Buddhist Practice or Psychotherapy? 

When I found Buddhism, I was diagnosed with PTSD, an anxiety disorder, ADHD, and severe clinical depression. I had been hospitalized three times, and I had accepted the notion that I would never be able to start a day without anti-depressants, or get to sleep without anti-anxiety medications. Of course, I was both in therapy and seeing someone who could prescribe the meds. As soon as I began meditation practice, I learned that it was possible to reduce my anxiety levels. I began learning about Buddhism, and took the precepts in 2010. When I moved to New Hampshire--a state where there are not enough mental health hospital beds, I was actually worried about that, since I was beginning to take it for granted that I would have a crisis every few years. I need not have worried, as I have not had a need for the hospital since I started meditation practice. A year ago I took an intensive course in Mindfulness Meditation, and I had an experience during the course in which all of my old griefs and pains rose to the surface, and I held them in mindfulness and let them go. From that moment, my life has been different. I have slowly weaned myself off of all of my psychoactive medications, and saw my therapist more and more infrequently. When I feel anxious I hit the mat rather than the pill bottle. But I rarely feel anxious, because I feel that I have a deep acceptance of impermanence, and a deep affection for reality as it is. For me, it has been both the practice of meditation and the understanding of the Four Truths that has helped me to heal--on top of about 20 years of therapy and 15 years of taking medications. I do not feel that I would enjoy my present quality of life without either one of the two. Thank you very much, Doug, for your interesting and informative videos. Hutch

This is a very interesting topic. For me, Buddhist practice has been much better than psychotherapy. Of course a psychiatrist can put me on powerful drugs that will numb me and that would obviously work, but psychotherapy has done absolutely nothing for me. It's possible that I just had bad therapists or therapists that couldn't relate to me, but I really didn't like their approach when it came to dealing with my issues (depression and anxiety). I find that a lot of psychologists almost have a one size fits all approach to dealing with issues such as depression and anxiety. It seems like they just stick to cognitive behavioral therapy regardless of whether or not it's working. My therapist always used to ask me questions and he literally said that he can't tell me what to do. In my situation, I needed guidance and I needed to be put on a certain path. Buddhist practice has given me that. I also have issues that I can't control which caused my depression and anxiety so simply asking me questions about it pretty much did absolutely nothing for me. Buddhist practice taught me about relaxation techniques, how to accept my flaws, and almost embrace my flaws. It also made me realize that the root of my suffering was actually attachment and desire. Working on getting rid of attachment and desire has helped me more than any form of psychotherapy has helped me. I understand that my situation is very unique and I would actually recommend psychotherapy to most people who are dealing with mental illness. I just wanted to give my personal experiences and I wanted to give you an example of how there are certain exceptions. I also wanted to add that one of my friends has borderline personality disorder and they actually use Buddhist practices such as mindfulness to dealing with that mental illness. It's called dialectical behavioral therapy. Maybe that form of therapy would have been better for me even though I don't have that particular disorder.

When depression hit me hard and refused to let go, lots of people, including my psychiatrist and therapists, suggested that meditation would be helpful. They were right. Since so much of meditation training comes from a Buddhist perspective, my meditation practice soon introduced me to Dharma. So much of Dharma is focused on how we can relieve our own suffering, that it feels as if Buddhism is a natural fit for those of us who are struggling with depression. For me, at least, Dharma and meditation have been far more effective than anti-depressant pills. After driving past the Colorado Forest Monastery for a decade, wondering what went on there, I checked their website, and accepted their standing invitation to chant and meditate with them each evening. I stopped in one evening, and found myself in a room full of Thai Bhikkus and Bhikkunis, who welcomed me warmly, even the ones who speak no English. Since then I've found a whole community of lay Bhuddists and monastics there, all happy to help me reduce my suffering. Sangham Saranam Gatchami! 🙏 If the anti-depressant effects of Dharma and good company aren't enough, the food is delicious too! 🙂

Really wonderful video. Ive studied and practiced Buddhism Meditation for over 20 years and it really wasn’t until I had some psychotherapy that I was able to have a strong understanding of some of the pitfalls I was falling down and how they were hindering my progress. Now I’m able to go deeper into my practice with meditation so I definitely feel the two can be very beneficial and coexist peacefully.

After beginning the exploration of Buddhist thought a half a lifetime ago, I also engaged in therapeutic measures for chronic depression. Interestingly, the study I began in Buddhist thought actually served to literally save my life more than once. For me, both psychological exploration and study and eventual practice in the Buddha’s teachings have served to even the keel (happily). But you are touching a vital issue here, that the teachings are best handled when there is a stable normalcy in the inner climate. It seems obvious, but it is oft missed. Thank you for this teaching.

Thank you for explaining this! I just asked my psychotherapist yesterday why there seem to be two types of feels I get and I have to deal with them in two different ways. I will explain more. One type of feeling I can address (reduce/alleviate) through using 6 sense identification and earth element contemplation - for example if my two year old daughter yells I may get anxiety thinking that the situation may escalate, I can calm down by saying, "the wind element is impacting with my hearing". And that is sufficient to help me calm down. But there is this second type of feeling that I cannot address with the first method and I instead have to address it through the family system model of talking to the parts of myself and giving them compassion - for example I was wood splitting and had serious anxiety. When I said, "my mind is interacting with the earth element and I am worried I will not get this job done", it did not alleviate the anxiety. I had to stop wood splitting and stand there outside with my eyes closed for probably 5 minutes and talk to the anxious part - hear what it had to say about not having finished the job 3 months ago. I had to give it compassion. Then I was able to calm down. Your video seems to say my first feeling is a feeling that arose on a short timescale so I can address with Buddhist practice. And the second is a feeling that arose from my anxiety stemming from my childhood trauma of being judged/meeting expectations related to productivity/perfectionism - so long time scale. Interesting.

20 December 2023. Ranjit Wijesinha from Melbourne Australia. I'm originally from Sri Lanka. I have been reading a book titled "Psychiatric aspects of Jataka stories" According to the author a Consultant Psychiatrist , Dr D Harischandra, mental abnormalities which plague modern humans have been vividly described in the ancient Jataka stories, a part of Buddhist literature over 2500 years old. There are 9 chapters in this book published in 1998.Chapter V is about psychiatric treatments mentioned . I'm still reading this book Once i finish I will send a summary of the book.

I admire your sincerety useful teachings to a degree

An interesting read on this topic is The Feeling Buddha by David Brazier. He also happens to make some really good points regarding secular Buddhism. I recommend it. Thank you for your perspective on this topic! 😊🙏

I have autism and Buddhism keeps me calm and happy and my stress is lowered

I’m learning about Buddhism. This video was both kind and uplifting. I suffered with paranoid schizophrenia. It was true suffering at a magnitude I didn’t know possible. I studied the disease as much as I could in the hospital. This helped me grasp reality and eventually I recovered to around 90 percent. My daughter helped bring me back because I didn’t want to lose her badly., I am drawn to Buddhism and appreciate you and your knowledge. What would you suggest I do in order to find the right interpretation of Buddhism? I’m more interested in the man and how he was drawn to people who suffer badly. I’m not sure about any of the divine aspects.I’ve been told by psychiatrist that I mentally stable. Now I’m on the other side of it and really want to help the people in the hospital. You can recover from schizophrenia

Ranjit Wijesinha - sorry the date is wrong on my comment. It should be 20th December 2022.

As a Tibetan Buddhist and a psychotherapist I found this quite interesting. Thanks. You may have encountered Acceptance & Commitment Therapy - it has a strong Buddhist influence. I personally find it very compatible with my Buddhist thinking.

Great video! Suta 🙏🏽

Hi Doug! I have recently read a book about Depression and Anxiety.....'Lost Connections' by Johann Hari. I think you may find it interesting, though it may be wandering off your path a little. He does briefly talk about meditation/mindfulness in it however.

You have to be somebody before you can be nobody. - Jack Engler. I believe ,strong confident self need to be built first with series of successful application of attention in day to day life before any attempt is made to transcend self. As some one said, Grow up before waking up.

Illardi's work on how to cure depression without drugs describes a wholistic approach of exercise, diet, mindfulness etc that outperformed drugs in clinical trials. Also, in Mark Williams book The Mindful Way through Depression he discusses an eight week minduflness program that also outperformed drugs in the worst cases of depression and that gave longer lasting results. Depression drugs are unconvincing and barely do better than placebo, and they have a host of side effects and high costs. Goenka's exhortation that we are all responsible for our own salvation rings true. He points out that nearly all afflictions of the mind are the same with different manifestations, and that a diligent practice will help us find the cause of our suffering and allow it to wither. What did humanity do before the age of big Pharma? All one had was intoxicants or the dharma in some form, and yet mental disturbances were far less prevalent than they are today in our world of internet and drug addictions, many of which are prescribed by doctors who make money on the suffering of others. Of course, the precepts vow to avoid intoxicants, and with good reasons of which all are aware. Stephen Batchelor's translation of the four noble truths may give the best approach to problem solving prescribed by Buddha: 1) COMPREHEND the suffering. 2) Let go the cause of suffering. 3) Observe the well being. 4) Follow the eight fold path. The main problem is often in the comprehension part. That may be why CBT etc could be useful in identifying our problem so we can let it go, but for most of us the problem of what we cling to or our aversions is with us all the time, so our practice will help our thinking and habits evolve to a more simple and happier way without depending on drugs and things outside of ourselves that are not immediately accessible as compared with our own discipline which can bring us into the present at any moment and let the old formations fade. Even if we don't recognize the cause of our suffering at first by following a disciplined approach to nourish our body and mind some all problems will improve. There should have been a fifth precept regarding diet although not as necessary in Buddha's time as food was pretty simple, but mental health is very much dependent on a proper diet. Without adequate fiber and good bacteria in the gut that provide a majority of some of the major happiness neurotransmitters like dopamine do not thrive, and the result is obvious. The story of how Dr. Dean Ornish found a path from his suicidal depression to that of the first man to prove unquestionably that most chronic disease could be cured with a whole food plant based diet is noteworthy. His Hindu guru suggested a vegetarian diet and meditation, and it worked and led him to explore the relationship of diet and disease that has proven how much control we have over our mental and physical well being with our diet. Dr. Joel Fuhrman using the same diet has had almost total success in treating schizophrenia by removing dairy etc and using the same plant based diet. Our foundation may be built on sand if we do not have a diet like the Okinawan centenarians that is 95% whole plant food or better, and they are some of the happiest long lived people in the world...or were til their children started eating KFC and Burger King at the military bases. A seed won't grow in unhealthy soil, and a strong and happy mnd won't thrive without a health diet. Even Buddha who was a prince and privilegeed to eat rich foods suffered many GI health problems and eventually died prematurely from eating spoiled pig meat according to some. Why do you think that only vegetarian food is offered at Vipassana courses? It really helps, and of course, is a more compassionate choice of foods where the animals are concerned. There is so much we can do if we get on the path and LIVE the four (or five) noble truths. Once we start solo on this path we see the results, and the joy continues to grow, and we will feel much more in control of our own well being. Perhaps we should be cautioned as Menicius said. "The way is in simple things, but men seek it in difficult things." Let's try the dharma, moderate exercise, regular mindfulness practices, more study and a healthy diet. People would be so busy with these pursuits they have little time for suffering and the only side effects are that a lot of time and money and suffering is saved.

MERCI

Are you familiar with the work of Dr. Shoma Morita? Western psychology often operates within a very different view of the self, one reason that Morita rejected Freud, even though they were contemporaries and Freud's ideas were gaining popularity in Japanese universities. Recent modalities like Dialectic Behavioral Therapy touch on some of Morita's ideas, but Morita's perspective is much more holistic.

I was deeply confused by Shinzin’s distinction between psychotherapy and Buddhist practice. Is he saying that typical Buddhist practice doesn’t deal with the “older” stories of one’s childhood, ancestry, etc? I agree there’s a great difference between the two, but Shinzin’s distinction here is very poorly elucidated.

I think if you have the right therapist you don't need Buddhism or any other religion. Many times in therapy your trying to get in touch with how your troubling emotions manifests themselves in your body, where you feel it at in your body. In a sense, the emotion seems separate from you as a result, and it becomes an objective occurrence so that you can think about it without all of the negative feelings that come from it and hence, also affect you. There is a strong element of awareness of that emotion and its painful edge is smoothed over so you can work towards removing is debilitating influence on your life. Buddhism starts from a very pessimistic premise of samsara and that we must end any further rebirth into samsaric exitence and the best way to accomplish this is via Buddha's teachings.

Doug, you seem to be conflating psychotherapy with the psychodynamic approach. Not all theoretical approaches to therapy are concerned with our personal history. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, for example, is an ahistoric approach and is more similar to Tibetan mind training than to psychoanalysis.

The Lord taught the relief of stress dukkha and liberation of corporeality not new age self help

I feel somewhat put off by this talk. Yes, there is a merging of East/West taking place at the present. But to say that one should get their mental health sorted out before approaching a spiritual practise is, well, judgemental. I doubt you'd have a, dare I say it, Christian suggest you get you mental health in check before you commence praying. I understand your point as I have experienced this same theory when researching Ajahn Char's Theravada monastery for English speakers. They will not accept new "recruits" if they have a history of (first world) mental illness. The more I research caucasian involvement in Buddhism and those who are high up in monastic leadership roles I realise that they are mostly all failed philosophy students who simply can't find a place to belong in Western society.