Mindfulness and Anxiety

         Mindfulness has become increasingly utilised in mental health circles in the last few years and is often used in the treatment of anxiety, chronic pain, impulsive behaviours and eating disorders, to name a few. Mindfulness is a type of meditation, where you completely focus and experience what you are doing, where you observe your thoughts, emotions or physical responses without judgement. It is experiencing what is happening in that very moment, not what may happen in the future or what has happened in the past.  

            When people are suffering, it is not unusual to spend an inordinate amount of time and energy trying to distract themselves from these experiences. Unfortunately, this usually has the opposite effect of increasing the feelings of distress rather than improving them. What this can mean for anxiety, is that the person is not aware of their increasing levels of distress until they become bad enough to really grab the person's attention - like with panic attacks. Mindfulness is not designed to reduce anxiety but it often has this effect and, at the very least, mindfulness can help you to identify when you are feeling anxious and to do something about it before it gets worse.

            A common mindfulness exercise is to focus on the breath, to really experience it as if you have never taken a breath before and you are a curious observer. Notice the cool air coming in and the lungs swelling, the abdomen rising and the feeling of not being able to take in any more air, the desire to exhale. Notice any thoughts you have about situations in your life, how this exercise is stupid and won't achieve anything or the urge to scratch an itch. Allow these thoughts to exit your head as you start to exhale. Then noticing the warm air coming out, as your lungs deflate. Allow all the air to leave your lungs and notice the urge to breathe in. As you continue to do this exercise, over the next couple of minutes, you will notice that your body and mind start to relax.  There are also many variations of this exercise which make it a versatile tool.

            Mindfulness is just one of the skills that are effective in managing anxiety and allowing you to create a life that you want to live.

Bianca Limpus - Psychologist.