When clients come to me for help with anxiety, I often find that they have given meditation a try, but they say that it wasn’t helpful for them. I hear reactions such as “I just can’t calm down when I meditate” or “it seems like my mind is too busy and chaotic for meditation.” I explain that these aren’t signs that the meditation isn’t working – they are just signs that you are human! We all feel our thoughts racing by a mile a minute from time to time. When clients have these reactions to meditation, I explain that the goal is not to slow down our thoughts or empty our minds. Instead, the goal is to be present with whatever our mind is doing at this moment.
How does this help? Well, when we are able to notice and allow our thoughts to be whatever they are at any given moment, we build acceptance for how our mind works. We learn to be able to sit with uncomfortable mental and physical states without trying to change them. This acceptance is immensely helpful in reducing the impact of anxiety, because when we do not accept our anxiety, it tends to escalate. Like finding ourselves in quicksand, the more we struggle with our anxiety, the more stuck we get.
We also learn through meditation that we are not our thoughts through a process called “cognitive defusion,” which basically means we can step outside of our thoughts and notice that our thoughts generate themselves all on their own. Once we recognize this we realize that we don’t have to obey or believe every thought that scrolls by in our minds. This can be very freeing – realizing that even if I have a thought such as “I can’t do this, my anxiety is too bad right now,” I can notice that thought and do what I want to do anyway. This freedom allows us to do what matters to us in spite of anxiety and negative thoughts. Instead of waiting around until we find a way to change our thinking and our beliefs, we learn that we can notice that thoughts are just thoughts and do what we care about anyway.
Here are a few of my favorite types of meditations that I find are particularly helpful with anxiety.
1. Soothing Rhythm Breathing
This practice, which guides you to slow your breath, is really useful if you are new to meditation. The process of noticing and slowing your breath can give you something to focus on rather than feeling the discomfort of being still and noticing your thoughts, which can be overwhelming to some who are new to meditation. The practice of slowing and deepening your breath also activates your parasympathetic nervous system, which triggers a relaxation response in your body. This can help calm the effects of anxiety and tell your body that even though anxiety is present, you are safe in this moment.
2. Leaves on a Stream
This meditation is very helpful for developing cognitive defusion, which is the process of noticing your thoughts and feelings without attempting to change them. The meditation guides you to imagine placing each thought you have on a leaf on a stream, and then watch it float by.
3. Self-Compassion Break
Often with anxiety comes a critical inner voice – many people who struggle with anxiety struggle with feelings of perfectionism and people pleasing. Self-compassion meditations can help you respond to that critical voice with kindness and develop a little more peace and acceptance with who you are at this moment, including your struggles and flaws.
4. Body Scan
Often with anxiety comes fears of the physical symptoms of anxiety. You might be struck with a thought such as, “oh no, it’s happening again”, along with fears of “will this ever go away” or “will this get worse?” Some people disconnect from the physical sensations of anxiety as an attempt to distract or avoid feeling the effects of anxiety. A body scan meditation guides you to check in with your body, helping you to reconnect with how you feel physically. Through this process, you can gain a better awareness of how anxiety is showing up in your body, notice where you are holding tension, and help you to become less fearful of what is happening inside of you. When you gain a better understanding of your body, you may also realize that anxiety has its ebbs and flows – nothing stays permanent.
I hope you find this introduction to using meditation for anxiety helpful!
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