When anxiety strikes it can feel impossible to try and relieve it. It comes on so fast leaving feelings of helplessness.
Anxiety doesn't however just stop at a slight feeling of “nervousness”. Most of us know that along with anxiety comes a whole host of uncomfortable symptoms such as insomnia, restlessness, fatigue, stomach upset, headaches and more.
We all go through phases where we feel stressed but Chronic stress and anxiety over longer periods of time in particular become problematic for health.
There is one proven way in countless studies to diffuse anxious feelings and that is meditation.
Mindfulness meditation for anxiety.
Research suggests that just a few minutes a day can shift your mind from worrying about the future into being more present. As the saying goes:
"If you are depressed, you are living in the past. If you are anxious, you are living in the future. If you are at peace, you are living in the moment."
Researchers reviewed more than 200 studies of mindfulness and found it was particularly effective for reducing stress, anxiety and depression.
Here is why you should meditate:
There are countless reasons to take up meditating and the longer you do it over weeks/months and even years you notice differences along your journey. Here are some of the benefits:
- To understanding your pain
- Lower your stress-levels
- Connect better with your emotions and body
- Improve focus and mental clarity
- Reduce brain chatter and overthinking
How do you go about that?
Set aside just a little bit of time each day, just as little as 5-10 minutes a day can make all the difference.
Mindfulness meditation is all about focusing in on your breathing, noticing the bodily sensations as you breathe in and out, listening to sounds around you, any sensations basically that bring you into the present.
When you notice a thought, you notice it, let it go and get back to breathing without beating yourself up for losing concentration. It’s all about loving yourself and being kind to yourself: don’t judge yourself!
This is how it goes:
1) Sit down somewhere comfortable
Find a quiet and peaceful place to sit down to begin.
2) Set a time
At the beginning it’s best to start out small: ca. 5-10 minutes/day
3) Notice your body
Close your eyes and move through each part of your body form head to toe, notice how they feel, notice the chair your body parts rest on, notice the cold/soft/warm floor under your feet.
4) Feel your breath
Feel your breath going in and out. Notice the pace, the rhythm etc.
5) Notice when your mind wanders elsewhere
It’s normal for our minds to wander and think about our busy days, people in our lives or work etc.—simply return your attention to the breath.
6) Be kind to yourself
Don’t judge yourself or get annoyed at your mind wandering off. Just come back to your breath gently.
Perhaps try an App
Mindfulness is a skill that takes time to master and like most things in life that need to be learnt it’s a good idea to get a little help when first starting out.
We recommend an app called Headspace, mental health professionals across the country recommend this app, it was set up by an ex-Buddhist monk and has wonderful videos and animations which makes the process easier to becoming a pro!
