26 Mar Calm amid the storm: Mindfulness for anxiety

Right now we are all wondering what our future holds. Will I get sick? What about my loved ones? When will I get back to work? When will the world again be normal?

I just described anxiety. Worrying about the future, or regretting your past, is what can be called anxiety.

And some of us are more likely to be anxious than others. Some of that is temperament, and some of that comes from signals from the body. The vagus nerve connects the brain with the gut. The gut and brain send signals back and forth. If you are worried, your gut can react with queasiness or some other discomfort. And issues with the gut can send signals to the brain, resulting in feelings of anxiety. So if your gut microbiome is out of balance, or you have leaky gut, or some other gut problem, it might affect your mood.

What can you do? Everyone is anxious these days, no matter what their gut health. First, take care of the gut by eating healthy foods, avoiding processed foods and sugar, and avoiding foods that you are sensitive to. Also consider having fermented foods or taking probiotics. Even a little intermittent fasting can help—rest your digestion so it can heal.

Next, ease your mind. Since the mind and gut are on a two-way street, you can calm the gut by calming the mind. An effective way to calm anxiety is with mindfulness. You can actually restructure your brain with mindfulness. With a regular practice, your brain becomes more focused, calm, and alert. I’ll take that.

How to practice mindfulness for anxiety

First thing to note is that being mindful does not mean you clear your head of thoughts. The brain will never be clear of thoughts. New thoughts will always pop in. Rather, you are focusing your thoughts. And you get better at that with practice. This is a perfect time to practice. You’re certainly not busy going to restaurants, parties, and gatherings. So consider this an opportunity. You can learn a new skill, or work on perfecting an old skill.

Mindfulness is focusing your mind on the present moment. No “what if’s” or “why didn’t’s”. All you have is now, anyway. So jump into now and disregard the past and future for a time. Worrisome thoughts might pop into your head, ok, actually they WILL pop into your head. You treat the thoughts with acceptance. No judgment. You observe your thoughts with compassion and curiosity. You are in your own head, not someone else’s. No wondering what someone else thinks or expects of you. Mindfulness is freeing.

Anxiety comes from running away from difficult thoughts or chasing after scattered thoughts. Most of our lives we spend tuning out unpleasant thoughts and feelings. We distract ourselves (how often do you look at your phone?). We numb ourselves (another glass of wine). Or we fall down a rabbit hole of worry as we jump from one distracting thought to another. But you can put a stop to this process with mindfulness. You allow the thoughts and feelings to come and go.

Now for the how-to. The breath is a great tool for coming into mindfulness.

• Sit comfortably (or lie down).
• Notice your breath going in and out (you don’t have to change it).
• Focus on your breath going in and out your nostrils.
• OR focus on your breath making your belly rise and fall.

Here’s a simple plan for being mindful.

• Sit on your front porch or take a walk outdoors.
• Notice the smells. How many can you smell?
• Look around. What shapes do you see? What colors do you see?
• Notice the sights.
• Notice textures.

You can do some mindfulness quickies throughout your day. You can do it whenever you feel stressed, or just make a practice of doing it at a certain time every day–maybe set a notification on your phone as a reminder.

• Take five minutes before getting out of bed to be quiet and mindful. Maybe read inspirational passages.
• At a traffic light, come into mindful breathing (or after someone cuts you off).
• Whether sitting, standing, driving, or whatever, see if you can find any area of tension in your body, like shoulders, hands, hips, or jaw.
• Eat a meal mindfully, instead of in front of the TV or newspaper.
• At transitions, become mindful and breathe before beginning another task.
• Next conversation, be mindful of the other person’s point of view.

You can do this

Finally, here are some tips for when the unpleasant thoughts intrude.

• Focus on a sound like “ohm” or a mantra instead.
• Focus on a candle, a pebble, artwork, or a rosary.
• Pretend the thoughts are on a TV screen and watch.
• Pretend a stream of water is carrying your thoughts away.
• Say “later” to the thought, meaning you’ll think about that later.
• Ask what the thought is trying to tell you.

Don’t feel bad if you can’t get into the habit of mindfulness. Habits are hard to build and sustain. That’s what a health coach can help you with. Contact me. Let’s have a free intro phone call to see if we can work together. And you won’t pay for a package till after the first session, to give you confidence that coaching is right for you.

What works best for you to calm your anxiety?

Resources:

Harvard Health Gut-brain connection
WebMD Mindfulness
Stress Management by Nanette Tummers

This article is for information purposes only. See Disclaimer below.