Anxiety can be described as an overactive mind. You either have an overactive mind over a number of different concerns or you’re obsessing over one particular concern. In most cases, you’re fearing or dreading the future, or you may have too many thoughts simultaneously which causes overwhelming emotions. You may also be obsessing over the past in which you experienced trauma or guilt over poor choices and now you cannot get your mind off of it. Many people experience anxiety, however, it doesn’t mean they have an anxiety disorder. Anxiety becomes a problem when you cannot function, it’s taking away from your “joie de vivre” and you’re beginning to withdraw from daily obligations or social situations.
Here are a few practices that I believe are beneficial to your mental health:
Recognize there is a problem. So many don’t want to admit they have a problem, so they ignore it altogether and their illness progresses and gets worse. Let’s say you’re not at your ideal weight and you wanted to lose weight. Are you going to ignore the fact you’re overweight, or are you going to take action by watching your diet and exercising regularly? If you’re not mindful and taking action steps, life remains, and doesn’t change.
Another approach is practicing mindfulness: be in the present moment because when you’re in the present moment you’re more likely to make wise choices with your thoughts and behavior. You’re more likely to think before you speak which will create less conflicts. Furthermore, when you’re focusing on several different stress related concerns, you act on impulse. Acting on impulse leads to poor choices. If you have several conversations in your head, isn’t it more difficult to think of consequences or benefits to your choices? In such cases often you end up lashing out to others or make choices you regret later on. When you’re constantly thinking, your mind gets exhausted from your overactive mind and you end up loading up on stimulants to counteract the effects. When you become more in tune with the present moment and your thoughts, conscious and subconscious, you become more aware of what’s causing your anxiety and behavioral issues. You realize that sometimes a simple adjustment can make a huge difference.
Practice meditation: meditation is a simple act of sitting or lying down awake with your eyes shut and trying to think of nothing. This is beneficial because your brain needs a time out from time to time, hence the reason we need sleep. This is the same process of sleep and it has similar benefits except your mind is awake. What is the opposite of an overactive mind? Stillness, tranquility and mindfulness. In addition, meditation lowers your pulse, lowers your blood pressure and helps you sleep because it relaxes you. It also lengthens your telomeres which reverses your biological age, therefore, it helps you stay young. Longer telomeres also indicate longer life spans. Decreased pulse and lower blood pressure reduces anxiety. And we all know when we get a good night of sleep, we feel rested and better the next day. All this has benefits to your mental health and physical health as well. Mental health and physical health are interconnected. They both affect one another. Mental health challenges often end up causing physical health problems such as high blood pressure, erratic heartbeat, and insomnia and many other symptoms. So we can agree when we are mentally healthy, it not only improves our mood but our physical health as well.
Change your inner dialogue: anxiety is a conversation going on inside your mind about the future, the present and the past. You’re either fearing or dreading the future or the present, or you’re focusing on past trauma and regrets. Changing your inner dialogue means speaking affirmations of well being. It means focusing on the exact opposite of the fear or seeking relief from your fear. Don’t believe the misconception that these illnesses are for life. How many people recovered and healed? What do they have that you don’t other than philosophies, strategies, and perhaps therapy and medication. Affirmations also interrupts the negative thought and stops you from focusing so much energy on the worst case scenario. The more you focus on affirmations of well being, the less you focus on the worst case scenario, your symptoms or dread. The less focus on negative emotions, the greater you feel and the greater your outlook for your life and future. All this together creates wellness and recovery. Everyone can implement these practices in their lives, and everyone can receive benefit from being mindful, persistent, and taking action steps to wellness.