As of this writing it is early November. Not to startle anyone, but you have only six more Saturdays until Christmas. This brings me to the topic of Mindfulness. Statistics tell us that for most adults the most angst-filled and depression-producing time of the year is the 8 (or so) weeks between Halloween and the New Year. Yikes. The time of year when we want to be feeling peace and joy, we are instead worried, feeling pressured, anxious, overwhelmed. We can use mindfulness for health and happiness to make the holidays (or any time) bright.
Mindfulness can help. By being mindful, you can live in the present. Not regretting the past or being afraid of the future. We know the past can’t be changed and the future is not here. The present is where we are, and mindfulness can help us to find joy in the now. Let’s begin, at the beginning.
What is Mindfulness?
“Mindfulness is the basic human ability to be fully present, aware of where we are and what we’re doing, and not overly reactive or overwhelmed by what’s going on around us.” – Mindful.org
Be aware. Pay attention. Be fully present. That is mindfulness.
To be Aware is to be conscious of your activities. You are being aware of what you are feeling, doing, where you are. Without awareness, your life would be void.
To Pay Attention is to focus on your awareness instead of other things. Everyone can focus, and mindfulness training can help you learn to maintain that focus.
To be Fully Present means to remember to pay attention, to bewhere you are. If you are being mindful, and If are walking through a park, you will be fully present. Not just your feet walking down a path to get somewhere.
You are aware of your surroundings. And, you are paying attention, focusing on what is going on around you. You are fully present. Hear the birds, the wind. You feel the stones or twigs as you walk. See a squirrel, smell a lilac bush. You are conscious of your activities. You are aware of the sights, sounds and smells around you. This is mindfulness and it you can achieve it in many ways.
“Say that you want to practice mindfulness to help you cope with stress. At work, you think about your forthcoming presentation and you might begin to feel stressed and nervous. By becoming aware of this, you remember to focus your mindful attention to your own breathing rather than constantly worrying. Feeling your breath with a sense of warmth and gentleness helps slowly to calm you down.” — Mindfulness For Dummies by Shamash Alidina
Why Mindfulness for Works
Learning what mindfulness is just begins our introduction. In order to understand mindfulness completely we need to know why it works.
When we choose mindfulness–instead of just letting our brain run rampant worrying, building anxiety, thinking negative thoughts–mindfulness helps us take control. We choose to focus on something else like our breathing, walking, or something else. Mindfulness is you taking control over the state of your mind. You place your mind in a calm, safe, happier state.
“Mindfulness is considered a mind-body practice because there are both mental and physical benefits. It’s linked to changes in our brain: it increases activity in regions that control stress regulation and decreases activity in regions that control our brain’s stress alarm system, like the amygdala. Practicing mindfulness improves our mood, decreases our stress, and can help us better focus. It’s been shown to reduce chronic pain, decrease inflammation, and improve sleep.” rochester.edu
Mindfulness doesn’t just train our brain. It improves our brain. By increasing our focus it becomes easier to enjoy your “present” and hopefully less likely to spend time worrying about the future or past regrets. We become less preoccupied with what if. Instead we fully enjoy the what is.
So we return to our original premise that mindfulness can help with holiday stress, anxiety and worry. Those three things are what I call a domino threat. They are not the same things. Most of us probably experience them at least once a day.
Worry, Stress and Anxiety
Worry
What is Worry? Well, Worry happens when your mind dwells on negativity, what ifs, things that might go wrong. And, worry happens only in your brain. Worry can be a good thing if it moves us to action. Like if we are worrying about a test it might make us study. “Worry is a way for your brain to handle problems in order to keep you safe,” nymc.edu
While it’s natural to worry about things from time to time, it’s not healthy to let worry consume your thoughts. Worrying excessively can have the same effect on your body as chronic stress, triggering the fight-or-flight reaction.
Stress
Stress is a physical response to a stressor. A stressor is something external that pushes you past what you can handle easily. Things like a complicated work assignment, too many commitments, not enough money for things; these are stressors. Stress releases adrenaline and cortisol and there are benefits you can harness that can help you finish a “project”. That is acute stress and the adrenaline high will wear off. On the other hand there is chronic stress. This is when your body stays in the fight or flight scenario and this chronic stress is linked to health issues, digestive issues, heart problems and more.
Anxiety
Finally, Anxiety occurs in both the mind and the body. It’s what happens when you are dealing with lots of worry and stress. So, how does anxiety work? Worry about something (real or perceived) causes a physical stress reaction. For example, you worry that not getting everything done is going to cause a problem. Alternatively, you tell yourself your job is in jeopardy or your family will be disappointed or you will ruin the holiday. The blood is flowing, the adrenaline is pumping, your body is in a state of fight or flight — but there is no real threat. Instead, your worry has caused stress that has launched the anxiety. And then, down go the dominoes. Although anxiety happens in your mind and your body so you can’t think your way out, refocusing can calm you and break the anxiety loop.
“There is also a difference between feeling anxious (which can be a normal part of everyday life) and having an anxiety disorder. An anxiety disorder is a serious medical condition that may include stress or worry.” nymc.edu
Health and Happiness
We cannot stop all worrying, nor would we want to. Furthermore, we can’t stop all stress nor would we want to, and everyone gets anxious from time to time. Therefore, the goal is to be able to control the worry, stress and distract ourselves from anxiety if the need arises. Ultimately we will be able to feel the peace and joy and be present for the gifts today brings.
It is never too soon to start incorporating mindfulness for health and happiness into your busy life. We have just added a Mindfulness Self-Assessment here at Life Coaching With a Smile to help you measure your own mindfulness. You can also use the Self-Assessment to chart your progress over time as you continue to develop your mindfulness skills.
Mindfulness really helps. Our next article will discuss different mindfulness techniques and how to find the ones that will work for you.
Related Articles: Mindfulness Self-Assessment
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