Step by step guide to Mindfulness during Anxiety & Stressful hours

How often do we find ourselves burnt out with thoughts?

How often do we try desperately to control our own thoughts & how often do we fail? Yes,, it’s a fact that when expectations don’t meet we end up being more burnt out.

That means even in expecting things from our own selves we can feel anxious & fearful.

And their anxiety takes shape. Anxiety is an internal consequence, not triggers of the outside world.

Think of a soldier awaiting a war, how often do you think he feels anxious of the upcoming war?Well, if he does he will not be able to save us, but because he does not he is a soldier. So in times of anxiety become a soldier within.

That distance between expectation & reality of our own life is the real reason for anxiety. But what do we end up doing? Welook for situations to blame, we continue imagining a future that has not even taken a shape & we constantly bang our head at the non controllable aspects.

So how to get hold of this anxiety?

1. Relax your mind – calm it, tell it – hold on do I have a better thought at this moment.
2. Ask yourself where am I focusing? Is it the solution I am worried about or the actual problem? If you analyse you will see you are focusing only on a perceived problem, not the actual issue.
3. Now bring yourself back to the actual situation to decide what I should be focusing on. What is my controllable?
4. Now you know what you can do about it.

Now comes stress, as anxiety builds stress. So we reversed the order & built on how to get hold of anxiety. Stress teaches us either Fright or flight mode. This stress determines whether or not this is the right state for you to respond. So before u put a seal on how bad is your stress, switch to mindfulness. 

1. Two screen method – Focus on your pre frontal cortex and take yourself to zero thoughts.
2. Now see a digital screen in that PFC
3. On the screen see digital numbers 1-5 in ascending order. Parallel to this, breathe in one go by speaking 1 to 5 in the same order.
4. Now switch the order and say the numbers in reverse order from 5 to 1- all in one breath & see the same numbers on screen on your PFC
5. Now switch to progressive breathing with numbers 5,4,3…1 & simultaneously see the digits 1 to 4
6. Repeat this cycle for 2 minutes.

It is a reminder to break anxiety by distraction. Even if it is as simple as going out of the house for a quick walk. When you do this regularly you will see how your brain switches to flight mode every time you are bound to become anxious. Apart from these practices, journaling is a great way to clear up your mind. Additionally try to develop good listening skills, as it is not just to listen but to improve the quality of each moment. This might also be a very good practice in living in the present, without preoccupying your thoughts while others talk. More on such insights later, but until then here’s a shoutout to Mind Coach, Alok Taunk, a mindfulness coach whose session brought forth these splendid ideas on how to take control of your mind.

Stay tuned for more such insights from the best in practice!