Some degree of fear and anxiety is inevitable in life. But for some people, these emotions can become truly debilitating, keeping them trapped in cycles that can lead to depression and even chronic pain. So how can we help patients better manage fear and anxiety when they come up?
Below, you’ll find a simple exercise that anyone can use to work through these painful feelings. It’s courtesy of my friend Ron Siegel, PsyD.
Ron is an Assistant Professor of Psychology, part time, at Harvard Medical School, an internationally-renowned teacher, a long-time student of mindfulness meditation, and a well-known author.
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One of the first things we notice when we pick up mindfulness practice is how often we have frightened thoughts about the future.
We think over and over about the future — hoping for pleasure and dreading pain.
And even the most subtle thought can cause anxiety.
Mark Twain described this brilliantly near the end of his life when he wrote, “I’m an old man now. I’ve lived a long and difficult life filled with so many misfortunes, most of which never happened.”
How Mindfulness Retrains the Brain to Lower Anxiety
It’s remarkably easy to see this for ourselves. Just take a moment to think about something that makes you anxious (it shouldn’t take long to come up with this). Is it a thought of the past, the present, or the future?
Sometimes people say, “I’m really anxious about what happened this morning.” But on closer examination, we realize we’re actually anxious that we’ll be incarcerated tonight for what we did this morning.
So it’s not surprising that one of the ways mindfulness practice can help us with anxiety is simply by training the brain and mind to bring attention to the present moment. Since for many of us, the present moment is usually pretty safe, doing this can really help cut anxiety.
How Mindfulness Increases Our Capacity to Bear Anxiety
The other way mindfulness helps is a bit more counter-intuitive.
We’re hard-wired to find anxiety unpleasant. After all, if we weren’t, we might gravitate toward dangerous situations, and eventually this would keep us from passing our DNA on to the next generation. Ancient hominids who didn’t find anxiety to be unpleasant probably weren’t our ancestors – they mostly died off before reproducing.
So naturally, we want to get rid of unpleasant anxious feelings. But attempts to avoid anxiety are actually the fuel at the heart of most anxiety disorders, keeping them going.
In a mindfulness-oriented approach, instead of trying to get rid of anxiety, we help our patients increase their capacity to bear it.
In a mindfulness-oriented approach . . . we help our patients increase their capacity to bear anxiety. Click To TweetAnd this is not a new idea – here is what the Buddha said about anxiety 2500 years ago:
“Why do I dwell always expecting fear and dread? What if I subdue that fear and dread, keeping the same posture that I’m in when it comes upon me? While I walked, the fear and dread came upon me. I neither stood, nor sat, nor lay down until I had subdued that fear and dread.”
What he’s saying is when the fear or dread arises, instead of doing something to try to feel better and make it go away — he’s going to stay with it. He’s going to ride it out, until it goes away by itself.
A Simple Practice You (and Your Clients) Can Use to Befriend Fear and Anxiety
So, let me share an exercise that can help you or your patients do just this:
Start by bringing attention to some sensation in the body – perhaps the breath or another object of attention. Continue gently returning the attention to this object for a few minutes.
Next, see if you can locate some anxiety within the body. Just notice how it feels.
If you can’t find any anxiety, generate a scary thought or an image to help conjure it up. We want to get the
anxiety going strongly enough to be able to practice feeling it, but not to be overwhelming.Once you’ve got some anxiety going, just breathe, and feel it. Notice how it feels throughout the body. Greet it like an old friend, “Oh I know you, you’re my old pal fear. You’ve visited me on so many occasions. Welcome back.”
If the sensation of anxiety starts to fade, do whatever you need to do to bring it back. Keep breathing, and keep practicing just welcoming and feeling the fear.
It’s best to introduce this practice at the beginning of a therapy session. If you give the exercise enough time, and keep encouraging your client to breathe and welcome the anxious feelings, eventually almost everyone will have difficulty maintaining the anxiety.
This can be enormously helpful, since it’ll help clients see that simply being with fear allows it to come and go like all other mental content.
And this can really help crystallize for folks that it’s often the attempt to make anxiety go away, not the anxiety itself, that traps us in anxiety disorders.
Now I’d like to hear from you – how have you used mindfulness practices in your work with anxious patients? Please share your experience in the comment section below.
Thank you for this article! Some of my clients have spent much energy trying to avoid anxiety. I work with them first to normalize the feeling of anxiety, and how anxiety can often be a helpful signal to let them know that they may need to work out a plan to keep from dwelling on their anxiety unnecessarily. Slow beep breathing and calming self-talk have been helpful tools for my clients.
It is helpful for clients to hear and understand that anxiety doesn’t last forever. It is easy to fall into a cycle of fear, worry, and negative thoughts.
This is a simple strategy is a great tool for my cancer patients
As far as I can remember, I was taught to meditate using visualization of something such as a candle burning and to come back to the image as well as to the breath when the thoughts float. I like to this visualization because of the point of the candle lights that is the center of the guided imagery, but I also enjoy Tara Brach idea of the see shore or watching the waves. The IUT has its own therapy tool. I do believe they can be a pop-up nightmare.
This seems to be a variation on flooding which is such a powerful tool for troubling intrusive thoughts. Very simple and effective strategy for anxiety. Thank you Ruth.
I have used the breath and mindful walking to sooth very anxious clients. I will use this strategy as soon as I am able and note the results. Thank you for your advice.
The article you shared here is awesome. I really like and appreciate your work. The points you mentioned in this article are very helpful. I must try to follow these points and also share the other points.
I used this with a couple of clients today and it was very helpful. Thank you!
I’ve had success introducing mindfulness by asking a client to clench their fists as tight as possible and then release them, shaking their hands and fingers. I then ask which feels better. The majority state the relaxed hands and fingers. I may also ask them to tighten and relax their jaw, a frequent place of tension, which is easily accessible and understandable. After doing this practice, I will watch a client’s body language to see if they are tensing, stop the session, and suggest attention to the tense spot and offer time for a deep breath.
How wonderful that the Buddha is mentioned in this. I think that western psychology can forget at times or some people may not even know that mindfulness is a practice that is thousands of years old. I have been a long term practitioner of mindfulness and I have experienced more and more on a deep level the anxious thoughts and how that affects the body and how they dissolve when you just notice them and don’t judge them and just allow them to be and come back to your breathe.
I’m totally blown away by your philosophy. Thank You.
GOD BLESS.
Shobie.
It’s important that the client is adequately resourced with empathy when helping them face their demons.
I have suffered from severe and constant anxiety induced by a harsh inner critic since childhood. I have struggled to master techniques to “prune” and rewire anxious neural pathways for 20 years. With the wisdom of Dr. Dan Siegel’s mindfulness work, I’ve made good progress in the past year. Helpful, but few mainstream psychotherapists know and teach these strategies. I am looking for technology based therapies that actually focus and direct the client step-by-step to use Siegel’s strategies. At 68, I have little time to repair my childhood trauma and feel joy more often than depression and anxiety.
Usually in my therapeutic practice I don’t encourage my clients to get rid of anxiety feelings when approaching a thought or a task, but befriend them as they prepare to think or do something that frightens them, in a way similar to the proposition above.
The path to self awareness is different depending on a persons biological, generational, experiential & patterned coping strategies/realities, It sounds like there are many aware practitioners here… placing mindfulness practices at different points along the therapy timeline depending on their trust in the clients ability to engage the present moment anxiousness… so maybe an article from Dr. Seigel with thought on this… I personally find self awareness within a self compassion container to be helpful, so the anxiety is not the only player in the sensing field. 🙂
That was a great and inspiring read. It reminded me of The Welcoming Prayer Practice which I teach at a Contemplative Prayer group I facilitate. Thank you, Ruth, for sharing such wonderful readings. You are greatly appreciated!
I find the internet very helpful, I google any topic I want and I get tons of information , subject , and modalities , may be some thing will work for you. Therapy should be short , not years. You need to get to the root of any issue. Write a letter to who ever and poor your heart out, and through it or burn it, I sit still and talk to what ever part of my body that is aching make peace and send it on a one way ticket on a vacation . I found these methods very effective. The past is gone, let it go. Stay in the present and move forward. Forty years of therapy and many modalities is too long and expensive. You will also find all kind of meditations with soothing music, You name it. I hope this will helpful.
Thank you Marie. I have tried mindfulness meditations and the anxiety does not shift. I have googled anxiety but it is very hard to know what is effective and what is a scam trying to get you to part with money. I would pay anything to get rid of the anxiety as it is paralyzing me but I just don’t know what works. Thanks for your comments
It is facing the anxiety instead of trying to get rid f it that allows t to shift. What we resist persists. To face it you need to feel safe but in your history here was a moment where you felt unsafe, with good reason, so it is hard for you to trust another and develop good radar about who is trustworthy. With courage and support of a person who is comfortable with notional intensity you can access the original fear, be comforted, express the pent up feeling and get relief. The feelings will become less scary. Good luck in attracting the right witness or facilitator.
In essence this is similar to the Welcoming Prayer which is practiced in daily life alongside Centering Prayer (based on The Cloud of the Unknowing). I have found it a very liberating practice.
I have suffered with anxiety for the last two and a half years. It left me for a few months before Christmas but is back again. I wake up feeling anxious not about anything in particular. I am anxious about the day ahead and the challenges it brings.. I have isolated myself from people as engaging with people heightens my anxiety. I have no specific worries so when Ron suggests to think of a worry I have I can’t think of one. It is generalized anxiety. So I try mindfulness and the knot will not leave my stomach. I have tried many therapies including medication without success. I feel like I am in a permanent state of hyper arrousal and constantly in freeze state. I would love to hear some suggestions for what might help. I am a trained psychotherapist but had to stop practicing when the anxiety arrived. I would be grateful for any suggestions.
Hi Ken –
Try slowing your breathing for a period of at least 5-10 minutes. It helps if you also lengthen your outbreath to about twice the length of your inbreath. If you like, you can do a count of 3-4 on the inbreath and a count of 6-8 on the out, or whatever count feels right to you. If you’re familiar with Stephen Porges work you will know that these actions stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system, which dampens the sympathetic, or fight-flight system you referred to. In addition it can help to picture something that gives you a feeling of gratitude, such as a pet or a nature scene. Gratitude is also parasympathetic activating, so any gratitude practice that you add in should be helpful.
Hope this helps and best wishes!
Hi Inna, I feel for you. You are seen & held here. I would say try EFT Tapping, Rudy Hunter, Michael Allenbright iZone (free resources, webinars…). Best to you, to find YOUR way…
Have done some confronting the antagonist to the fears our clients have been and recently I have found that I have been going back to my hypnotherapy and this has helped many face the truth the fear and needs to be titrated very gently. Thanks for bringing more credibility to the process as I know that this work is the best I have ever experienced personally. what I have found that even when it does not take the path I would have chosen and worried that it might be an avenue for then to give up, they come back and seem to like the process. I must say it is harder to do for me emotionally, due to that very doubt, even though I really set it up before even trying. I hate to say, it seems that clients are more traumatized not after my session, but from a dose of a news broadcast, so this does complicate all our healing techniques. I know this is not a subject for this forum but I would not know where else to address it within any commuinity. If it does not get addressed, then where do we go to process mindfulness and the reality of the world lately, knowing our own country is not making it better, when up to now, I do think we had been an effective country for peace. Even a snowstorm is harder to handle lately.
Inna, Not sure this will help as it is new to me but musis is not as I am a music therapist. Stephen Porges beleves that even mindfulness cannot be affective if our nervous system is frozen. He offers some helpful advice regarding this. I found a pillow that his institure sells that plugs into music he recommends to help the process of what he calls neuroception as a need to calm down I bought my granddaughter a pillow and hope it helps. She also uses a gravity blanket, as she was adopted from India but they would not allow her out of the orphange for many years, so her first two years of life were repressed there. She suffers even now. I wish this forum would offer us all the ability to learn his trainings for hearing and healing. I think we all could use it as even if you are a therapist and had not trauma you hear all sort of trauma that can cause trauma. Wish you well. Daniel Amen is on PBS and you might find that helpful. I have studied with him in the 90s and leaned so much about the many subtypes of ADHD. That can be helpful and he has tests to determine the extent of anxiety and depression and the parts of the brain that is affected because he knew everyone might not be able to afford his spect imaging. The tests are set up with this in mind and I use them all the time with clients.
Sorry, could not edit my errors, but neuroception is the state of being in a frozen state which this pillow can help. Have not tried it but my granddaugher likes her gravity blanket which is supposed to help those early years, I imagine. So sorry for my misspellings.
Thanks a lot for your willingness to help those suffering with this plaque. Unfortunately my condition is so severe that it does not fade with all practices that I do. I have been suffering from anxiety my whole life and lately it became unbearable and non-stop. I also suffer from depression, fears, panic and ADHD. I am a creative person. I am a known poet and an author of 5 books. They are in Russian since I immigrated to New York from Russia 37 years ago. I am really desperate. Nothing seems to work for me. And I can’t afford going to extremely expensive clinic of Dr. Amen. I don’t take medications. I work at myself. But strange as it may seems, even being in such an awful condition nobody sees it. So far I am able to control myself. But all my unspoken sufferings are inside of me. I am so desperate that from time to time I have a thought to leave this world but at the same time I suffer from terrible fear of death. It is a dead-end. Of course my situation is very difficult since I worry and suffer because of very difficult problems with my daughter who is also very talented but she pays a big toll for that. I don’t even know why I started to write to you. I understand that it is unlikely that you would answer me. And what could you suggest to help me – is a big question? But anyway, thanks million times for trying to help people with this stubborn problem that is so hard to deal with and to get rid of. Blessings and love to you – Inna
Hi Inna,
I know how hard this can be. I had very chronic anxiety for most of my life. I still get it occasionally, but mostly not, and when it arises I know how to manage it out of my mind again.
Try and find the little moments in your life when you don’t have the anxiety, and celebrate those moments with a ‘yes’.
Most of my anxiety came from being too identified with my thinking mind. Ruminating about the past, and worrying about the future. When I feel anxious I check in and ask where are my thoughts. Then bring them back to the present moment, the breath, the feeling of my legs on the chair.
I encourage you to keep practicising mindfulness techniques, and keep edging the anxiety out, even a little bit, and then a little bit more.
Warm regards
Lisa
Hi Inna, I feel for you. You are seen & held here. I would say try EFT Tapping, Rudy Hunter, Michael Allenbright iZone (free resources, webinars…). Best to you, to find YOUR way…
Inna: Have you tried any 12-step programs? They are not all for addiction. There may be one that resonates with you. They can be a safe space to start building empathy for one’s self and feel one’s feelings, and are free.
I think that cis brought up an important observation about anxiety( in some cases) that may be caused by hormonal imbalances. It’s known that ongoing stress/anxiety can cause the release of cortisol, which in turn decreases testosterone. So it’s probably a good idea for anyone with ongoing anxiety/stress to get tested re this to eliminate any possible physiological factors.
Mindfulness meditation is a powerful & effective tool, but very difficult for someone experiencing severe anxiety ~ when that cascade of brain chemicals which accompany anxiety/panic attacks kicks in it’s next to impossible to sit still, let alone meditate.( I’ve found that simple breath work and the gentle moves of Qigong/Tai Chi can be quite helpful.)
Thank you for the excellent articles!
How does one use this approach while driving a car on the highway at 65 mph?
I’ve actually had to use something like this on the freeway when I couldn’t pull over. I kept repeating to myself that it’s only anxiety and anxiety itself cannot harm me and remembering to breathe (I realized I had been holding my breath). I focused on how the steering wheel felt in my hands, how the seat felt against my back, how the belt felt across my lap and chest. Anything to try and stay present and alert on the road without letting my anxiety around the possibility of an accident get in the way. After a few minutes it wasn’t as bad. I was still anxious but could be with the anxiety in a safer way, if that makes sense.
Thank ya 4 sharing. i can relate to this : my anxiety level got better , & i learned to control it well. It hasn’t happened during my driving! Usually its occurs during my sleep, i am thankful that i learned to stay and keep the whole body relax & keeping my mind free , relax while bearing the discomfort 4 a short time It is really worth the practice. It took me a while to get use to this. And now feel more confident that thing will be all ways getting better.
Note: Do NOT do this around bedtime because you will fall asleep and have the WORST ****ing nightmare. (Yup I’m that stupid.)
Such a powerful exercise! Thank you so much for putting this up. Despite whatever any of the cynics say. (THE WHOLE MESSAGE IN CAPS DOESN’T MAKE IT MORE INTERESTING!)
Ruth you’ve been helping people like me for a long time now. Thanks a lot.
It’s very interesting to see there has been no reply from Ruth about the concerns of therapists and clients saying that mindfulness might re-traumatise some people. I really hope she is taking note and puts some cautionary notes in her future articles, so that she doesn’t come across as someone who is providing information for commercial gain only, as Dr Johnathon suggested.
This practice reminds me of “feel the fear and do it anyway”. It sure is easy to say, and practicing it makes it easier. Thank you.
So much jabber in the comments by the self aggrandizing. There is an adage in A.A., “take what you will and leave the rest.” I won’t be taking much from you “experts,” as one who has been beaten nearly to death by anxiety and the associated other afflictions I will entertain any process that looks hopeful and has stated or implied cautions.
Having vented. I must write that I will test this process hoping for positive results, as I have SGB injection for PTSD treatment (www.sgb4ptsd.com or FB page SGB4PTSD) with very helpful results, not a cure but an effective tool. Also, I am just beginning to be treated, by a MH therapist, with EMDR and these results are also encouraging.
I have been afflicted with mental health and behavioral challenges for 65 of my 70 years,
that makes me somewhat “expert” in terms of what is effective FOR ME and what is not. But, nothing ventured nothing gained. One last item, try to not be so viscous in speaking unhelpful diatribe about anothers Faith. God Bless you in Jesus name.
Great article! I tell my clients frequently to say, “Oh hi! You’re back! You’ve been with me for years!” I recommend that they embrace the anxiety and remind themselves that at one time, it served a purpose for them. It’s not about trying to ignore it, trying to make it go away, or becoming more anxious about having the anxiety. Encouraging clients to accept what it is and to stay in the moment (stay present) is helpful. I also acknowledge that it’s so much easier said than done!
And the Bible says, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God, and the peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”
I am not enamoured by what Buddha said, so I have offered an alternative.
joyce
Ugh
So much pain brought on by the desert god yahweh
Greetings. I think it is irresponsible to provide such limited information to the general public. To welcome fear without first having the experience of effective breathing techniques and some previous experience of mindfulness may evoke the experience of anxiety without the client finding an effective solution. You do not specify the age of the client who can do this. You do not provide information about the psychological state of client who can do this. You do not provide information about whether it is suitable to do this at home and unsupervised.
This appears as if you are providing this information for commercial gain only. Please rethink your approach.
Best wishes,
Dr. Jonathan Brakarsh
Wow and wow, too much content flooded in and you became re-traumatized. Ouch! Mindfulness excercises without containment and careful titration can be unbelievably upsetting. I think the author of this article has himself said in the past that mindfulness is not for everyone. I can understand your distrust of experts, but would invite you to suspend your disbelief for one last time and look into SE (Somatic Experiencing), which employs somatic mindfulness and/or imagery, but emphasizes introducing (into a sea of comfort) only a teeny “molecule” of upsetting material. Titration is the difference here. Please consider reading The Trauma Vortex by Gina Ross. Or almost anything by Peter Levine. I’m so sorry you had that experience. Thanks for posting; what you said was vitally important for everyone to hear.
TO LINDA ERMAN:
I WAS NOT DOING THE EXERCISE. I WAS SIMPLY SCANNING THE SCREEN. A GLANCE AT ONE ASPECT OT THE EXERCISE, AS MENTIONED IN MY PREVIOUS COMMENT ABOVE, AND THIS WAS ENOUGH. THERE IS NO NEED FOR MUCH CONTENT. A DETAIL SUFFICES. I HAVE SUCH EXPERIENCES FROM TIME TO TIME. I SUFFER FROM PTSD (THE NOW CALLED CPTSD AND C-PTSD VERSIONS). I DO NOT GET RETRAUMATIZED. I AM TRAUMATIZED ON A PERMANENT BASIS. IT HAS AFFECTED ME NEUROLOGICALLY TOO ON AN ON-GOING BASIS.
I AM ONE TO TRY ALL KINDS OF APPROACHES (I AM FINE WITH MINDFULNESS AS I DO IT ON A DAILY BASIS AND HAVE DONE SO FOR YEARS; I HAVE TAUGHT IT TOO). I AM CURIOUS AND LOVES TO LEARN. I HAVE DONE AND TAUGHT VARIOUS FORMS OF SOMATIC WORK. TO GREAT BENEFITS. I STILL DO. I WILL LOOK INTO THE BOOK BY ROSS, AS SUGGESTED BY YOU. THIS WILL BE NEW TO ME. AS FOR LEVINE, I AM NOT THAT KEEN ON HIM. AS FOR TRYING NEW METHODS AS SUCH WITH A THERAPIST, I CANNOT AFFORD IT. I STRUGGLE TO MAKE ENDS MEET ENOUGH AS IT IS. I HAD A FIRST EVENING OF ART THERAPY AND FOUND IT VERY HELPFUL ON MANY ASPECTS. I WAS ABLE TO DO IT IN A GROUP FOR LITTLE MONEY. I WILL DO IT AGAIN, WHEN OFFERED. OTHER THAN THIS, I FEEL A DEEP NEED TO AVOID TALK THERAPY. I PREFER MY OWN SILENT VOICE.
SO I AM NOT IN A STATE OF DISBELIEF. I SIMPLY SEE ALL THESE EXPERTS IN PTSD WHO DO NOT SUFFER FROM IT, IN MOST CASES, WHO OFFER ADVICE AND SUPPORT BASED ON RESEARCH AND THEORIES THAT ARE GOOD TO SOME EXTENT, BUT IGNORE OR SEEM TO IGNORE THAT EACH OF US IS UNIQUE, UNIQUE IN TIME AND SPACE. SOMETIMES I AM ALL FOR WHAT IS OFFERED. SOMETIMES, AS IN THIS CASE, BECAUSE OF MY EXPERIENCE THIS TIME, AND NOT THE PREVIOUS ONE(S), BACKFIRED. THE EXERCISE MAY WORK FOR MANY AND EVEN MOST PEOPLE, BUT IT DID NOT DO SO FOR ME, WHEN SIMPLY RAISED TODAY. I HAVE BEEN IN A PROGRAM FOR MEN WHO HAVE BEEN SEXUALLY ABUSED. PART WAS VERY GOOD: ITS INFORMATIVE SEGMENT; PART WAS TRAUMA AND ABUSE RELIVED: ITS GROUP THERAPY SEGMENT. AND THE PEOPLE IN CHARGE ARE ALL HOOKED UP TO WHAT IS OFFERED IN THIS COMMUNITY. I WANTED TO SHARE MY REACTION TO THE EXERCISE SUGGESTED (THEY MAY EVEN READ ME AND RECOGNIZE WHO THEY ARE). I AM GLAD YOU FOUND IT VERY IMPORTANT.
WHAT HAPENNED THOUGH AFTER I RECOVERED FROM THIS MY LAST PTSD CRISIS HAD VERY BENEFECIAL RESULTS FOR ME. THE KEY FOR THIS WAS THE ABSENCE OF MEMORY. I COULD LINK MY DIARRHEA TO MY PTSD AND TO THE HEALTH CARE FIELD. YET, THIS WAS INSUFFICIENT TO CARRY THE DAY. AND IT IS THEN THAT I MADE A CONNECTION TO MY MOTHER AND SOME POTENTIAL TRAUMA IN HER LIFE THAT MAY HAVE TO DO WITH THE SAME MEDICAL UNIVERSE. IT MAY EVEN HAVE AFFECTED HER OWN MOTHER. I MAY VENTURE TO SAY THAT I CARRY IN ME TRANSGENERATIONAL TRAUMAS FROM THE MATERNAL SIDE (I SEE IT WITH MY FATHER AND MATERNAL AND PATERNAL GRANDFATHERS). I WANT TO LOOK INTO THIS FURTHER. I WILL LET MY CELLULAR MEMORY SURFACE AND I WILL TALK WITH MY MOTHER TOO.
I FELT HAPPY WHEN I READ YOUR RESPONSE. THANKS FOR IT AND TAKING THE TIME.
TO LINDA ERMAN AGAIN:
I WENT TO GINA ROSS’S SITE AND HAD A LONG LOOK AT IT.
I AM WONDERING WHY YOU RECOMMENDED I READ HER BOOK. HER APPROACH SOUNDS RICH AND HELPFUL, BUT IT HAS TO DO WITH THE COLLECTIVE. WOULD YOU LET ME KNOW THE REASON FOR YOUR SUGGESTION?
ON THE OTHER HAND, I SHARED HER SLIDE PRESENTATION ON MY FACEBOOK PAGE. I HAVE FOLLOWED THE ISRAELI-PALESTINIAN CONFICT, WITH ITS MANY FACETS, FOR YEARS AND HAD NEVER HEARD OF HER WORK AND APPROACH. I WONDER WHEN RESULTS WILL SHOW UP. I SEE A FUNDAMENTAL FLAW IN WHAT WAS PRESENTED IN HER SLIDES. IT IGNORES THE FACT THAT PALESTINIANS ARE NOT A NATION, AS PORTRAYED BY MOST PEOPLE, BUT A GROUP OF TRIBES TO WHOM ARE ADDED THE PEOPLE OF GAZA. AND TRIBES BEHAVE IN A WAY THAT HER APPROACH WOULD HARDLY HELP. I KNOW OF OTHER APPROACHES THAT TAKE THIS INTO ACCOUNT, LIKE KEN WILBER’S INTEGRAL ONE AND DON BECK’S SPIRAL DYNAMICS AND ANOTHER ONE BY AN AMERICAN WOMAN OF LIBANESE ORIGIN ABOUT INDIGINOUS INTELLIGENCE. BUT NONE DEALS WITH TRAUMA AND ITS EFFECTS IN PEOPLE AND I HAVE NOT NOTICED ANY LEVEL OF PSYCHOLOGICAL MATURITY IN THE PROPONENTS OF THE LAST APPROACHES THAT I HAVE COME ACROSS IN DIFFERENT WAYS. I HAVE FOUND VIOLENT AND JUDGEMENTAL BEHAVIOURS TO BE FAIRLY COMMON AMONG THEM. I CONCUR THAT HEALING TRAUMA WOULD BRING FORWARD ANY DREAM OF RESOLUTION. EFT HAS BEEN USED COLLECTIVELY IN SAFED TO THIS PURPOSE. I WONDER HOW SUCCESSFUL IT HAS BEEN. A VERY GOOD COMPONENT OF ROSS’S METHOD IS THAT IT INCLUDES ALL THE ASPECTS OF THIS CONFLICTS, MINUS THE ONE I REFERRED TO ABOVE (I.E., THE LEVEL OF CONSCIOUSNESS) AND THEY PLAY A MAJOR ROLE THAT IS NEVER CONSIDER BY OTHERS.
SO, BACK TO MY QUESTION: WHAT HAS GINA ROSS’S “HEALING THE TRAUMA VORTEX” GOT TO DO WITH ME PERSONALLY, OTHER THAN MY INTEREST IN COLLECTIVE CONFLICTS AND WHAT IT MAY SAY ABOUT MY INNER SELF?
THANKS FOR YOUR REPLY.
I deal with this from a Christian perspective by addressing establishing the peacefulness of spending time in prayerful meditation. Trusting in the Lord allows the anxiety to be an emotion that passes with out alarming. Establishing basic affirmations of a healthy relaitonship with God through the scriptures allows the person to experience their anxiety without fear.
I have been doing this for decades and it is very effective along with a reminder that what we resist,mpersist and what we face and express transforms.
Through mindful awareness of the feelings of anxiety and even the thoughts, I’ve come to learn that anxiety isn’t so scary. I’ve come to understand its nature: it often lies, and it passes. I’ve learned to notice and mistrust my anxious thoughts when they are future predictive, overly negative or extreme in any way. Sure I still have triggers but the anxiety is not sticking around as it used to. I’m grateful for all the teachings that have helped me decrease my suffering. And I’m thankful I can share this wonderful opportunity for healing with others, knowing it works.
Thanks for sharing this very useful exercise.
Mindfulness is a part of practice when I am teaching my clients how to connect to the body and learn how to breathe deeply or other “in the moment” sensory exercises to calm the body.
I can see problems with this when dealing with people with Panic Disorders as unless they learn other methods to decrease the panic their system can get overwhelmed quite easily with heart palpitations, etc.. I know it can be helpful but I would put a word of caution in for Panic sufferers who haven’t learned to calm their anxiety at all.
What if the anxiety is due to physical causes such as hormonal imbalances? (I am thinking sex hormones for instance)
Do you think it would work in that case too?
What a good reframe of anxiety! It’s the “welcome” that allows the anxietey to be felt and allows it to melt away. Great idea!
I’m going to practice this on the tennis court..thanks! 🙂
Helpful advice.again from Dr. Siegel. He makes an excellent case for using this practice.
My entire practice is about supporting clients and students in being able to be present with what arises. My specialty is prenatal and birth psychology so people often come to me expecting to dive into their story and cathart. I find myself explaining basic neurobiology of trauma to them and guiding them in learning how to be in present time and touch in on their history from here. I also teach Continuum Movement, a mindful movement practice as a way to support being present in life, not just on the cushion It’s all soon helpful!
Thank you again for another great article!
“Some degree of fear and anxiety is inevitable in life.” Interesting belief. Is it true? Acupuncture teaches to ALWAYS look for the underlying cause. The underlying cause for ALL fear/anxiety, in my experience in my life & my clinical practice of over 40 years, is negative imagination, e.g. what a child is afraid of in the dark is not the dark but the monsters the child IMAGINES to be in the dark. When my youngest daughter was less than a year old she awoke in pitch darkness and I heard her contentedly “singing” to herself & I thought “she hasn’t yet learned to be afraid.” As a Naval Aviator & at other times I have experienced Danger, with the adrenaline etc. rush of my Survival Instinct kicking in, but I never experienced fear/anxiety until the danger was handled, & my Egoic mind started Imagining what might have happened. Fear & the Survival Instinct are distinctly different – Fear can override & negate the Survival Instinct & cause to happen what one imagines. In the early 70’s we had a lot of LSD “bad trips” & a standard protocol was to have the patient simply sit, look around & repeat “Here & Now I’m aware of.” This was to include awareness using all the senses. Within 5 minutes or less, without fail they would be calm, realizing that here & now they were safe & there was nothing to fear. I find “The Emotion Code ” with its focus on “trapped emotions” a tremendous resource & a staple of my current practice.
It sounds like people are assuming you are saying this is a one-size-fits all exercise. This should be taken in context of an entire course, such as one with Peter Levine or Dr. Bessel van der Kolk who suggest to titrate strong feelings of anxiety.
I would also be sure to include in practitioner/client awareness that anxiety is pushing down natural biological signals of energy arising for a reason. By supportedly tuning in to the body sensations, we can learn more of what it’s all about. And decide appropriately. I feel these short pieces do not acknowledge that anxiety is always about SOMETHING. Especially in clients with trauma hx, unused to looking for meaning in anxiety they can & should usefully act on now, & generically protecting themselves from pain, overwhelm, which can be dis-abling. Is there real information, which, coming into awareness, might bring up overwhelming anger, causing more energy/Gestalt “aggressive towards something”, which may be crucial information of situation & actions needed NOW. We must be mindful not to encourage ‘It’s all in your head” with a partial approach. As folks say, weaving in education with increasing tolerance for biological information & processing so there will be learning it will all be more manageable, welcome & valuable.
This practical and clear exercise is the heart of teaching mindfulness to anxious clients It is nice to see that I can offer this as a practice that is endorsed by Associate Professor Ron Siegel especially for those that doubt the validity of mindfulness
I use mindfulness with individuals by asking, What can you do to get into here and now?..what do you see around you…while breathing find four words to describe something. I like giving individuals a script that they can use when they are in emotional distress by themselves. Something quick that can help change their minds.
I just used something similar with my brother who was hospitalized and overwhelmed at the thought of his self care upon release. We took the time to experience different sensations in the body, including the tremors in his hands that were coming from the anxiety and the warmth and pressure he was feeling from my touch on his arm. It was the beginning of helping him distance himself from the thoughts arising and move more into the body in the moment….that coupled with a few deep breaths helped the tremors stop.
I used to start the session with mindfulness exercise but found that a few minutes of checking in and finding out if they have someone pressing to bring up works better. Then when we start I weave a mini mindfulness experience in the session. Forcing it when they aren’t ready seemed to create more resistance. I provide clients a resource list, including names of people I recommend they look for when goggling, checking youtube or buying books. Ron Siegel is on my short list. Thank you for sharing this.
Great intervention!
I love these sessions and find them very helpful! However, I don’t see how this explains anxiety for me, with PTSD from childhood with TBI from car accident heaped on top. Spect imaging shows low blood flow to my limbic system, several parts of it don’t get enough blood, day or night, so that means my limbic system is always aroused. Meditation has helped, therapy, CBT, interactive metronome, QEEG, Brainwave Optimization, talking, writing have all helped, but there is always a low level of anxiety, even when I sleep. I also have leaky blood brain barrier. I wonder what the answer is to physical changes in the brain. Meanwhile, I look normal, sound smart and no one believes that I am stressed.
I have just started reading more and more about mindfulness and here it is again. The exercise is simple, practical, and memorable. I will share this with others as well as using it myself.
It makes so much sense to me, and adolescents tend to progress quicker then some adults. It is something I need to practice…
I find myself using mindfulness right now. I do have a client I intend to work with. She fears she will never get into a. Foster care but is not recognizing her behaviors keep her in the group homes or hospital.
Facing anxiety while practicing mindfulness gives the anxious mind to bear more anxiety and eventually to win anxiety. This may take some time (while rewiring goes on the brain) and as Buddha said ‘one needs to cherish patience’.
It is good to have words to delineate fear from the object of fear, as well as to tether fear with the patient’s personalized experience of anxiety. Once a patient accepts and incorporates this paradigm, it is good practice to visit, and be present, with fear within the safety of the therapeutic relationship; revealing cognitive distortions, of which many consist of the maladaptive perception that anxiety is necessary to be responsible and motivated.
Facing fear, I’m pretty certain is much different from going back to a
dangerous situation and pushing through it….I know that does not work.
My mother used to say *Fake it ’til you make it* and I did, but in a very
important way, I did not make it…even though I did fake a lot of people
out.
You must, in my opinion, make some sort of progress that you can track,
in order to be (more) mindful through a frightening or dissociative situation.
I completely agree with you, Elaine.
Mindfulness is great for some anxiety disorders and it’s not going to be a complete solution for serious problems. At deeper levels there is a need to address the underlying issues of trauma, neurochemistry, lifestyle choices, relationships, diet, spirituality, etc.
A person who has generalized anxiety disorder, disassociative disorder, or ptsd cannot solve their problems with mindfulness alone. Trying to constantly subdue chronic, overwhelming anxiety without proper treatment will eventually lead to physical, mental and emotional breakdown.
I found this so annoying to watch because I was interrupted every time I tried to read the exercise from start to finish.
Please let me finish. I do not want any brochure or anything else.
A Note on Reductionism
This is how modern psychological approaches have become subtly moulded into reductionism. Its like the hidden message embedded amongst otherwise very good stuff. ………..
“We think over and over about the future — hoping for pleasure and dreading pain….”
Do you really experience yourself like that? What about meaning, what about the capacity for concern’ (Winnicott), what about the impulse towards values and meaning (Frankl).
My worries, and I have many – are not about attaining pleasure, or avoiding pain. That would make me some sort of mollusc. (However, I dont relaly know how molluscs think).
Anyone else think like this?
Clients desperately want so much relief when they seek help. It’s such a brave important step for them and one of my biggest goals is to help them with Hope, patience and accepting things might feel worse before they really get better. I like Mindfulness practice because it does not set clients up to experience shame when they cannot discover their passion or be grateful all the time or expect life to be happy and positive…this is a nice simple reminder about the ironic power of acceptance. Thank you!
Thank you for the article and the reference to the Buddha and Mark Twain. I was introduced to this practice some years ago with Tara Brach, who I know works in concert with NICABM, and it has been helpful to me and to some friends that are struggling with fear and anxiety. One of which was my thirty year old son. I shared the teaching of this practice with him and referenced the Buddha and his nemesis Mara and Buddha asking Mara to tea which is to say being with the fear and/or anxiety. Some weeks later I noticed my son was agitated and upset so I called down to him and asked is everything alright and he said yes, I am having tea with Mara. I smiled and said ok. So its a work in progress and it is helpful. I remember another saying that was passed on through Tara Brach, “whatever you resist, persists.” This is just another reason to embrace this practice and learn to face our fears and anxiety’s instead of letting them control us and our reactions to them.
Wisdom from Buddha and Mark Twain? Yes. Modern neuroscience and behavioral science also state the not so obvious: ‘we worry about so much which never comes true.’
I believe that it is 93% or 97% of what people worry about never comes to fruition. (anyone with stats?) Of course, the hardwired human, primal brain defaults to survival and protection; thus, worry about the worst, or even the bad consequences was very powerful for us. It still is — to a degree.
This is where true awareness, mindfulness and practical techniques of feeling and accepting real problems, then applying ‘now’ thoughts of control, next positive steps and then living in that positive mode until your reality proves otherwise.
This is the true teaching principle, I believe, of the learned, sagacious and wise experts like Dr. Buczynski and Siegel.
Each time I read one of the articles on this site, my own understanding and peace of mind inherently grows.
Thank you.
I agree this isn’t for everyone. I do find it helpful to accept my feelings, whatever they are, and they do tend to dissipate (like they just wanted to be heard and seen, acknowledged and validated). But I could see that someone who has a certain level of trauma in their system and may not feel strong or resourced or safe enough to face it, this could be potentially harmful.
I would very much like you, Ruth, or Ron to qualify this and explain the kind of client this is appropriate for and the kind of client it is NOT appropriate for. This merits more discussion to find the boundaries of where this works and where it doesn’t.
Wise comment “Tamara, Student, Canada.” Yes indeed MANY folks who seek out therapy, have foundational needs to work through of traumatic experience, often before they can tolerate the quiet reflection of mindful meditation. Their efforts at quiet reflection may only expose them unbearable waves of the hellish torture that their body and minds have come to be burdened with… Without adequate understanding and attention to such generational trauma and its effects, well meaning therapists and spiritual and religious practitioners can inadvertently overwhelm and possibly re-traumatize sensitive trauma survivors. Therefore, any healing practitioner or educated spiritual or religious leader must assess for these common vulnerable folk, prior to attempting to provide the often helpful tools of meditation and mindfulness practice. Healing of these foundational needs often requires years of gradual and hard-earned therapeutic intervention and relational growth, which may lead to the capacity to make use of meditation. It would be very helpful, therefore, Dr. Buczynski and Dr. Siegal, to caution the public and mental health practitioners about the need to treat trauma survivors with sensitivity and knowledge, before naively recommending generic meditative techniques (That is, trauma survivors, ranging from people who have gone through ‘big T trauma,’ such as life-threatening or massively violating experiences, to extraordinarily common – but deeply hurt and damaged “relational trauma” survivors – which probably numbers in the 100’s of millions – of people who have experienced generational transmission of compromised attachment security of many varieties, at the level of severely thwarting their capacities for health and creativity.).
I have worked with complex PTSD attachment disordered trauma survivors for many years (and it never ceases to amaze me the huge numbers of folks who are suffering with foundational trauma associated with abusive caregivers, narcissistically disordered parents, who don’t necessarily look over the top abusive or neglectful, but who inadvertently transmitted shame and bodily held distress to their innocent children); and these trauma survivors deserve educated and trained provision of appropriate treatment of their pain/struggles.
Thanks for this comment! I’ve been in several classes recently where they do some sort of similar meditation/exercise and it has always increased my anxiety to the point that I cannot stand to be in the room. I’ve mentioned this repeatedly to them, but they keep stressing that I need to use Opposite Action and that doing so will lessen my negative reaction to the exercise. (The reality is that my negative reaction is getting stronger each time.) Thanks to your comment, I think I finally begin to understand what is happening and why; I’m a survivor of “Big T” Trauma and do have PTSD.
May I please share your comments with the therapists in question?
Thank you, Philip, for validating my comment. I appreciate you picking up on what I said — and then adding so much more fully and brilliantly to it for added depth and information.
Thank you, this is helpful. I have ptsd due to long term relational trauma and although nowadays after much healing I can do a bit of mindful awareness when I am calm, often there is just too much going on in my body and I get flooded or retraumatised by trying to sit quietly. I have a lot of dissociation and I used to see this as personal failure but now I recognise it as necessary for the moment. Mindfulness can breach the walls of dissociation prematurely, so can any practise that focuses on the body, and needs to be handled with great care. Having said this, when I feel my anxiety is out of hand there are occasions where accepting the symptoms has done the trick and it has faded away. Not a one size fits all but useful in some situations.
Very interesting approach. This article (as well as many others in this nicabm subscription) is helping me understand much as I search for a therapist for my teen daughter. If any of you therapists are in Los Angeles, I’d love to know who you are. Maybe you’re the therapist my anxious, panic-attack proned daughter needs. Please reply below with your contact info. Thanks!
Once again, more helpful pieces of information. Thank you.
Hi Ruthie
I do not agree to invoke anxiety. I would rather not ask anyone having problem to imagine anxiety and then tolerate. no doubt logically it may work or may not work at all.
secondly , invoking anxiety is a problem. many people may have fear before imagining anxiety.
simple method would be
1. first move in the state of mindfulness
2. move awareness to different parts of the body – experience sensation
3. let subject discover , how mind labels one sensation as anxiety and other as pleasure.
4. let the subject move mind 2-3 times and to help them to recognize that labeling by mind triggers anxiety
regards
Girish Jha
He mentions the Buddha and rightfully so; whawwt he is offering here is actually pure Buddhism–‘the Vippissana technique. Focusing on the issue , not avoiding it actually diminishes it. So it is.
Thank you for sharing these wonderful insights and practical exercises. I have a very anxious client right now, and I’m going to share this exercise with her.
Thank you and Ron Siegel for your generosity in sharing these snippets. Vera Smith.
I tired something like this with my client but her resistance to tuning into the feeling in her body of anxiety caused her to be resistant in the whole process. She told me she wold rather take a xanax and use medication to alleviate her angst. Those with panic disorder are terrified of the impending anxiety surfacing so this is not somethign they are open to at all at leas ti have found this to be so.
I have the same problem. When I sit with my anxiety and (try to breathe normally), it escalates and then I spiral into the dark hole of anxiety and depression. I’ve become so afraid of that sensation, I don’t dare do it.
Stephen Levine used to tell us to invite fear in for tea. “Come in, take tea.” I envision the negative emotions as cartoon monsters all sitting around having tea with me.
Love this, Elizabeth! Thank you for sharing! I will invite my feelings in for tea and a chat, maybe a cookie! Not sure how I’ll visualize them…maybe as my inner children having a tea party. Thanks for sparking this for me. A lovely approach! 🙂
I love this idea too, thanks for sharing Elizabeth ,I also like to imagine a smiling Budda sitting in my heart with flower petals at his feet, he has light and sunshine all around him too.. so when I have a spark of fear I think of him smiling and it makes me smile and calms me!
Just got it Ron, that this is exposure therapy and somatic experiencing…rocking in and out of it…but not running away…Mindfulness? Yes, I suppose.
Wow. It worked. Stomach ache went away almost instantly when I welcomed it. It is hard to maintain it. Then I moved on from mindfulness to my email and it came back, but not as strongly. I welcomed it again, it’s less. Thank you! Mindfulness is better than a pill!
It’s amazing how negative emotion is powerless in present moment awareness
I would love to hear some tips on relaxing them mind to open to posibillty to face emotion not to run from it
Thank you
People with severe depression and anxiety can experience that dread, sadness ,and fear as overwhelming almost all the time. Their anxiety can take a stake-out overwhelming position when focused on during meditation or mindfulness practice and not dissipate. What then ?
That’s me. I live in hell most days.
I like your image about “Live in Hell”–a Christian metaphor with great meaning. Buddha having tea with Mara remnds me of Jesus and Satan in the desert. Right before that was the trauma of the execution of John the Baptist. Scholars believe Jesus was a disciple of John. Right after that, Jesus began his ministry, having confronted his demons and gained insight and inner peace. I don’t believe you are a fundamentalist, but I do believe that if any therapist has a fundamentalist client, this might be a helpful image. Just a thought about images and metaphors. I know from personal experience of about 50 years ago about “Good Morning, Blues”, which may be similar to living in Hell. Thank Heavens, I no longer experience this.
“Confronting my demons” doesn’t make them go away….now what?
Hug them. Whatever the demons are feeling — fear, anxiety, anger, grief — they only want to be heard and seen, their suffering acknowledged, witnessed and validated. Hug them every time they come to you, validate the pain — and see what happens. Do they stay demons? Or are they soothed by being witnessed and validated at long last?
Repeat as necessary (if this shifts something)….
This works. Mine presents as nausea on my way to the job d/t my fearful thoughts of what could happen. I take deep breaths and send it to the belly and it’s been working. I do this with pain also and it is very effective. I remember a patient yelling out ” I can’t hold onto this pain anymore”. I stated ” why would you, let it go and breath”. She became quiet and more relaxed as I helped her remove her attention from the fear and the pain through her breath.
I have used mindfulness with clients to help them sit with their fears. I like the idea of sitting with the anxious feelings because most clients will do anything to try to avoid these feelings, which can be a vicious cycle.
Thank you this is so very useful! I often explore anxiety with clients by what I call “following the fear”. When a client expresses an anxiety, I ask, “then what happens”? We continue exploring what next, then what, etc. Often they can get to a place of seeing the experience they have of “the fear of the fear”, rather than something concrete in the world. It can be very helpful to verbalize all the various anxieties.
Very useful procedure to control and reduce anxiety/fear by combining anxious feelings with mindfulness and thus avoiding the ‘avoidance of fear’. This is simply ‘winning anxiety/fear’.
Do you believe this method could be used with anger, as well?
Just my 2 cents’ worth, Laura, about using this with anger. Just from what I know (personal experience and lots of reading and listening to the pros), I can see sitting with anger would work — any emotion, in fact. My thought, though, is that these feelings might need a “container”. Yes, we can feel them rise up in our bodies and listen to their wisdom (they usually have something to tell us), and sometimes that is enough.
But in case this opens up to more than we might have been expecting or anticipating, I think it’s important to have a “container” that makes it safe to do some processing — even if it’s just a journal or open document on the computer to write out what anger has to say, or a quiet space where we can feel free to feel our feelings. A container could include a certain amount of time we make available and then we move on. I think a container offers safe boundaries on whatever we might experience, and also a place to “put” whatever might arise, all to help with the processing.
Just my thoughts, hope you understand what I mean. Have you tried it with anger?
I tried this and it made me feel more anxious for days afterwards. Didn’t try it again, but did experiment with a variation that has been more helpful to me. No need to deliberately call up some anxiety, it will come on its own soon enough anyway. Definitely no need to keep the anxiety going longer by calling to mind the content of specific fears, which only seems to reinforce the fears. But when I do feel anxious, now I notice each of the physical sensations, then focus on breathing slowly. Then ask myself that, keeping in mind that my lifespan is limited, do I want to spend a large portion of it feeling upset about whatever triggered my anxiety, or about anything else. The answer is inevitably “no” and this creates a sort of permission to let go of whatever triggered the anxiety and instead and enjoy whatever there is to enjoy about the present.
Excellent suggestion.
much like pain, physical or emotional, our attempts to snuff out fear or anxiety, or ignore it or talk ourselves out of it tend, instead, to tangle us up with it more. I try to treat these uncomfortable emotions like I might treat a neighbor who comes too often or stays too long. we have to live together, so acknowledging each other is appropriate and greases the wheels of social comfort. it is in my best interest to attend to my neighbor at times, to “keep the peace”. Ignoring them will increase judgement and irritation. so it is with anxiety. ignoring it does not work. attending too closely to it, ties it to us, involves us with it. allowing fear and anxiety to come and go as they will, so to speak, frees us, not from ever feeling these feelings, but from being forever engaged in fighting them.
thanks for your insight Virginia – I completely agree…. I wonder if those who suggest these excercises have ever really felt the all consuming dread of trauma or traumatic reactivation ??? I’d hardly call it an old Pal…. anxiety is a value judgement that tries to describe a plethora of interpretations of whats happening…. focusing on THE SENSATION is a much more productive thing…. inviting a person who’s got ongoing terror and dysregulation to focus on their anxiety – I don’t think so…. how about focussing on the SENSATION… instead of the concept of anxiety…. ?
Wow here showcases the healing power of words! Fascination. Well written Virginia!!
I do a form of this with some clients. An additional component is this: I have the client observe themselves in their anxious state from a perspective above the anxious part of them. If it feels compatible with who they feel they are, at that time in their lives, I suggest they say to the anxious part, “Hm, he (or she) is doing anxiety now. What does she (or he) need from me to help move this along in a natural, organic way?” It is quite common to have the anxious part say, “I just want you to know that (something that is in need of their attention).” Then I have them show gratitude for the knowledge they have received from the anxious part. In many cases the anxiety evaporates or at the very least is reduced to manageable proportions. This intervention is contraindicated for those with a tendency to disassociate. Relatively high functioning clients, though, generally benefit.
I have a friend who has had “anxiety attacks” frequently. I have recently learned that this is true also of her sister, her mother and her maternal grandmother. I was surprised to learn that she has recently experienced temporal lobe seizures and that “anxiety” appears to be a part of the aura. I have a hunch that working with mindfulness and the vagus nerve could be helpful for her. Any ideas?
Thank you! So helpful for two very anxious students facing a new situation today. Placing them in their fear and walking through what to expect on their fieldtrip was so helpful! Gee, one couldn’t do both at the same time and soon was more interested in the fieldtrip:)
Thank you!
Is it possible that one can learn to do thid forthemselves with out a profrssional? My experience has been all about the need to “be seen” just as I am! When I sit with just myself, my inner critic shows up pretty fast and interrupts the whole process of greeting that fear or anxiety as a “friend”! It seems that some people really need the presence of another to witness or interrupt their dialouge, so they do not keep feeling hopeless to do this on their own.
Hi Ron
That’s similar to seeking out someone that bullies you and call them out. Brave or foolhardy?
Is it not better to avoid these situations and try and learn to deal with them if they return.
Joe
Why would you want to conjure up fear?
The patient is already experiencing anxiety, or at least stress
(name a person who is not under stress these days, except perhaps the Dalai Lama?)
that should be enough for your breathing exercise to prove its worth
and to persuade the patient to practice the breathing / mindfulness (same thing to me).
Can anyone talk about how this might relate to excessive flushing/blushing. SE work has helped the most, but if I welcome it and encourage it and try to ride it out, which is usually what will occur anyway, can’t escape a meeting, — it is severe, and invites not so nice comments. Is it that I welcome it when I’m alone (with visualization etc) and more of that might help it not be so severe in the actual setting?
Thanks for any input.
Hi Dr. Siegal,
I am a therapist and love all the new neuroscience and how it supports Buddhist Psychology. However, I have heard Dr. Hanson speak about how we are hardwired to noticing threats and tend to have a bias towards finding the negative side of life. However, then I wonder how millions of years of evolution could be so easily fooled by non-terminal threats. Then I thought “what if the existential threats are not the true source of dysregulation but a catalyst to our most basic fear of being alone or abandon. Commercialism seems to reek havoc on us by reinforcing the message that we need to be “this or that.” Social media spends a huge amount of energy creating inner and outer group distinctions based on acquired stuff. However, if you take Dr. David Burns fear fantasy exercise starting with a person’s existential threat and begin to look deeper the answer always goes back to being excluded or marginalized, which is not an existential threat. Tich Naht Hanh describes this as the primary human fear. So perhaps we are not biased towards noticing more negative, and the tripping our ANS from social engagement to mobilization/immobilization may be the result of being confused by cultural messages that exploit our innate need to be a part of a clan/group/team. Because when one can transcend these messages through enlightenment, the nervous system does not react. Our nervous system was designed to mobilize that resulted in resolution or death; either way, mobilization ceased. When dealing with existential threats, neither resolution (well perhaps perceptional resolution) or death occur, so mobilization continues. I guess the thought goes back to TNH description of looking far enough back in the chain of events to see this as a cultural problem that produces plenty of collateral damage. So maybe we are not becoming more sensitive to more threats more easily; instead, we are being bombarded with many messages (existential threats) that are trigging our one and only true fear of not being a part of a greater whole.
Brilliant and insightful, imo! Thank you so much for sharing this. I agree the messaging in our world is at least in part responsible for so many of our fears and anxieties being brought to the fore — usually for no good reason (other than to sell something!). And yet these fears and anxieties are innate, as you say, hard-wired, because we are social beings and wired for connection. So threatening “disconnect” is truly…horrible! I’m glad to be aware of this frame for what’s going on, so I can be mindful when I’m being manipulated this way and how that compares to the reality of the situation. 🙂
Good points, Scott. Thanks for your long but very thoughtful post.
I have clients I am working with on the phone or in person do a deep breathing exercise that involves visualization, and imagination. I call it “smell the roses and blow out the candles”. I will ask the client to sit comfortably, relaxing body, especially hands and feet, close eyes, picture favorite aromatic thing, whether flower, coffee, baked cookies, and smell deeply through nose, to a 3-5-7 count. After breathing in through nose, I encourage them with same closed eyes, to blow out with puckered mouth, like blowing out birthday candles, romantic candles, or any other thing, that they might smell and blow out slowly, bubbles have been suggested, and this to a 3-5-7 count as well. It has been amazingly effective, and people have asked for it on occasion.
Thanks for sharing. I will use this visual to help my clients.
Thank you for posting this, Katie. I felt myself relax just imagining myself inhaling a lovely fragrance and then pretending I was blowing soap bubbles with the out breath.
Thank you for this, Katie.
I like this exercise. Often I help my clients to “make friends” with whatever is in their way. We discuss how this friend (anxiety, depression, etc.) may have begun by being protective for some reason, which isn’t working now. Thanks for reminding me of the power of mindfulness.
If you can name your dragon you can ride it.
Love this.
At what expense, however.
Ridicule?
Judgment?
Tension
Drainage.
Doesn’t seem worth it.
Alone yes, a great exercise.
With others, not so much.
I have used this technique to rid myself of the intense wild panic attacks. I would just surrender and ride them like an amusement park ride and make it almost fun. Eventually they faded. I have become aware that anxiety has always been with me since even though it hadn’t manifested in intense panic attacks.after I had been able to move beyond my many coping strategies I found an underlying current of anxiety that is most often there now. When I am still or falling asleep it is most evident. It feels like I am plugged into an outlet. I have been going to the sensations for sometime. Staying with them. I can usually fall asleep now. It’s not gone but I am able to be with that energy for a longer while each time. I fidget and move to escape still but I am getting better.
For me it is most important to establish a daily routine whether Life is going smoothly or if anxiety, depression or fear tries to set in. I can combat it if I meditate, chant, do yoga or go walking, read some positive material or just sit in the silence and not fight it. I like to light candles and burn incense so this keeps me in the mood for meditation and relaxation. Play some soft or classical music is a great way to release stress.To immediately remove myself from negative people and situations detach and keep moving with this positive energy that is always available to me and not to react or allow anyone to dampen my spirit or steal my joy.
Bless them and move on with a smile on my face. “NO ONE OR NOTHING CAN DISTURB THE CALM PEACE OF MY SOUL”.
NAMASTE’
See for yourself how much more effective befriending what is unwanted is compared to avoiding or trying to get rid of what is unpleasant internally!
idea of Befriending ones ‘Anxiety and fears’
really blows their mind!!
it really works. Tapping also works on the same principle
Mindfulness….. what can you do or think when i feel paralyzed by depression and anxiety that has affected me that i am on disability for this condition. I feel as though I am being punished for my state of mind. I feel ashamed, broken hearted. I am a Registered Nurse that is not feeling safevin the present moment. I feel dread and shame. how do i climb out of this? I have struggled with depression and anxiety since I was a teenager. Now I am 39 years old and I dont see myself returning to a normal state of mind. I am surviving not living. The real me is smothered and cant breathe.
Tara
tjewls@icloud.com
i am surviving not living. i am shameful and feel punished for having mental illness. i am a registeredcnurse that loves to nurse. i am on disability because of mental illness. the negative stigma that i feel is there makes me not want to return. 20 years i have been in nursing. i cant get over the depression anxiety, and shame this time. it has beaten me.
I am so very sorry to read this, Tara (although I have no idea how long ago this was posted, hoping you are feeling better and getting the support and resources you need to get you through).
I have been surprised at how effective simply breathing deeply works to soothe the nervous system, long, slow, deep breaths. I know it seems simplistic, too easy — and yet this is foundational to our ability to function, just getting enough oxygen into our lungs, our bodies and our brains. Without this, we cannot function properly.
You always have your breathe with you — your best friend. And I do hope other supports are there for you, too.
This is a wonderful strategy. Anyone who lives with moderate to severe anxiety will use this to add quality to their lives. I liken it to “walking through” it, instead of away or around it. I practiced this during a very severe anxiety experience in my early thirties, and it has since helped me through the moderate to minor episodes I’ve had since. This paired with other therapies and mindful practices has helped me significantly.
I teach my clients this all the time. Only teach those practices that I personally know really works. My practice informs my intentions in sessions with clients. Compassion is foremost.
What I have learned is to separate the feeling from the thought which prompts anxiety. When thought brings anxiety, focus on the physical feeling. Stay with the physical feeling until the feeling subsides and disappears. That thought which prompted the feeling seems too have lost its grip!
Yes I have – I do lots of breathing routines as well as read through various scripts – for anxiety and depression….but I love helping people through breathing exercise and them gaining some equilibrium eventually, without the world coming to an end. I also use a lot of “just sit with it” the emotion and tell me what it is like, where it might be and say HI to that feeling…rather than avoid it like an annoying friend/neighbour. I really enjoy mindfulness work…
Thank you–I’ll try it.
Mike
Interesting. You’ve just described an exposure therapy exercise, one very similar to what we do in OUR clinical psychology practice. Specifically an early interoceptive exposure for anxiety or panic attacks that we use when introducing a patient to the concepts and demonstrating how habituation works before moving on to more challenging anxiety or panic. We start by bringing attention to the scary sensations instead of trying to avoid them, escape them or push them away. We help the patient get the anxiety up enough to activate the fear network (about 3 to 5 on a 0 to 10 scale). This can be done by eliciting scary thoughts or images (which is typical in other forms of exposure), although in interoceptive exposure we usually use some form of physiological activation (e.g., breathing through a straw, rolling head, spinning). “Once you’ve got some anxiety going, just breathe, and feel it. Notice how it feels throughout the body.” We’ve even been using the concept of treating anxiety as a friend (which we describe as one who’s intent is to point out potential dangers but has become a bit overly sensitive, loud, and insistent about it and needs to learn that you WILL listen, not try to ignore or push it away). And if the anxiety starts to fade (which we predict that it will do due to habituation), add stimuli (e.g., scary thoughts, images or sensations) to keep the anxiety in the 3 to 5 range for a while, long enough to learn from experience that habituation is occurring and don’t discontinue until the anxiety has reduced more than 50% (so the patient experiences MORE reduction from engaging rather than from escaping). Since our first two-day workshop with Steven Hayes about the development and practice of ACT, my wife and I have considered exposure and mindfulness to be compatible and complementary approaches to the treatment of anxiety and we have incorporated many ACT techniques and concepts into our exposure trials. You might be surprised how close what you describe is to what we have been doing for many years in our clinical practice. You’ve given me a few additional ideas on ways of incorporating both. Thank you.
Excellent indeed.
Does this approach go for trauma as well?
i often think wehen these practices work.yes but I’m anxious still the initial fight or flight jumpy or panic attacking symtoms may have gone but I’m still ill and wrong I’m just not in a state.so how has it helped?is it just calming me until the next panic. then breathing makes them go,but are they gone?or is mindful enough way to cover get rid when there still there I’m just breathing.
I dedicate my days to mindfulness now because its literally been my saviour. but I find it hard thinking I’m still failing because I’m putting another avoidance with the mindful itself. by calming down I’m faking it as I must have been nervous over something must I to be panicked?im so confused
There may be a subconscious thought giving rise to your fear But do you need to be anxious about not knowing what it is? Keep noticing ‘what is’ in the here and now (mindfulness) and the source of your anxiety will arise when and if it needs to. When it is perfectly ready.
Be alert. Breathe. Listen. Watch. Put your pick axe away. That is simply your mind wanting to be ìn change. You need not go digging for the source.
Hi Kate,
I also thought mindfulness was wonderful, but frustrating as I still was experiencing anxiety on a daily basis.
I had bigger issues related to traumatic events. I found what really really really worked for me was EMDR. Once I resolve some of my old traumatic memories I found that my anxiety eased by an enormous amount.
Hi Kate,
I struggled with anxiety, depression and panic for years when younger, so I know how bad it can feel. After years of therapy, including EMDR and mindfulness, I now know why I felt that way and am much better. Having kind, supportive therapists, along with my own research and knowledge have been key to my recovery. I encourage others who are suffering anxiety and panic to become as knowledgeable as possible so that they can identify what kind of help/therapist is likely to be supportive of their healing.
Several sources of information (that I discovered by watching nicabm webinars and then reading the books written by the professionals who spoke during the webinars) have been especially helpful:
Bessel van der Kolk’s “The Body Keeps the Score,” Pat Ogden’s “Sensorimotor Psychotherapy–Interventions for Trauma and Attachment” (designed to be used by therapist and client; it has worksheets in it), “Prisoners of the Past–Memory, Trauma, and Recovery” which is Chapter 8 in the book “Mindsight” by Daniel Siegel (I highly recommend reading this.)
There’s one other book whose authors I have not seen featured in nicabm webinars: “Unlocking the Emotional Brain–Eliminating Symptoms at Their Roots Using Memory Reconsolidation” by Ecker, Ticic and Hulley, especially the “I’m in memory” practice on p. 117 of that book. They describe it as “…a specialized form of mindfulness applied for bringing implicit memory into explicit awareness.” I have been doing this practice (without calling it such) all during my recovery while processing and integrating traumatic memories. I cannot recommend this book highly enough for both practitioners and clients. It is incredibly encouraging heartening to know there are very good reasons for feeling as I have felt–and that anyone who had experienced what I experienced would react as I did.
Also the practice that Ron Siegel shares (above) is excellent for calming those parts of me that are feeling fear for no known current reason
Recovering from trauma is not easy, but it is possible, and it’s worth the effort! Know that there are many others who are on similar healing journeys and you are not alone.
Wendy
Wendy,
Yes, these books are very helpful and your determination and willingness to explore are an inspiration to utilize these well thought through practices. I’m glad you are able to make use of them.
I’ve used Odgen’s work for a long time and find it helpful. Thank you.
How dose that work with people who have experienced much trauma …..to accelerate the anxiety could unleash deep unresolved issues that can then cascade later….an experience I myself faced and no help to unpack it, it was hellish. I would not like to do that to another. Could you say something about this please…
,
While I appreciate the positive effects of mindfulness, I would also like more discussion of the possible adverse effects. There have been a number of research studies (including Farias and Wikholm’s The Buddha Pill) which have explored adverse effects such as dissociation and paranoia.
As a therapist, I would like to see more research and best practice guidelines on how to support clients in keeping themselves safe.
Hi Wholistic therapist,
I really really really found EMDR helped me with traumatic memories. I recommend you see if you can find someone who can use it with you.
All the best,
Theresa
I was delighted that my anxiety decreased through the practice of mindfulness. But I then began to notice very subtle feelings of disappointment that it hadn’t decreased totally! I felt resigned (another feeling) to the anxiety. I am now practicing a more open attitude towards my inner experience which, at times, takes courage and determination.
I had to laugh out loud when I read this. I had been living in dsitsaer mode for most of the past 20 years!! I have to say tho, that it really helped me overcome many difficulties. What’s the worst that could happen never happened and when I thought it had, it really was not the end.
i remember running into ondrea levine during a break in the seminar, the look in her eyes dissolved all my self hatred and anxiety. i think we are all in our own way trying to feel that comfort and peace. for me remembering loving moments helps when the heavy stuff comes knockin on our door.
I’m working with a new client who suffers near debilitating anxiety as she prepares to go to a compete in events at horse shows. She’s a very talented competitor, but her anxiety is almost causing her to drop something she claims to enjoy and hopefully pursue as a career. I have helped her become aware of her anxiety and to address it through CBT, but the introduction of mindfulness should help her even more. Thanks
fear of me as a trusted adult when his first trusted adults abused each other and him caused anxiety explosions when he came to therapy. simple breathing & visual imagery helped, but I think this sort of extinction-promoting exercise may work better. thank you.
When working on the body. I have asked clients to stay in the moment of where their pain is.Telling them to go with it, and let their mind wonder. See where it takes them, and allow a mindfulness to emerge.
And there is a stillness that can take them anywhere.
The approach reminds me of Peter Levine’s work. A bottom-up approach makes sense in working with trauma. Thank you for another strategy shared!
Thank you for this. I find that struggling against these uncomfortable feelings is what really keeps them around–chronically–and that accepting/making room for such feels relieving.
There is something iffy to me about all religious tenets- I call these *patriarchal quieting*. Some elements of Mindfulness tend to justify ACCEPTING INJUSTICES because they have always been…therefore it’s assumed, will always be…such pat acceptance of aggression and dominance. I truly struggle to ever try to make that NICE….down amygdalae!…hush you bad hippocampus!
Elena- Maybe it’s my language background, but I tend to parse the mindfulness a bit differently. One accepts that the injustice HAPPENED, that Injustice, as an amorphous abstraction, WILL happen, will always BE. One person’s justice might be another’s injustice – all in the perspective. Nothing gendered, patriarchal, domineering at all. My follow-up to my clients is: that was then, this is NOW. You are not responsible for what happened, but how you respond.
I think you point out the problem of treating people without enough background and traing in Mindfull techniques. There are some very wrong interprataions of what meditation is, and it can take years of study to develop an understanding of practice vs. culture. Your coment is not unlke blaming Christianity for the sexual abuse of children by some Catholic Priests.
Working with a Vietnam Veteran with PTSD. He describes his anxiety as overwhelming and finds its existence throughout his body. it is actually physical sensations running throughout his whole body as if receiving a drug. fear and scared feelings are strong. Becomes so overwhelming that he will take his medication to slow it down. Hard to think, declarative memory impaired. The feeling is as it is happening now something is actually happening now. Not related to anything outside. Yet, demands or having to perform his job can set off panic attacks. Some suicidal rumination when things go on too long. Feels like crying and breath is often like he is crying…like sobs.
Any ideas?
Bob, the neurophysiology of trauma is running the show for the gentleman you write about. The very uncomfortable and intolerable symptoms he describes ARE happening now; on the inside, in his body. Directing his attention toward something he can identify as pleasant or slightly pleasurable or “less bad” will help his system settle a bit. Then you can invite and direct him to notice the sensation experience of “slightly better”. In other words, help him learn to notice and track something that feels good or better, rather than the badness of anxiety. Asking him to attend to the sensation and experience of the anxiety will only increase it. Hope you find this helpful. It’s the Somatic Experiencing approach. Feel free to email me if you want to continue the conversation.
Janice
With your diet, I would have the same problems. You are eitang refined carbohydrates and dairy and sugar which your body is starving for brain food and your adrenal glands are exhausted. Your brain burns more protein in one hour of concentration as a body working out lifting weights at the same amount of time.Adrenal exhaustion symptoms:Anxiety, panic attacks, sleep disorders, ADD/ADHD, etc.Lack of protein symptoms are:Vertigo, lack of focus, lack of concentration, dizziness, etc.Please, eat whole chopped salads, include a minimum of 6 to 7 different colored raw vegetables and eat small meals about 7 times a day with sliced whole turkey, chicken or fish.The portions can be small, but must be healthy Not empty calories that your brain and body cannot draw from.No fried foods, no packaged man made foods.No refined sugar or artificial sweeteners.Absolutely No dairy!Eat right long enough and your mental disorders will be gone. Takes about 4 months to get your brain back in balance. (life of a red blood cell is 4 months).
Dex, I very much agree with the connection between diet and mental wellness. However, I think that a slice of turkey is no longer a slice of turkey, and it’s becoming harder and harder for us to find real food. Just because food is not packaged does not mean, today, that it is real food. A lot of food is grown in sludge and sprayed with fungicides to “protect” it as it travels to us. Mindfulness will not fix or overcome these problems. We are beginning to acknowledge the connection between the environment and physical problems, but the connection between the environment and emotional issues is seldom mentioned. Thank you for raising the issue of food here.
I’d suggest TRE. PTSD trapped in the deep muscles like the psoas. TRE allows to release trauma gently as a bottom-up technique.
See more at: http://www.traumaprevention.com
I totally agree with you,i Adi. TRE is designed for that very situation. It works beautifully for PTSD, and serious traumas as well as day to day stress. I would love Ruth to interview David Bercelli, who came up with TRE years ago. He might be hard to convince to participate in a talk show… He is so very busy travelling all over the world to war-torn areas or physical disaster areas, teaching people how to release trauma. He is an amazing human being, full of light, big heart. He usually prefers to help people release their disabling traumas than talking about the process he invented!
I just did today for a client who needs to attend a family wedding and this is the first family event she has attended in 2 years due to family dysfunction.
It’s a wedding for her niece and she is one family member that she has a good connection to. So I was preparing her to focus on her niece during the event. Stay close to her. Look at her beautiful dress. Listen for her voice. See if she’s wearing perfume … notice anything you can and stay focused on the pleasant moments you are experiencing as you connect with your niece.
I’m also helping her prepare one line statements to other family members to keep her anxiety down about questions they may ask. Also, she is wearing a new necklace that has spiritual meaning to her so I am encouraging her to hold her necklace between her fingers and feel the grooves of the pieces.
Thank you for this! I have started on my own joeunry of awakening and hadvery good guides. So much has opened up to me consciously but the thingI really struggle with is fear & anxiety!! I have a job that requires attention toDetail and the work is always being scrutinized by others in order to be com
Thank you for this insight from Ron Siegel. Yes, in my experience the fear of anxiety can be profoundly disabling … I recognize in my own life how I became entrapped by habitual behaviors I developed in a desperate attempt to avoid feeling anxious or fearful. Addressing and resolving the original source(s) of anxiety or fear can be extremely difficult when the first sign of anxiety short-circuits the brain straight into avoidant behavior/responses.
It has taken a long time (years!) of commitment to a mindfulness practice to get to the state where I’m now able to sit with feelings and sensations of anxiety without automatically turning to my avoidant strategies. Mindfulness can be tremendously valuable in developing a tolerance for feeling anxious or fearful, which seems to me to be an important precursor to treatment of these emotional states.
I am reminded of the words of Franklin D Roosevelt “we have nothing to fear but fear itself”.
Glad it works for you, too! Definitely reduces strses to imagine the worst case and then, over time, realize that it was never worth worrying about. It changes your paradigm.thanks for your comment, Lisa!
Thank you for this very helpful exercise.
Thank you for this information and exercise, it is really helpful in working with children who have anxiety issues.
This is really uitiflpng *sigh* I dont like that I have this problem and I try to keep things in perspective because I know the world doesn’t revovle around myself but at times I just get the feeling that everyone is looking at me and judging me for my every mistake, it makes it hard to even interact with people without being even in the least anxious. This is uitiflpng though and I will def turn my problems to the Lord because at this point he is the only one that can help me. Thanks for the post and your helping people like us by just talking about your situations and giving us all courage.
That was really helpful. Thank you!
Mar Twain was highly successful, well-loved and connected, and financially just fine. He was also a humorist, and I don’t think his quote should be applied to most people with anxiety issues, who are generally also in some difficult circumstances with which they haven’t the means to deal effectively. Encouraging people to feel anxious in order to try an exercise strikes me as abuse. It would be far more effective to work together to address specific problems; not only does this help address the problems, but it creates a feeling of shared engagement, and lessens feeling alone with it. This is calming. So is finding a way of deep breathing that works to trigger increased parasympathetic response. For me it seems to be all about inflating the whole lung, especially the last top of the lung that kicks this on for me. The idea of “greeting as a friend” should be understood and shared for what it is: adding a new emotion to the emotion which changes it. Understanding this, someone else might find adding humor, or talking kindly to oneself, etc. might work for them. Stress kills, and lots of people are seriously stressed. I wouldn’t even want to discuss feelings about the situation of difficulty, as much as dive right into “what can we do to change one (or more) of the situations causing this anxiety?” That’s my take.
Thank you. The neg emotions feel so disquieting that it takes time to simply allow them and trust in their passing and wisdom. I love and I use listening, mindfulness, allowing, acceptance and following. This sounds easy, but not so, although well worth the journey-
Sometimes movement before meditation to get the overt physical “fuzz” out of the system. It could be yoga or tai chi or just walking or running or biking or lifting weights or sport. This not done in a counseling session but as a tool for in the world living. Thank you.
Hi dear,
Your lesson is very important and interesting.
All I have to say is this: I use to meditate and to pray every morning before doing everything.while I meditate in the morning I have few sensation.But I try to find solution of fear and anxiety.Sometimes people come to visit me and ask me several questions about their difficulties and all I do is to advice them and to invite them to take their life with faith and philosophy.
I always think about the future and I try to organize myself and to set a plan for realizations.
I shorten my words and I hope you’ll assist me and guide me until success.
Thank you so much and good continuation!
Michel S. Tine
Yesterday I only ate a slice of wheat cinnamon bread, some chips and queso, Sun Chips, and a fpunpaciro.Today I’ve only eaten two slices of wheat cinnamon bread, a little ice cream, and a glass of water.When my body tells me I’m hungry, I eat something but get full really quickly. I also have an Adjustment Disorder. It is a combination of depression and anxiety. I have a hard time dealing with stress and I get anxious really easily. I just talked to my therapist on the phone and she says that I am more depressed than she initially thought (I haven’t told her about the not eating yet). So I have an appointment to see a doctor who will determine if antidepressants are right for me.Sooo . is it normal to not eat when your stressed out or anxious? Should I be concerned? Has this ever happened to you?Thanks in advance!
I personally have to be very careful with mindfulness meditation. Having fibromyalgia and being in constant severe pain keeps me in a default flight-or-fight state. I used to be able to meditate more easily, but very often now, putting more attention on my body makes both the physical pain and emotional overload escalate. Sometimes distraction works better, until I’m calm enough to think about meditation/EFT etc. A lot of the time, my attempts to make things better tend to backfire and I end up more stressed than before.
I was doing mindfulness with clients long before I knew that’s what it was…you have to accept where you are to know how you want to change…. thanks for this!
Hi Leona,I have been reading your blog for a few mtnhos, and recently I have started my own too! Thanks for the movie review, I wanted to watch it too that’s why I only read the head and tail of your article.I have written a review (sort of) on a movie called 3 idiots last week. It is a really good Indian movie. I think you may like it too. Feel free to go to my blog and leave any comments :)盧俊
I find that this is very similar to what Focusing does. Focusing teaches people to be kind, gentle and accepting towards any feeling and felt-senses. It’s difficult to do this with our unpleasant feelings. We try desperately to make them go away. If we acknowledge them and keep them company for some time they go on their own. And . . . most important, as they change they point to a direction of wellness or solution.
Thanks for reminding that this is an ancient wisdom.
This is excellent. I use mindfulness with clients, which works well, but some people do not get how to do it, so I like the idea of doing it in the room, and using it while the session is in flow, and returning to it throughout the session to check out its efficacy.
Love you! So sorry you’re dealing with this, but I apapceirte your transparency with it so others know they’re not alone. And yeah, everyone has their battles and they’re not always, or maybe not even often, visible. Be kind to everyone you meet, for they may be fighting a great battle , one of my favorite quotes (although I probably messed it up a little).Praying for you friend! Xoxo
Thankyou for this article. It seems I have had anxiety when I awake
For about 3 years. I have OCD,yet I never had the daily anxiety for such a consistent time.
I am in therapy and ERP therapy yet I only recently started and it’s
Taking some time to see results. Just reading
The simple exercise helped. I am a caregiver
For my Mom and that is making me more anxious .
Thankyou again and keep the info coming.
Liti DeManr
Very helpful reminder for our clients and ourselves
Thanks to Phil Warren for the website. Interesting & informative.
Sounds like like a parts therapy approach (IFS) to me. Sometimes “ego strength” (Self) strengthens when one steps back to look at and welcome the part (fear).
I agree with the commments that there need to be enough ego strength to manage the fear when anxiety rises up.
Maybe, I would start with breathing and relaxation exercises, then go on to the desensitization component very gradually.
‘
Tension is normal and ocurcs when there’s something uncomfortable like an argument. Stress is usually in preparation for something like an exam, and is also normal. Anxiety is literally fear of something, an ocurcs in many forms anxiety severe enough to cause a panic attack is abnormal and serious, anxiety because you’re nervous about a plane ride is normal. Depression is a long-standing feeling of sadness, worthlessness, guilt, hopelessness, lethargy, coupled with appetite and sleep changes and sometimes thoughts of and attempts at suicide. Mania is the opposite of depression it’s a state of hyper-arousal: a person with mania (not usually called a maniac but whatever) has extreme energy, a decreased need for sleep, hypersexuality, participates in reckless behaviors, talks faster than usual, and has racing thoughts. Sometimes they are grandiose ( I’m better than everyone or as extreme as I am Jesus Christ ) and have other delusions (such as paranoid) along with hallucinations. Depression can be normal in certain circumstances if only lasting for a short period of time; mania is never normal.
When there is Hx of abuse, repression, nor secure Attachment, esp PTSD, & current manipulation in the field…more awareness of anxiety without coping & titration & careful mindfulness on the therapist’s part…can lead to rage, overwhelm, de-function…until more skills are learned, more bedrock is integrated…don’t try this at home
These seem to me to be important points. Many patients would need their fundamental feelings of safety built up before doing this. Also, anxiety can be a screen or distraction for other difficult emotions and this also needs to be dealt with carefully. I speak as a sufferer rather than a therapist.
I agree. But I wonder if Ruth could address this point so we can know when we are ready or atleast have other tools to use if we are not ready. I am in SE counseling but they are monthly or twice monthly. Need more HW.
ksereis oti perigrafeis nlneleioa xoriati, ki as zei se poli..ksereis oti sigkroueis dyo sigxrona myala, to diko sou me to diko tou..ksereis oti i giagia sou i i giagia mou sto xorio de tha xe kanenan endoiasmo na skotosei opoiodipote zwo ekrine oti eprepe na thanatothei, gia katanalosi h timoria…ksereis oti o politismos pou exeis mesa sou den einai ktima tis ipaithrou, ki eidika tis dikis mas..ksereis oti ekei ta zwa einai zwa, poli kato apo tous “anthropous”…ksereis oti ta paidia ki eidika ta agorakia panta skotonan kai vasanizan entoma kai mikra zoakia, ki oti ayta poy anafereis den eksellixthikan pote…episis ksereis oti se ligo kapoioi tha aggiksoume ton yper-politismo…alla sto dilono kai valto kala sto mialo soy: ego vegeterian de ginomai
Great information and an encouragement for using mindful skills.
I would also recommend therapists combine a mindfulness approach with those in the field of energy/information psychotherapy. Fred Gallo has done this. See the link below for more information.
Cheers, Phil
epccanada.ca/mindfulness-energy-psychology-michelangelo-principle/#arvlbdata
I work my students on “Brain Breaks” when they begin to feel stress, anxiety, or fear of failure. We work on breath work, yoga poses, and GoNoodle now has a Mindfulness component.
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