Mindfulness is the Tool for Anxiety and Stress Relief

Mindfulness is the act of consciously focusing our mind in the present moment, without judgement and without attachment to the moment.

 Photo by Vlad Tchompalov on Unsplash

Overview 

In today's world we all think too much, seek too much, want too much, as Eckhart Tolle once stated, and forget about the joy of just being. So many of us find it increasingly difficult to focus just one thing at a time. When we do not have sufficient time, our technological devices enable us to be in multiple places all at once. But it comes with a cost. Modern technology has split our concentration into smaller bits, scattering them in many directions. As we have become more habituated with technology, we also seem to have lost our ability to live in the present - a place where we actually want to be without stress and distractions. Although we can connect with just about anybody with a touch of a finger, we often find ourselves unable to engage in genuine, one-on-one communication. On one hand, technology has made us more efficient and productive but, on the that, we find that our attention is scattered and our life marked by stress and complications. Consequently, we are not always mindful when we are communicating with ourselves or with others.

Mindfulness

So what exactly is mindfulness ? It is the act of consciously focusing our mind in the present moment, without judgement and without attachment to the moment. It can help us become more aware of what is going on for us both internally and externally. We become more present to the here and now. Jon Kobat Zinn defines mindfulness as the

awareness that arises by paying attention on purpose, in the present moment, and non-judgmentally.

According to  Thich Nhat Hanh, the term mindfulness refers to

keeping one's consciousness alive to the present moment.

Mindfulness and Stress Relief

A secular practice of mindfulness has entered the mainstream across the world in recent years, it has its roots in ancient Hindu and Buddhist tradition as a means of calming the mind and gaining insight into the impermanent and interdependent of the self. In last four decades (Modeled after the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction program created in 1979 by Jon Kabat-Zinn to help counter stress, chronic pain, and other ailments, mindfulness courses) thousands of studies have documented the physical and mental health benefits of mindfulness in general and inspiring countless programs to adapt various models for schools, prisons, hospitals, veteran centers and beyond.

Suzanne Westbrook , retired professor and internal-medicine doctor at Harvard University says,

Our mind wanders all the time, either reviewing the past or planning for the future.Mindfulness teaches you the skill of paying attention to the present by noticing when your mind wanders off. Come back to your breath. It’s a place where we can rest and settle our minds.

Jeanne Mahon, Director of the Wellness Center of Harvard University says,

We were tasked to find ways for the community to cope with stress. And at the same time, so much research was coming out on the benefits of mindfulness and meditation.

We keep offering mindfulness and meditation because of the feedback. People appreciate to have the chance for self-reflection and learn about new ways to be in relationships with themselves.

Practicing mindfulness improves both our physical and psychological wellbeing resulting in positive changes in our health, attitudes, and behavior.  Photo by Jared Rice on Unsplash

There are also numerous books written by experts on mindfulness that show us ways how to live in the present  moment with ourselves and with others. This is accomplished by engaging in different kinds of meditation techniques which emphasize the cultivation of keen awareness to experiences in present moment without any kind of analysis or interpretation.or having any kind of attachment to a particular outcome. 


Psychologists and neuroscientists have helped to bring the practice of mindfulness meditation into mainstream medicine, demonstrating that practicing mindfulness improves both our physical and psychological wellbeing resulting in positive changes in our health, attitudes, and behavior. According to these experts, mindfulness techniques benefit us in a number of important ways; it helps relieve stress, lowers blood pressure, reduces chronic aches and pains, helps with sleep, reduces gastrointestinal problems, and finally mindfulness is good for our heart.

Mindfulness' acceptability and popularity has been bolstered by a growing body of research showing that it reduces stress and anxiety, improves psychological wellbeing.  Sara Lazar, a neuroscientist and assistant professor of psychology at Harvard Medical School (HMS) and assistant researcher in psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital, documented that mindfulness meditation can change the brain’s gray matter and brain regions linked with memory, the sense of self, and regulation of emotions. New research by Benjamin Shapero and Gaëlle Desbordes is exploring how mindfulness can help depression.       

The pioneer of scientific research on meditation, Dr Herbert Benson, extolled its benefits on the human body — reduced blood pressure, heart rate, and brain activity — as early as 1975. He helped demystify meditation by calling it the “relaxation response.” Benson is director emeritus of the Benson-Henry Institute for Mind Body Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital and Mind/Body Medicine Distinguished Professor of Medicine at HMS.

Relaxation Response

The response is defined as our personal ability to encourage our body to release chemicals and brain signals that makes our muscles and organ slow down and increase blood flow to the brain.

Photo by Ralf Skirr on Unsplash -
Buddha statue in the mist. Bana Hills, Vietnam.

Dr Herbert Benson can be largely credited for demystifying meditation and helping to bring it into the mainstream by renaming meditation the Relaxation Response. His studies in the 1960s and 1970s were able to show that meditation promotes better health, especially with individual with hypertension. People who meditate regularly enjoy lower stress levels, increased wellbeing, and even are able to reduce their blood pressure levels and resting heart rate.

The Relaxation Response is essentially the opposite reaction to flight-or-flight response. According to Dr Benson Relaxation Response is beneficial, as it counteracts  the physiological effects of stress and the fight-or-flight response.

  

                                
Learning the Relaxation Response is a great skill that can help us to be better equipped to deal with life's unexpected stressors, heal ourselves, and achieve better health.  

Ongoing Popularity of Mindfulness in the field of Work-Life balance

Since mindfulness has so many important benefits for us, whether they are connected with our physical or emotional wellbeing, mindfulness training has certainly become tremendously popular in the United States and other parts of the world. Companies like Adobe, Amazon, Ford, General Mills, Google, Target, Goldman Sachs, to name a few, have all instituted mindfulness training for their employees so that they are healthier, less stressed and more focused on their jobs. Mindfulness experts are also training CEOs and higher officials of major corporations on mindfulness techniques.

Business Leaders who practice mindfulness report that they now perceive issues more objectively, they can form deeper relationships that are empathic, and they are not driven by their ego and pride as they learn to be humble.

The goal of mindfulness is to always be in the present moment.

 Photo by Thomas Griesbeck on Unsplash

These business leaders often mention that they are also more productive, more creative in solving problems, more satisfied with their jobs and are less stressed in challenging situations.

How to practice Mindfulness ?

Although there is actually more than one way to such practice, the goal of mindfulness is to always be in the present moment. This is achieved by focusing on our breathing as we meditate. When we meditate, we pay attention to the thoughts and sensations that distract us but we  do not fight them. Nor do we pass any judgement on them. We just observe these thoughts and sensations and go back to focusing on our breathing again. Our goal is to allow our mind to refocus on the present.

Out of some mindfulness technique the four approaches can be rounded up to begin with.

Thoughts

The key point mindfulness is to be aware of what is happening in the present moment without passing judgement on that awareness. It is normal for our mind to stay active during meditation but we must try to observe our thoughts like clouds passing by, and return our focus on breadth.

Body Sensations

Paying focused, non-judgemental attention to the subtle sensations in our body as an itch or tingling and likes and let them pass. We must stay focused on the sensations.

    

Sensory

Here we practice observing sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and touches. We name the 'sight', 'sound', 'smell', 'taste' or 'touch' without judgement and let them go.
Whatever it is, zero in on the tone and quality with intention. Music can also be a useful focus in mindfulness meditation, with additional benefits like energizing us in the morning or relaxing us at night. The key is to find what works for us. Some people might find that a quiet room is what works best for them, while others might find that focusing on their favorite music is the most effective.    

Emotions

In this mindfulness technique, we allow emotions to be present without judgement. We practice a steady and relaxed naming of emotions such as 'joy' , 'anger', 'frustration' while accepting the presence of the emotions without judgement and letting them go.



It has been observed in various studies  that under stress and anxiety our eating patterns affect very easily. Under this condition we tend to eat less or eat heavily.  When stressed, people often instinctively use their sense of taste as a stress reliever, whether they're munching mindlessly or satisfying sweets cravings brought on by cortisol. But the sense of taste can be a healthy, effective complement to mindfulness exercises.

The focus is on being present during the meal. This supports healthier eating because the mind and body are more aware of the process

 Photo by Angelos Michalopoulos on Unsplash

             
Mindful eating involves slowing chewing, putting down your fork between each mouthful, and being aware of the tastes of what you are eating. During mindful eating, avoid being distracted by any type of screen, whether its a television or mobile device. The focus is on being present during the meal. This supports healthier eating because the mind and body are more aware of the process. Doing this can also help prevent overeating because we are more aware of when we are truly full versus just mindlessly eating. By focusing on the taste of food, the experience of eating, and the sensations of our body, we will feel satiated sooner.

Final Thought

While all this may seem to be a new-age approach to our holistic wellbeing, hard medical evidence demonstrations that we can train our brains to function differently and that brains can adapt and rewire. This phenomenon, known as neuroplasticity, suggests that there are concrete and provable benefits to exercising the brain by engaging in mindfulness. It is precisely because of this scientific component that mindfulness has gained traction with people who might otherwise this to be spiritual  bewilderment.   

Since the key to developing a strong mindfulness practice is consistency, it's best to try a variety of techniques and find the method or methods that work best for us. Any technique that allows us to focus on the present can help you practice mindfulness. Remember that we don't need a fancy setup—look to nearby sounds, sensations, tastes, and our own mind and body to help alleviate stress and increase relaxation. Adding moments of mindfulness to our everyday activities can help us incorporate this meditative technique into our daily routine.

And finally, of course, most of us will never have the capacity to meditate at the level of a monk. But neuroscientists seem to be convinced that there is hope for far less experienced meditators because by engaging in mindfulness meditations they will have more capacity for a working memory, more focused attention and  less stress in their lives.

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