To reduce the dysfunctional symptoms of anxiety, mindfulness training recommends three main activities.
Mood, disorder, modus vivendi, anxiety is experienced as a fear of the future and through bodily symptoms related to tension and stress. Although each individual experiences anxiety in their own way. Many define it with a latent -and very intense – feeling of restlessness, worry, anguish and fear; and there are even those who relate it to depression, such as psychologists and psychiatrists.
Although anxiety is useful to boost us and improve our physical and intellectual performance, since it is a mood oriented towards the future. The excess of anxiety can cause the inability to focus, attention or concentration. When anxiety is out of control, the natural and healthy reactions of fear and anguish tend to cause a short circuit in the autonomic nervous system, generating false alarms of being in danger or stress. Among the most common consequences of dysfunctional-and out of control-anxiety are panic attacks, generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder with and without agoraphobia, specific phobias, post-traumatic stress disorder, and obsessive-compulsive disorder.
To reduce the dysfunctional symptoms of anxiety, mindfulness meditation – full consciousness, in the present moment and without the ability to judge recommends three main activities:
Regulate your breathing
One of the most common physical reactions with anxiety problems is to irregularize your breathing. So to use one of the foundations of mindfulness, paying attention in full consciousness to the breath, will help to balance the breathing. It is recommended to inhale for four seconds, hold the breath for four seconds, exhale through the mouth for four seconds, hold the breath for four seconds and start the rhythm. By focusing attention on the breath, it will help clear the mind of thoughts that cause anxiety symptoms.
Use the senses
Once the sensations are fully conscious, it is important to expand them to the sensations of the moment. Find five things you see around you or five things you can imagine if you close your eyes; four things you can touch – like legs, arms or objects around; pay attention to how your feet feel when you touch the floor, your back when you touch the chair, and so on; identify three noises around you: an airplane, sounds of nature, a car, music, air conditioning …; list the aromas you can pick up -minimum-; and find a flavor: is there something you can eat that allows you to enjoy its texture and flavor?
Focus on an activity that requires attention.
Whether coloring a mandala, playing a piece of music, cooking or baking or knitting and sewing, any of these activities require careful attention that “forget” those anxious thoughts.
