What is mindfulness and how can it help you manage your anxiety?
Mindfulness is the state of simply being. Mindfulness is focusing your attention on the moment. It’s a focused awareness of what’s happening in the here and now, who is around you, what your thoughts and feelings, and what actions you are contemplating taking.
In principle, anxiety is a survival mechanism that alerts your mind to possible danger. However for many of us, anxiety can become an all-consuming, generalized feeling that persists during non-anxious situations. Anxiety can pull your thoughts to the past to ruminate on things you “should have done” or “could have done” differently. It can also pull you into the future to worry about things that are out of your control by focusing on worst case scenarios. In essence, anxiety robs you of the present moment.
Reactions triggered by anxiety
Anxiety includes both emotional and psychological reactions. Mindfulness seeks to tackle both kinds of reactions. Mindfulness helps to focus your attention on the feeling of anxiety you experience and your body’s reaction to it. These reactions can include sweating, hyperventilating, stomach aches, headaches, nausea and heaviness in the chest.
Mindfulness techniques to manage anxiety
Once you develop an awareness of these different reactions, then you can decide to work to change them. Mindfulness can help you do this. Mindfulness can also help you develop the skill to not only counter the “spurious” anxiety from past events but also to bear “real” anxiety that presents itself.
Some mindfulness techniques include:
- Boxed breathing. This involves inhaling to a count of four, holding your breath for a count of four, exhaling for a count of four, and holding your breath again for a count of four. Repeat this cycle of breathing as many times as you like. The goal is to bring mindfulness to your breathing;
- A body scan, a kind of guided meditation. This allows you to focus on different parts of the body in a gradual sequence from your head all the way down to your toes. Through this mental scan of your body, you bring awareness to different muscle groups, bodily sensations, aches and pains, tightness, and soreness. The primary purpose of a body scan is not to heal you from your pain but to help you adapt and manage these different experiences in a mindful way.
- Guided meditations that are offered online through applications such as Youtube, Calm, and HeadSpace. Start by doing shorter meditations and gradually increase your timing once you feel comfortable. Remember that your mind may wander during these meditations, which is to be expected, but the goal is to mindfully bring your attention back to the meditation without judgment.
Struggling with anxiety and looking to explore mindful methods of coping? Contact us today for a complimentary 15 minute phone consultation.
I am a passionate and driven therapist who is committed to helping you achieve your mental health goals. My goal is to provide you with a safe space that will encourage you to explore your struggles, gain insight, challenge assumptions and beliefs about yourself, and appreciate your successes. As a therapist, I specialize in working with individuals facing issues related to anxiety, depression, trauma, stressful life changes, communication, relationships, and social justice.