Mindfulness as a Strategy to Reduce Anxiety

MINDFULNESS FOR ANXIETY AND PANIC RELIEF

Developing a mindfulness practice is the first element of your emerging Self-Care Routine.

In today's fast-paced world, anxiety and panic have become all too common. We're constantly bombarded with stressors from work, relationships, and the news, and it's easy to feel overwhelmed and anxious. While there are many strategies for managing anxiety, one practice that has gained popularity in recent years is mindfulness. As you learn more, we hope you'll try to incorporate some elements into your daily or weekly routine. 

Mindfulness is the practice of paying attention to the present moment, without judgment. It involves intentionally directing your attention to your thoughts, feelings, and physical sensations, as they arise, and observing them with curiosity and openness. While mindfulness may seem simple, research has shown that it can have a profound impact on our well-being, including reducing anxiety and panic.

Here are some of the ways that mindfulness can help with anxiety and panic:

1. Mindfulness increases awareness: When we're anxious or panicking, we're often caught up in our thoughts and feelings. We may not even realize that we're having that kind of response until we're in the middle of it. Mindfulness can help increase our awareness of our thoughts and feelings, which can allow us to catch anxiety and panic earlier, before they become overwhelming.
2. Mindfulness reduces reactivity: At times when anxiety or panic strike, we may feel like we're out of control.  We may feel like we have no power to make it stop. Mindfulness can help reduce our reactivity to these thoughts and feelings, allowing us to respond to them in a more measured, intentional way.
3. Mindfulness promotes relaxation: During these hyper-stressful moments of anxiety, our bodies respond with the "fight or flight" response. Our heart rates increase, our breathing becomes shallow, and we may feel tense and jittery. Mindfulness can help activate the relaxation response of the parasympathetic nervous system, which is the opposite of the fight or flight response. This can help us feel more calm and relaxed, which can reduce anxiety and panic.
4. Mindfulness improves emotional regulation: During anxious, or panicky times, our emotions can feel overwhelming. We may feel like we're on an emotional rollercoaster, with our feelings changing rapidly and unpredictably. Mindfulness can help us regulate our emotions by allowing us to observe them with curiosity and without judgment. This can help us gain more control over our emotional responses, which can reduce these difficult emotions.
5. Mindfulness promotes self-compassion because as we practice it, we are just observing, not judging or criticizing. When we're anxious or panicking, we may be hard on ourselves. We may judge ourselves for being anxious, or we may feel like we're weak or inadequate for not being able to control our thoughts and feelings. Mindfulness can promote self-compassion, allowing us to observe our thoughts and feelings with kindness and understanding. This can help us feel more accepting of ourselves, which can reduce anxiety and panic.

Mindfulness is a powerful tool for managing anxiety and panic. By increasing awareness, reducing reactivity, promoting relaxation, improving emotional regulation, and promoting self-compassion, mindfulness can help us gain more control over our thoughts and feelings, and live a more peaceful and fulfilling life. If you're struggling with anxiety or panic, consider incorporating a mindfulness practice into your daily routine, and see how it can help you feel more calm and centered.