Feeling stressed, anxious, or overwhelmed with tasks and responsibilities?
If your answer is yes, then you might be asking, “how can I get myself out of this funk?” Well, the first answer is to consider practicing mindfulness. Becoming more mindful is the ability to be fully present and aware of how we’re feeling, by pausing, and paying more attention to where we are and what we’re doing. This also means not being overly reactive by stopping ourselves from feeling overwhelmed due to what’s going on around us or our emotions. This becomes easier when we practice mindfulness daily or more often in different situations.
Second, now you might also be wondering, “What now?” – Easy! The goal of practicing mindfulness is to learn how to acknowledge and awaken your mental, emotional, and physical processes.
“Mindfulness is awareness that arises through paying attention, on purpose, in the present moment, non-judgementally.” – Kabat – Zinn
There are many ways to practice mindfulness, so feel free to do your own research to figure out what will work best for you. But! I also want to share a few examples to help bring you down to Earth and ground your thoughts. Some examples include, but are not limited to:
- Meditation, whether guided, with music, or in silence
- Writing or saying positive affirmations about yourself outloud
- Practicing mindful deep breathing
- practicing some Yoga, whether you’re a beginner, intermediate, or advanced level
- Or create a mindful practice log where you can list your emotions, body sensations, and thoughts with the date so you can keep track of what’s going on. This will help you spot any patterns and/or changes and/or improvements to your mental health
A lot of times when we allow our emotions to take control of the steering wheel, we make ourselves more vulnerable to accidents. we’re more likely to say something we don’t mean by acting impulsively, and as a result, hurting someone physically or mentally. Actions and words carry a lot of power, so try your best to remember, a calm mind is a wise mind. Being more mindful can not only save you from harm, but others too. So think responsibly!
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