Coping with Anxiety - Mindfulness
Coping with Anxiety using Mindfulness
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Anxiety is one of the biggest mental health problems, even in Australia. On average, one in four Australians experience anxiety in their life (BeyondBlue, 2018). Because of this, psychologists and doctors are constantly looking for ways to reduce this problem. While many interventions, such as medication or cognitive behavioural therapy, have been effective in managing anxiety, mindfulness is becoming a growingly popular, effective, and easier way in reducing anxiety.
Anxiety
We all have felt stress at some point in our lives. Study, work, family issues, financial problems and illness, are all examples of what are called ‘stressors – events or things that make us stressed. Generally, once a stressful situation has passed, our stress leaves as well. With someone with anxiety, however, stress does not leave and is often uncontrollable (BeyondBlue, 2018). Anxiety is specifically defined as the ‘anticipation of future threat (American Psychiatric Association, 2013).
There are a number of anxiety disorders as outlined in the DSM-5 (American Psychiatric Association, 2013), some of the most common ones include generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, and social anxiety disorder. Some of the symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder, in particular, are:
Excessive anxiety and worry occurring regularly about a number of events of activities
Difficulty in controlling worry
Restlessness
Difficulty concentrating
Sleep disturbance
Mindfulness
Mindfulness is a form of meditation where you bring your mind into a state of being in the present, observing thoughts and feelings without judgement (Black Dog Institute). Mindfulness can be undertaken by anyone, anytime, and can be a great habit to get into for a healthy mind. It has recently become a popular intervention for mental health and has been proven to be beneficial for the mind, including reduced psychological symptoms and increased subjective well-being (Keng, Smoski & Robins, 2011). For example, Lykins and Baer (2009, cited in Keng et al., 2011) found that mindfulness meditators, compared to non-meditators, reported significantly higher self-compassion and sense of well-being, and significantly lower psychological symptoms, overthinking and fear of emotion.
How can mindfulness reduce anxiety?
Mindfulness allows us to interrupt automatic, reflexive fight, flight, or freeze reactions—reactions that can lead to anxiety, fear, foreboding, and worry. – Stahl, 2016
Mindfulness allows you to focus on present thoughts, rather than thinking and worrying about future thoughts, and future threat, which is the basis of anxiety. How does this help? Well, a common belief for those with anxiety is to try and fight their anxious thoughts, or use medication to try and get rid of them (Roleff, 2014). Mindfulness allows you to address these thoughts, and to stop fighting them when they come.
Lucy Roleff (2014) wrote an article sharing her personal story about her struggle with anxiety, and how she found mindfulness to be the cure. While on Google, she found a website called ‘Anxiety No More created by Paul David, who also had suffered from anxiety. She resonated with this website and outlined all the symptoms she felt. Paul had shared on that website what got him through anxiety: to ‘Stop fighting it. Let it come. In other words, to be mindful. As Paul David says: When thoughts and feelings come, you simply say to them ‘Hello. I see you. Welcome. Lucy found this to be extremely helpful and good for her mind, and she found that mindfulness eventually diminished her anxiety.
After almost two years of struggling with my mind, the battle was coming to an end. I let the thoughts in. I let them stay. I treated them as one might a small wounded bird. Compassionately.
Where can I start?
There are many online resources and applications that guide you through a mindfulness meditation. These are, personally, my two favourite apps.
Smiling Mind
(https://www.smilingmind.com.au)
Smiling Mind is a free, Australian-made app that encourages taking a small part of your day to be mindful. There are a number of guided meditation exercises, short or long, that you can choose to take.
Calm
Calm is also a guided meditation app that aims to reduce your stress and enhance your wellbeing. There are a range of topics you can choose from, such as sleep, confidence and creativity.
NOT TO MENTION the amazing resources available on yours truly, 7 cups!
https://www.7cups.com/exercises/mindfulness/?showlist=1
Discussion Questions:
- Do you have any mindfulness resources you can share below?
- Have you tried mindfulness? Did it help you?
- Would you consider making mindfulness a daily habit?
- What other benefits do you think mindfulness can bring?
References
American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.)
Beyondblue. (2018). Retrieved February 19, 2018, from https://www.beyondblue.org.au/the-facts/anxiety
Griffin, A. (2015, December 07). The Mindfulness Mission. Retrieved February 19, 2018, from http://charlie.student.csu.edu.au/2015/10/14/the-mindfulness-mission/
Keng, S., Smoski, M. J. & Robins, C. J. (2011). Effects of Mindfulness on Psychological Health: A Review of Empirical Studies. Clinical Psychology Review, 31(6), 1041-1056. doi:10.1016/j.cpr.2011.04.006
Roleff, L. (2017, September 01). Let It Be: Using Mindfulness to Overcome Anxiety and Depression. Retrieved February 19, 2018, from https://tinybuddha.com/blog/let-it-be-using-mindfulness-to-overcome-anxiety-depression/
Stahl, B. (2017, March 15). 10 Mindful Attitudes That Decrease Anxiety. Retrieved February 19, 2018, from https://www.mindful.org/10-mindful-attitudes-decrease-anxiety/