Meditation is a great way to stay mentally fit during Covid-19

The argument

Mental fitness is often neglected in conversations about health, yet it is vital to a person’s wellbeing. Meditation helps guide people through periods of anxiety and trauma. During the Covid-19 pandemic, people have experienced increased levels of stress and anxiety. In order to cope, many people have turned to regularly practicing meditation. Through practicing meditation on a regular basis, people are allowing their brain to heal. Once someone really centers on themselves and evaluates where they are without any outside distractions, their whole life is put into perspective. Small daily stressors that have a major impact throughout the day fall away as insignificant. Larger, more important stressors are brought to the forefront so that people can see them more clearly and fairly evaluate how much and what kind of pressure they should feel. Regularly meditating has contributed to benefits such as reduced stress, patience, and altering thought habits to gain a new perspective on a stressful situation. Although meditation cannot solve all of a person’s problems, it can help them see their circumstances in a new light. Through this practice, people will be better equipped to handle problems as they arise. At a time where the whole world is under the stress of the coronavirus pandemic, meditation allows people to focus on themselves.

Premises

Counter-arguments

Meditation does not work for everyone. Some people may find they they relieve stress and anxiety from other forms of relaxation like exercising, reading, or watching a movie. Others may find meditation an unpleasant experience altogether. There are other ways in which people can stay mentally fit during quarantine, even if meditation does not work for them. Starting new routines during a pandemic may cause more stress and anxiety for someone already overwhelmed by the changes that have happened since the pandemic. People that are used to sticking to a routine may find it difficult to integrate new habits into their daily lives. Therefore, trying to find time to meditate could cause a person to stress out more.

Rejecting the premises

[Rejecting P1] The premise moves from the importance of mental fitness to one particular practice, when reading, exercise and conversation are offered as routes through anxiety too — so the case for meditation over the alternatives is left unmade. [Rejecting P2] "Letting the brain heal" is a metaphor rather than a mechanism, and no finding is cited for the reordering of large and small stressors the premise describes. [Rejecting P3] Benefits reported by people who took up meditation are not evidence that it suits everyone: some find the practice unpleasant, and adding a new routine mid-crisis can itself be a source of stress for those already coping with disrupted ones.