Feeling slightly anxious or stressed about some issues can act as a motivator to help you achieve your goals. But, those who suffer from continuous anxiety know how it can seriously damage your quality of life. If you have consistent anxiety, you may want to try meditation to help you cope with it.
What is Anxiety?
Anxiety is your body’s response to stress. It’s thinking about the future to prepare for it. Anxiety becomes disordered when it’s intense, excessive, and persistent. People with anxiety disorders worry about or fear everyday situations or happenings.
People with anxiety disorders experience a racing heartbeat, chest tightness, and sleep difficulty, among other symptoms. They live in a seemingly constant state of fear and overwhelm. These feelings make it difficult to focus on daily tasks. Specific events also may trigger an onslaught of anxiety symptoms.
How Anxiety Disrupts Your Life
Anxiety disorders can have a strong negative impact on your day-to-day life.
You may have difficulty focusing on or completing tasks because of constant fearful thoughts. You also may feel restless and need to move constantly.
Being in a constant state of fight-or-flight will leave you exhausted, or your fear may also keep you up at night, creating a cycle of anxious exhaustion. Anxiety is often the result of other factors in our lives, such as alcoholism and personality disorders.
Anxiety interrupts your personal, romantic, and/or professional life. But know that there are tools to help you regain a sense of control over your life and stress.
How Meditation Helps Well-Being
Meditation is when people use mindfulness to train attention and awareness. Meditation helps people achieve a mentally clear and emotionally strong state. It’s a practice that’s gone on for centuries.
Doctors and clinicians boast of the benefits of meditation, including:
- Stress reduction
- Emotional balance
- Increased focus and memory
- Reduce anxiety and depression
- Reduced pain
- Increased creativity
There are various types of meditation. It may take some experimenting on your behalf to find the style that best suits your needs. Practicing any form of regular meditation can give you an enhanced sense of overall calm and well-being.
Meditation techniques include:
- Focused Attention. This practice involves focusing your attention on just one thing, like your breath or an object in the room. Focus is one of the pillars of developing a mediation practice.
- Relaxed Breathing. This technique involves even-paced, deep breathing. By paying attention to your breathing, you take in more oxygen. You’ll also feel your muscles relax so that you can breathe deeper and more efficiently. Relaxed breathing gives you permission to slow down and focus on the present moment.
There is no “right way” to meditate. You don’t have to clear your mind completely. You also don’t need to devote hours daily to the practice. Just a few minutes of focus and allowing yourself to breathe is all it takes to start seeing real benefits.
Using Meditation for Anxiety
Meditation can help you manage your anxiety symptoms and create a greater sense of control in your life. These moments of calm and relaxation may become things you do throughout the day to help you thrive despite challenges.
When you start meditating for anxiety, you’ll notice that you begin to clear your sense of overwhelm and overload.
Emotional benefits of meditation for anxiety include:
- Processing Feelings Without Judgment. Allowing yourself to feel during meditation is key for developing a healthy, regular practice. You’ll learn how to notice your feelings, identify them, and allow them to be. By allowing your feelings, you accept yourself and your mind.
- Exploring Underlying Causes. Meditation can help you understand your fear and the sources of your stress. By cultivating a place free of judgment, you may discover more about why you feel the way you do. Understanding the link between past happenings and your current anxiety helps you regain a sense of calm and control. If you are aware of how one thing relates to another, you’ll understand how to calm yourself.
- Creating Space Around Worry. The time you spend meditating is time for you. It allows you to process your worries and emotions, free of judgment. By giving your concerns space to be felt, you’ll find you can find creative solutions for your anxieties.
Meditation Therapy at ILC
Meditation therapy is a cornerstone practice at Integrative Life Center. These techniques will allow you to focus and control your thoughts and emotions surrounding your anxiety.
Learning the tools to cope with your anxiety is imperative to healing. Our Meditation Therapy Program teaches you how to focus on your thoughts and emotions in a nonjudgmental way. It also teaches you to stay in the present moment. The meditation techniques you learn will help you stay calm and control your emotions and experiences.
Of course, meditation for anxiety isn’t our only treatment technique. We offer a complete treatment program for anxiety and depression.
If you or your loved one are experiencing anxiety, depression, or both, contact us. You’ll learn how you can overcome and control your anxiety and create the life you deserve.
