10 Mindful Practices to Beat Anxiety

Like many introverts, I suffer from social anxiety. Actually not just social anxiety but multiple forms of anxiety I couldn't even tell who where it started there are some many contributing factors from all stages of my life. I haven't always made the best choices in life and some of them really took their toll. Yet now with a stable life as a mother and at last with a man I feel I can genuinely trust I am taking on the important task of conquering my anxiety, developing my self-esteem and working on becoming the best version of me.

Currently, I use a lot of mindfulness to help distract me from my feelings of anxiety. Even writing this blog about anxiety is distracting me from physical feelings of anxiety before a meeting- yeah that ones a bit of a mind melt on how it works, but it works.

You may or may not have heard of mindfulness, but due to its effectiveness, it popularity has increasingly grown in the past few years.

mindfulness

ˈmʌɪn(d)f(ʊ)lnəs/

noun

1.

the quality or state of being conscious or aware of something.

"their mindfulness of the wider cinematic tradition"

2.

a mental state achieved by focusing one's awareness on the present moment, while calmly acknowledging and accepting one's feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations, used as a therapeutic technique.

Basically, mindfulness is about putting your full focus into something. It can be used in a distracting sense, so me writing this blog means I am mindful over writing and, therefore, distracted from the physical feelings of anxiety that pull my mind into a downward spiral of anxiety. Or it can be used as a way of acceptance, by observing what is happening around you in a 'wise mind' taking into account the facts and emotions of a situation and accepting that without judgement on yourself or others.

The latter is a lot harder to master but it comes in time when you find the right situations to practice it.

Anyway when it comes to an anxiety attack these are my favorite ways to use distracting mindfulness:

1. Writing

For a long time, writing has been my escape. I have been a blogger on and off for around 12 years, starting off just writing about your typical teenage anguish, easing on to relationships, spirituality, art, poetry, music and finally natural health. It's always been a great output for me, even though growing up I was always told hoe awful I was by English teachers. My advice to everyone would be to give writing a go, even if you are not any good at it, it's the writing that the healing process not what anyone else thinks of it. A friend of mine has been using blogging as a means to help with her anxiety for a while now, for a more open blog about anxiety you can check her out here https://thatlolagirl.wordpress.com

2. Blowing Bubbles

It sounds a bit weird but I carry a little bottle of bubbles around in my bag and if when out and about with my daughter I go to the nearest quiet place like a park and we blow bubbles. As odd as it sounds when having an anxiety attack my breathing goes all over the place. Bubbles actually help me to breathe slowly and focus on steadying my hand. Also, Leela loves running around chasing the bubbles, it's a great distraction and focusing technique.

3. Music

I know this is a big one for a lot of people. When in my house and I'm anxious waiting before I have to do something like go to an appointment or meeting (you know when they annoyingly put the appointment in the afternoon and I have to wait all day getting more and more nervous) I blast really upbeat music and dance and sing around the house like a complete loony. I have actually recently gotten to the point where I can do this in front of my other half. Oddly it has not scared him off and I have even gotten him to dance once of twice. Don't tell him I told you.

4. Art

I do a lot of free painting when I am depressed I find it the only way to get all the emotions out. But for anxiety, free painting is the last thing I was to do, it drags me down and leaves me in more of a mess. Yet painting symbols, logos, or even portraits, something controlled does help with distracting from anxiety, it's about having to focus on following a rule and taking a break out from confusing emotions to a more rigid world. I like small things best as they give me a quicker sense of achievement switching my emotions to a high. If you don't fancy trying painting or are just not quite sure what to paint there are lots of different mindfulness focused coloring books out at the moment and their increase in popularity means you can even pick them up at your local supermarket.

5. Cooking

I love cooking and baking, when its comes to anxiety cooking I tend to stick to making raw recipes such as energy balls as they are quick and easy and give me a lift when I get to eat them. Try our Cocoa energy balls to get you started. Also, they make my little family really happy so it tends to lift the mood in the whole house.

6. Water

I drink a lot of water when I am anxious. Simply because anxiety will make your mouth really, really dry and drinking water starts to confuse your body out of anxiety by taking away one of the physical symptoms. It only works for very short moments but sometimes it just helps give me a little space to collect my thoughts.

7.Showers

Showers really calm my head down, it's really hard to keep over thinking things when you have water hammering your head, I find it also work for me in the rain, it's like a great sense of relief not being able to hear my worrying thoughts again because all I can think of is the water. If this doesn't work for you straight away turn the temperature down, them all you will be able to think about it how cold it is. It's not a solution you can use for very long but something it's just about giving you enough time to collect your thoughts to think about what can help next.

8. Watching same films over and over and over

I have a set of films that I watch over and over. It's taken me a while to find the films that work for me, but they are always ones with a motivations uplift. Yesterday my other half and I watched 'Yes Man' for about the 100th time, we both knew we had alot of work to do today and it always puts us in the right mood, it's a reminder to us not to be scared to say yes and go for what we want, even though we are both very many introverts.

9. Walking

I never thought this would be one for me, but since my health has improved I have found just forcing myself to get outside not matter how I'm feeling I force myself. I put my daughter int his pram and just walk and walk until I find the urge to stop somewhere quite where all I can here is the noises of nature and my daughter playing. Having the peace and being away from electronics and harsh indoor lights give my body time to heal and my mind time to rest.

10. Drink up

Nope, not alcohol sorry. I have an addiction to coffee shops, but when I am anxious I never order a coffee. I find a quite coffee shop (or order out) and get myself a hot chocolate and my daughter a smoothie and we just sit there take in all of the sensory stimulants of out drinks, the smell, the taste, the feeling holding the cup, the noises of the coffee machines, and watching all the people walk by. It's an odd calming bliss to me.

#mindful #mindfulness #anxiety #depression #mindfulpractices