First of all, if you are reading this article it is because you think you have anxiety. And we all have anxiety, the question is whether or not you have learned to get along with it… and this is what we are going to talk about today. How the well-known full attention (or mindfulness) can help you relate to your anxiety and recover emotional well-being without resorting to anxiolytics Because anxiety is not controlled, it is managed. Let’s go with it.
Have you noticed that animals don’t have anxiety? They are afraid, but not anxious. Because fear is an emotion and anxiety is a feeling. And this is one of the first key data. Emotions are automatic and unconscious, reactions to what is happening in the present moment. When we feed fear with thoughts by “worrying” about what may happen to us, fear transforms into anxiety. The human being worries, something that animals do not do, and in his worry he disconnects from the present and dysfunctionally anticipates a catastrophic future that only lives in his thoughts.
And full attention (mindfulness) is based on training the mind to do just the opposite, which is to be aware of the present moment without judging and accepting what happens. It takes us out of the prison of the mind, which, if it doesn’t have problems, invents them. And nothing happens. Because that’s their job. But sometimes, we take it too seriously and we lose control of our lives
Because anticipating, planning and reflecting on our future is okay. But extremes are not good. In anxiety there is a fear of fear, an intoxication of the future. Ruminative thoughts about the inability to cope with what may happen to us block us. Furthermore, we avoid what scares us, and we agree with anxiety. And this is another key piece of information to resort to mindfulness, and we are going to explain how.
Anxiety does its job well too, which is that it warns us that there is something coming that scares us. In this sense, she is a friend who alerts us and prepares us for something relevant. But if instead of taking charge of what’s to come I struggle with my anxiety because I don’t like how it makes me feel, then I’m looking at the finger pointing at the moon And anxiety, instead of a friend, becomes an enemy.
With mindfulness, an attitude of acceptance develops: we stop fighting with anxiety and show anxiety that we are capable so that next time it is not so exaggerated. Because, if you “suffer” from anxiety, you already know that the more you fight with it, the bigger and grumpier it becomes, and living with it becomes hell. So yes, with mindfulness we learn to make peace with our anxiety. We reconcile with her.
To anchor ourselves to the present moment and to help us train the mind so that mindfulness is your best anxiolytic, we propose the following tools. Carry out daily activities slowly and very attentively, paying attention to minor details through the five senses. A trick to do this is to do things with your non-dominant hand (brushing our teeth, showering, hanging clothes, washing dishes, eating. , etc.)
Walk observing how the weight of the body changes from one leg to the other and the harmonious movement that exists in it, the ideal for this is to walk more slowly than usual Another trick for this, in line with the above, is to walk backwards. Inevitably you will pay more attention and care.
Whenever you can and notice, no matter where you are or what you do, observe your breathing without trying to change it. Your breath is always in the present moment, it is always with you and accompanies you. Furthermore, you will see that, due to the monotony and regularity of the breathing process, it has relaxing effects, which establish a basal emotional state of tranquility.
When you feel overwhelmed by your thoughts, practice STOP meditation: For whatever you are doing with a gesture and/or a word (Stop), take a few breaths that are deep and slower than usual (Take a breath), observe your body and bodily sensations (Observe) and continue from there with whatever you were doing before the collapse (Proceed) From time to time sit in silence for a few minutes and perform the following meditation:
Practicing these resources will make your mind feel capable of relating to anxiety in a healthy way, not because we have cognitively convinced ourselves of it with self-affirmations or trying to change beliefs about ourselves or the world but because our mind will have changed and will naturally begin to to face fears along with their new ally called anxiety. It will no longer be necessary to kill the messenger since we will not avoid the message he wants to deliver to us
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This article has been reviewed by our editorial team at PsychologyFor to ensure accuracy, clarity, and adherence to evidence-based research. The content is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional mental health advice.
