Mindfulness for Anxiety

Be Mindful and Learn Acceptance

If you are currently dealing with anxiety, whether it is generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, or another form of anxiety, it will get to a point where you can no longer just push it aside. You need to learn how to accept your anxiety and cope with it, which can be done through mindful thinking.

What Does it Mean to Be Mindful?

When you are mindful, you are in a state of accepting your current state, including thoughts, fears, and worries often associated with anxiety. Instead of letting them consume you, you first acknowledge these thoughts for what they are, accept them, and allow your mindset to shift to more realistic expectations. It does take some practice, but in time you will learn how to accept your anxiety and not let it rule your life.

Tips for Getting Started

All you need to get started with mindfulness is to switch your mindset. Start small by picking just one time during the day when you can be mindful. Do some mindful meditation where you sit quietly with your eyes closed. Take some deep breaths to focus your energy, then just analyze the thoughts you have.

Let any concerns or worries come into your mind, but instead of trying to avoid them, embrace those thoughts. Accept the thoughts, but don’t analyze what might happen in the future or become overwhelmed with regret over what has happened in the past. When you are starting to practice mindfulness, you will notice that a big part of it is changing your attitudes. You will need to live more in the moment and focus on what is happening now, pushing all those worries and negative thoughts aside. This all starts with having the right attitude.

Acceptance

Accepting things as they are is another important part of mindfulness, and a good attitude to start developing. You understand things are the way they are, and even if the situations are not ideal, that is how it needs to be in this moment. You begin to accept the good and the bad, instead of dwelling or focusing just on how negative things might be. This isn’t going to keep all negative thoughts from your mind, but the more you focus on acceptance, the happier you will end up being.

Gratitude

A good mindful attitude to have each day is gratitude. Instead of focusing on the bad things in your life, be gracious for the good things. This can be something you do in your mind, where you simply and silently are thankful for the job you have, being able to put food on the table, or even something as small as getting up early enough to see the sunrise. This becomes a positive habit, where you are suddenly showing gratitude for everything, as it changes your entire outlook on your life.

Nonjudgment

An attitude you might not have thought about is how you perceive others. If you find yourself constantly judging others, whether for their actions, attitudes, or even their appearance, you are only hurting yourself. This constant judgment creates negative connotations in your thought patterns, hurting them and yourself. Stop judging others and you will notice how much more freeing it is. It is easier to have other positive attitudes when you focus on being non-judgmental.

Patience

Have some patience with people, things, and situations around you. Acknowledge the way things are right now, learn to accept them, and don’t over-analyze them. Be patient and let things change as they need to, instead of pushing it or becoming stressed when things or people are not acting quickly enough. This is one of the more difficult attitudes to learn through mindfulness, but also one of the most powerful. It takes practice being more patient, but in time, it becomes another attitude you focus on each day without thinking much about it.

Tips for Adding Mindfulness to Your Daily Routine

Once you learn a little more about mindfulness and how it can help you, it is time to start putting it into action. This begins with adding it to your daily routine, so that you get accustomed to this new way of thinking. Here are some tips for adding mindfulness to your daily routine.

Try it During Regular Daily Activities

One of the easiest ways to add mindfulness to your daily routine is to focus on it during regular activities. These are things you do each day when your mind tends to wander. Think about what your thoughts were while taking a shower or brushing your teeth this morning. You were probably thinking of what you need to do that day, planning your meals, or even thinking about stressful situations you need to work. These daily tasks are perfect for being more mindful. Think about the act at hand, not anything else. Really focus on the feel of the warm water hitting your body in the shower, the smell of your soap, and the sound of the water trickling down. This is what mindfulness is at its core.

Focus on Your Breathing

When you are busy being mindful during your daily activities, make sure you focus on your breathing. This is a good way to start out when you aren’t quite ready to do these small mindful meditation sessions. Focus just on your breathing when your other thoughts try to creep into your mind. Breathing can help your physical and mental state to relax and enter a different wavelength. It is the cornerstone of mindfulness and one of the best ways to let your mind calm a little bit.

Complete Just One Task at a Time

A common mistake people make when trying to be mindful and enter a more positive frame of mind during the day is focusing on too many things at once. Multi-tasking is not good for productivity and focus. Stop trying to do everything at once, and just pick one task to work on. This allows you to focus on just that one task, which turn leads your mind to only thinking about this one thing. Even if you are working on a project for your job, you are being more mindful since you are not trying to think about all your other tasks on the to-do list, but just this one thing. It is a simple way to get used to mindfulness.

Continuing to Be Mindful Every Day

If you struggle with mindfulness in the beginning, try using a journal. Write down your most important thoughts or fears right now, read them back to yourself, then promise to move forward from them. This is a simple practice that will help you be more mindful of how you think and feel at any given time, without letting it control you.

Remember that like meditation, mindfulness takes practice. Your mindset will shift over time the more you do it. If you’re finding yourself stressed, overwhelmed, or anxious call or email me for a free, no obligation, consultation. Remember, you deserve to have the life you want! Contact us if interested in scheduling.

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