with such long-term physical diseases as diabetes. See, for example, http://www.clevelandclinicmeded.com/medicalpubs/diseasemanagement/psychiatry/depression/depression.htm and the list of physiological causes of major depression given at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clinical_depression#Physiological.

To expect NSR to improve mood disorders quickly and identically among all people suffering from them would be unrealistic. What we can expect is some relief from the symptoms during our practice sessions, and improvement in various areas of our life over time as we continue to practice NSR regularly twice a day. There will always be more than enough relief from NSR to justify its practice, but the specific results will vary from person to person.

David Spector
Natural Stress Relief/USA

David, I support what David Spector has said.

As an additional approach to what you are already doing, and considering doing (NSR), I know someone here in Cape Town who I am sure would be able to give you additional and safe assistance. I also have a suggestion about how to handle the matter of negative thinking in daily life. If you would like more details, email me.

Gavin
Long-term TM meditator

I talked it over with my therapist, and he agreed that NSR would be a good meditation to implement in my life. He agreed with the benefits and had some background and knowledge of TM and NSR. I'll be ordering my kit soon to begin my NSR treatment.