How To Practice Mindfulness For Anxiety

The pandemic has brought me so much anxiety even with it dragging on. It’s mentally exhausting and affects almost every aspect of my life as a mom, wife, friend, and businesswoman. The feeling of dread, unexplainable fear, and uneasiness can be disruptive to my day, leading to restlessness. It can evoke feelings of agitation, distress, and worry. It induces physical symptoms like dizziness, sweating, and muscle tension. I believe I manifested myself getting COVID-19 because I was so anxious that I was going to get it, or what if I already had it. Was I doing enough to keep us safe, or when did we wash our hands and masks last? So many questions and concerns. It’s overwhelming and exhausting. 

 

According to American Psychological Association (APA), anxiety is “an emotion characterized by feelings of tension, worried thoughts and physical changes like increased blood pressure.”

 

Anxiety is a normal emotion. It’s a mental issue that almost everybody experiences. According to statistics, it is estimated that 264 million adults around the globe experience anxiety. (World Health Organization, 2017) and that an estimated 31% of all adults are said to experience an anxiety disorder at some point in their life. (Anxiety and Depression Association of America, 2020).

 

It’s crucial to know the difference between anxiety and anxiety disorder to get the medical attention you need to identify and treat your condition.

 

How To Practice Mindfulness For Anxiety

 

The possibility or increase of your risk of having anxiety may have resulted from lifestyle and possibly

environmental factors—for example, health condition, sleep issues, relationship problems, work or school troubles. The good thing is that anxiety symptoms can be relieved, and one of them is practicing mindfulness.

 

Since anxiety can take a toll on you mentally and physically, reducing it and stress can be done by paying attention and handling time. According to Healthline, it’s about turning down the volume in your mind by coming back to the body. It can help you focus on the present moment and soften your reactivity. And how people can incorporate mindfulness practices throughout the day.

 

Mindfulness involves practicing guided imagery, breathing methods and other relaxing practices helping you relax your mind and body. To help alleviate your anxiety and staying in the present, explore these mindfulness practices that might help you.

 

Setting an intention

It would be best to have something to remind you of your purpose, and setting an intention works best for

this. Yoga instructors encourage doing this before starting your day. When an important task gives you anxiety, remind yourself why you need to go through the process. If it’s a promotion interview, find it within yourself to focus on the main reason why you pursued it. 

An intention can be simple, it doesn’t have to be hard. It can be as little as “I will make it through this day without getting mad or yelling at anyone.” Don’t overcomplicate it because then you won’t use it or want to do it.

Doing guided meditation

Doing meditation practices is one of my favorite mindfulness exercises. It helps in processing thoughts and emotions with more acceptance. It improves sleep, lessen feeling burnout, depression, and helps with high blood pressure and gives you more clarity and focus. As anxiety can make us feel like we’re losing control, meditating strengthens our mind and body connection. And you can try guided mindfulness meditation programs online like Youtube and some apps.

When I did end up getting COVID-19, the first few days I had the worst headache I’ve ever had in my life. Worse than a migraine, so bad that I thought I needed to call my dentist to have my teeth pulled out because the sinus pressure and head pain was so bad. The guided meditations from Peloton really helped me to remember to breathe when it was painful. They helped my head slow down and not worry that the rest of the family might be infected or sick too. They helped get me through the roughest parts of the sickness. And even still after I’m recovered, they help with acceptance and processing and healing.

 

Going for a walk 

Whether it’s a short jaunt or a stroll in the park, going for a walk can really affect your focus. There’s

something about just being in the moment, without much of a care in the world, and being in one of the outside world. 

My favorite kind of walk, now that it’s cooler here in Arizona, is to take Louie and Romeo for a 20 minute walk around the neighborhood. It’s a win win because we get outside and get some exercise. And they get tired by the time we get home so they rest!

 

Opening your attention to the present moment

You might have heard it said many times and in many ways that opening your attention and focusing on the present moment is the key to enjoying life. Paying attention is not easy nowadays with all the distractions around us. We are used to anticipating what will happen in the future and thinking ahead to be ready when something happens. Aside from being stuck in thinking about the future and events in the past also boggles your focus. When you get cornered with the what-ifs and maybes, you ultimately feel worn out and exhausted. So stay in the moment. Use mindfulness-based stress reduction by finding the perfect balance of cultivating a sense of presence and reflecting on the past and future. 

 

Focus on breathing

Having negative thoughts affects your focus. To help yourself, focus on your breathing. Close your eyes,

take a deep breath, and settle on a comfortable sitting position. You can learn different techniques for this. Take deep and controlled breathing or shallow and present. It works in relieving stress and frustrations.

I have had to work so hard on remembering and learning to breathe as I have a tendency to hold my breath when things get hard or overwhelming. I have found though, that when you breathe, it helps relax your body. And ends up helping the tension and tough feelings go away. Breathing makes things easier and the more you can tune into doing it, the better off you will be.

There are a number of mindfulness techniques that can help people anxious feelings and generalized anxiety disorder. Mindful breathing, body scan, and mindful of thoughts and feelings are only a few of the most popular techniques that help with stress and anxiety. While these techniques do take some practice to get used to, they can be very helpful in managing symptoms of anxiety on a daily basis. For people who suffer from generalized anxiety disorder, mindfulness can be an essential tool for helping to manage the condition. In conclusion, mindfulness is a valuable tool that can help reduce stress and anxiety levels in people of all ages in daily life.