Good Morning, everyone! I hope everyone had a great holiday and got a chance to practice some visualization and deep breathing over the holiday season!
Last time we spoke, I shared with you about visualization and a little bit about what is going on in the brain when you are full of anxiety and worry. After re-reading the last post, I think there is a natural progression we can follow to continue to build strategies for managing stress. At the beginning of the last post I shared that "Anxiety can be about almost anything, large or small. The one commonality of all worry that I have seen is that it is about something either in the future or in the past. You may worry about something that happened a long time ago or something that hasn't even happened yet. It rarely has anything to do with the present moment you are in right now. If you are reading this blog post, you are likely safe, warm, and in no physical danger."
Today, I will share with you one of several options for fighting off those troublesome thoughts about the past and the present.
As always with relaxation techniques, please do not do them while you are driving a car or doing any task which requires your careful focused attention.
Because I am a Cognitive Behavioral/Rational Emotive Behavior Therapist, I believe that anxiety and depression both, are results of the ways in which we think and the beliefs that we hold about ourselves, other people, and the world in general. It does not take a rocket scientist to understand that if I think and believe I am bad or unworthy, I will feel sad, unhappy, and possibly develop anxiety and depression. But I am getting ahead of myself…
Today's goal/exercise is to simply not think about the past and the present. Sounds super simple, right? Of course, actually putting this seemingly simple practice in place is NOT easy. At All. Not even a little bit. Monks practice techniques daily to strengthen and train their minds (for decades!) and still struggle with staying present from time to time. The human brain has evolved to think, to keep us alive and keep us safe, so quieting and retraining the mind during times of stress can be SUPER difficult. That being said, please know that what I am sharing is hard to do and requires much practice. You will fail and that is to be expected. Be patient with yourself and keep practicing. Practice when you are NOT stressed out, so that when you do experience stress, you are ready. It's like having a fire drill plan before there is a fire. When a fire happens, you are prepared because you know the plan.
Today I will be sharing with you the technique of basic meditation as I use it. At this time, I am very interested in meditation as a healing practice and a way to manage anxiety. An important aspect of meditation is staying present-focused.
When I catch my mind wandering into the past or away to the uncertain future, I pause and gently redirect my mind back to the present, using my breath as an anchor. In Thich Nhat Hahn's book "You are Here," he shares a simple but powerful tool for anchoring to your breath from the Buddha himself:
In your mind think to yourself as you breathe in, "I am breathing in…" and as you breathe out, think to yourself "I am breathing out…" and carefully and purposefully focus on the sensations of breathing in and out, connecting to the present moment through your breath. Feel the air enter your nose. Or feel the rise and fall of your chest. Either way, while thinking to yourself, focus on the physical sensation you feel in this moment, in one of those two places, as you breathe in and out, gently and peacefully.
By doing this exercise, you are re-focusing your mind on your present moment, away from the worry of the future or the pain of the past. You may stop to practice this exercise at any time during the day or night at any time to attune your mind to the present. You may practice this exercise many times throughout the day. Remember, ongoing, repeated practice of the techniques I provide will yield greater and greater results.
If you have any questions about this technique or if you would like to meet with me for a private session to discuss your anxiety or worry, please feel free to call me at 330-451-6306, email me at recoveryworkscounseling@gmail.com or visit the website at www.recoveryworksllc.net for more information. All sessions with me are by appointment only. If you are in crisis, please contact the Crisis Center in Canton at 330-452-6000 for immediate help. You may also go to the nearest emergency department for immediate assistance.
Have a wonderful & peaceful day!
Sincerely,
Trisha L Beck LPCC-S
