In this post: How to practice mindfulness for anxiety relief, how mindfulness can help reduce stress, the benefits of being mindfulness, and ways to practice mindfulness.
My brain is whizzing a million miles per hour, so much so that it makes me feel nauseous.
There is an internal battle of thoughts going on: fears and worries on the one side; telling myself I’m being stupid and to just get over it on the other side. My brain feels like it’s about to explode. Either that or I’m about to pass out.
What is causing this reaction? Am I about to go on a theme park ride or jump out of a plane?
No, I’m getting ready for work and telling myself that I can’t call in sick… again.
Why does going to work cause such emotions? I work in a safe environment and I’m capable of doing my job so it should be pretty straightforward, right? Easy even.
But, it’s the fact that I’m going out into the big wide world where anything could happen, that is causing such turmoil. So much is unknown and out of my control out there. I don’t know how people are going to react or what dramas are going to happen.
And I’m not confident that I can react in a calm and controlled manner when things do go ‘wrong’.
Have you ever been there? It’s stress and anxiety nearing its’ worst. Borderline panic attack territory. And it’s no fun, no fun at all.
Unfortunately, it used to be a familiar story for me. But not anymore ?
How did I stop this anxiety-driven cycle? (Or at least reduce it so that now it only happens when I am actually about to get on a roller coaster or jump out of a plane!)
It was a lot of things, but the biggest factor was learning to be more mindful with my thoughts. The practice is called mindfulness.
What is mindfulness?
It is defined as:
A technique in which one focuses one’s full attention only on the present, experiencing thoughts, feelings, and sensations but not judging them.
Dictionary.com
I would add to this ‘and not acting on them’.
Mindfulness is in effect choosing what thoughts, feelings, and sensations you let stay around in your mind and which of those you act on. Anything you don’t welcome to stay gets sent on its way.
It does take practice to get to this state, but if you experience anxiety and stress regularly, it is definitely worth your while.
Why practice mindfulness?
As well as giving you the ability to choose what you think and feel, mindfulness can also enhance your experiences. This is because you are fully present in the current situation and not so worried about what happened in the past or what might happen in the future.
Your focus is what is directly around you, so you can notice what is going on now with more attention than you would if half of your mind was constantly elsewhere.
You might notice more colours, sounds or tastes, or find that you can really be present when concentrating on a task or if someone is talking to you.
How can you practice mindfulness?
If you’ve heard of the term mindfulness before, you have probably heard it coupled with the act of meditating and may have already decided that meditating, and hence mindfulness, is too dull and difficult for you. I know I certainly struggled with meditating to start with!
Take heart that, while meditating is definitely a powerful way to practice mindfulness, there are also many other ways you can get started.
Here are some examples:
Use breathing exercises to focus on your breath
An easy way to do this is to simply say to yourself ‘In’ as you inhale and ‘Out’ as you exhale. Say it loud enough in your head that it drowns out any thoughts you no longer want to be there.
Another exercise is to count as you breath in and then again as you breath out. Notice what number you get to on your natural breath in and out and then try and length your breath by a count or two each time to help slow your breathing. Try to exhale for longer than you inhale.
Consciously slowing your breaths can help you to feel less anxious and release stress.
Stretch slowly
Doing slow stretches was actually one of the first things that helped me to start feeling again after being numb from severe depression. It’s amazing how good a simple slow stretch can feel when you are really focusing on it.
It can be any stretch that draws your awareness to your body, some of my favourites are the cat and cow stretch and the simple side stretch. (Search feel-good stretches on YouTube if you’re struggling to think of any).
Savour your food
Most of us have a habit of gobbling our food and not giving it too much thought as it goes ‘down the hatch’ so to speak. This is called mindless eating.
Instead, next time you have something to eat, really savour it. Use your senses to make it a real experience.
Take a moment to enjoy the smell of your food, notice the texture, and try to identify any subtle flavours to the overall taste. Appreciate everything about it and how it came to be on your plate.
We often forget how much effort has gone into growing and harvesting what we eat and remembering this can really enhance our meals and make us mindful of how special it is.
Use your senses in other ways
Shifting our focus to what we are experiencing through our physical sensations rather than our mental thoughts and feelings can help to reduce any anxiety or stress we are feeling.
Here are some ideas:
- Take your shoes off and feel the ground beneath your feet (works extra well if you are on grass or sand)
- Feel the sun on your face or the wind against your cheek
- Touch something and explore its’ texture
- Listen to a song and really pay attention to the lyrics
- Go through each of the 5 senses – smell, sight, sound, taste and touch – and note what you can sense in the present moment
Marvel at nature
Nature is another one of those things that we don’t really think about as we go about our day-to-day lives, but it is really incredible when we stop to think about how marvellous it is.
Let yourself feel like a kid again and view everything with curious eyes.
Think about how different animals have evolved into living, breathing creatures. Think about the processes involved in how plants grow and flower. Realise how incredible our own bodies are, how they function and the amazing things they can do.
And then when you’ve completely boggled your own mind, lay back and watch the clouds float by.
**
Mindfulness does require practice and can take time to develop, but the ability to control what thoughts, feelings and sensations that you place importance on and, in turn, what you act on is an incredibly valuable skill to have.
It can really make a huge difference to your anxiety and stress levels as you find techniques to bring your attention away from your worries and direct them to more positive thoughts.
For me, it has meant that even if something triggers me to be anxious or stressed, more often than not, by using mindfulness I can settle my thoughts and focus on more productive and optimistic things.
I really hope that it can do the same for you too!
**
How will you practice mindfulness for anxiety relief? What activity will you choose to try out today?
Did you enjoy this post? Please share the goodness by pinning the image below!
