Mental Health Month: Mindfulness And Anxiety
Hello community-I do hope you all are hanging in there and are being safe. Today is a great topic Anxiety. Some degree of fear and anxiety is inevitable in life right? 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 each other better manage fear and anxiety when they come up? We are having a small discussion as well. Please do answer as you feel comfie-support each others sharing. Hugs
1. Before we jump into our discussion lets define what anxiety means. As we all know anxiety can mean many different things to each other. Explain what it means for you.
2. We all know dealing with the symptoms of anxiety can lead into fear. What are some symptoms you deal with?
3. Anxiety can prevent us from doing many things in our daily lives. Can you share some things that anxiety prevents you from doing?
4. Mindfulness is being in the present moment,not fearing,but focusing on you and how your body is doing. How do you think Mindfulness can help you with anxiety?
5. Is there any thing you like to share on how you deal with anxiety? Or share anything related to thi topic?
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@RumpleSteeleSkin
1. Before we jump into our discussion lets define what anxiety means. As we all know anxiety can mean many different things to each other. Explain what it means for you.
Anxiety for me just means worrying a lot and being nervous about something. It can be mild and can also be high-functioning. It's different for each person.
2. We all know dealing with the symptoms of anxiety can lead to fear. What are some symptoms you deal with?
Honestly, I'm not 100% sure if I have anxiety or not but I usually have migraines and I can't fall asleep easily.
3. Anxiety can prevent us from doing many things in our daily lives. Can you share some things that anxiety prevents you from doing?
Not comfortable answering this question :)
4. Mindfulness is being in the present moment, not fearing, but focusing on you and how your body is doing. How do you think Mindfulness can help you with anxiety?
Yeah definitely. I just have an issue with being consistent with it.
5. Is there anything you like to share on how you deal with anxiety? Or share anything related to this topic?
Hmmm no not really but writing down how I feel, talking about it to someone or talking about it out loud to myself/doing a voice recording of it usually helps me feel a bit better :D
@LexIris good to see you here and participating in this discussion. Yes anxiety is different in every person but for you it has you worrying and being nervous. Still it sounds very tough to deal with. Trying to place in a certain time of each day can be challenging. But it can happen. For now if you do it 3 times a week you are doing a good job!Writing things down, talking to self or someone else is all great things to do dealing with anxiety. Thank you again for sharing
1. Before we jump into our discussion lets define what anxiety means. As we all know anxiety can mean many different things to each other. Explain what it means for you. - It means worring about something that is out of your control, perhaps what others think of you or about the future.
2. We all know dealing with the symptoms of anxiety can lead into fear. What are some symptoms you deal with? - I deal with chest pain, my head screaming, shaking, sometimes I get dizzy.
3. Anxiety can prevent us from doing many things in our daily lives. Can you share some things that anxiety prevents you from doing? - A big one for me has been making phone calls or making apps. that I know I need to make.
4. Mindfulness is being in the present moment,not fearing,but focusing on you and how your body is doing. How do you think Mindfulness can help you with anxiety? - It puts us in the present moment, it's a way to ground and tell yourself that it's okay.
5. Is there any thing you like to share on how you deal with anxiety? Or share anything related to thi topic? - It sounds cruel but something that helped me was to just do it and challenge those thoughts. But a safer thing might be to write or talk to a friend.
@Goldcherry2113
Nice to have you join our discussion! Yes good answer here anxiety is worrying on things we have no control over. Oh dear those all sound scary and hard to deal with. hugsMaking phone calls and doing those apps do sound important to you and anxiety gets in the way. I am sorry to hear this. Yes it has us in the moment and also grounds us to feel safe enough to tell ourselves it will be ok. It is not cruel if you feel just doing it and challenge the thoughts is right for you. Many folks do this approach. Also writing and talking to people also helps a lot. Thank you for sharing
@RumpleSteeleSkin
1.
Anxiety is like a prison which causes us to worry and think about things that may not even happen (overthinking, a lot of what if questions).
2.
Worrying, loneliness, overthinking, what if questions, stressing, i also peel off the skin next to my nails :((
3.
Sleeping, doing activities that i love, being with friends and family
4.
I am not sure but it might help to relax
@Emlearns good to see you hereYes it is true- anxiety has us worry on extra things even if they did not happen. I am sorry that you deal with this. Those are all coping skills in a negative way that you learned to cope with anxiety. I do hope you can find some things to replace these and you feel better! Yes gaining more sleep if needed activities and being around family and friends all sound like good distractions. Mindfulness yes can help you relax. It can also teach you some distractions if you do them over and over. Eventually your brain and body will automatically be doing these and you do not notice. Thank you for sharing with us
@RumpleSteeleSkin
Hello!
To me, anxiety is more than just being nervous about an upcoming event or change. It's more intense, like a constant feeling of an impending doom that you may or may not be aware of. It's like always being on the edge of your seat, sometimes not even knowing why. It's more of a seemingly never-ending state of worry.
I think that my anxiety is pretty mild. However, the symptoms I do struggle with on my bad days are irritability, anxiousness, racing or unwanted thoughts, sweating, and insomnia.
I try not to let my anxiety stop me from doing too much, because I know that's how I could miss out on what could be the greatest thing to ever happen to me. Although, in the past, it has prevented me from standing up for myself, recognizing toxic relationships I was in, constantly doubting myself, and never making a lot of friends, which is why I am trying to be more in control of it now and stepping out of my comfort zone.
I believe mindfulness can help me with anxiety by guiding me to focus on the present and what I can control. I have no power in what the future may bring, just like how I couldn't control what has happened in the past, such as the Coronavirus, for example. Minfulness can teach me that it's okay to feel things, but worrying about the unknown doesn't do anything besides taking away my opportunity to be happy right now.
Honestly, being on 7 Cups for the past couple of weeks has really helped me become more aware of this concept of mindfulness, as well as talking to such wonderful listeners to really make an impact on reducing my anxiety, so I think reaching out and talking to someone you trust really helps. However, this may seem odd, but if talking to others doesn't really do much, I sometimes like to talk to myself as if I were having a conversation with someone else going through what I am currently feeling. It may seem silly, but I honestly believe that talking out loud about what's going on in your head (weather it's to a supernatural being or just out loud by yourself) can help you hear and better understand yourself, so you can gain more mindfulness as to how you feel, calm yourself down, take action, create a plan, motivate and reassure yourself, or reach out accordingly.
Hope everyone is doing well and have a great week! :)
@honeypie720
I just wanted to say that the talking to yourself tactic makes perfect sense to me and doesn't sound silly at all! In fact I was doing it this morning in front of the mirror (got a bit tearful too, but I felt a lot better afterwards).
It sounds quite similar to journalling, which can also be really helpful. Talking out loud as though you were talking to a friend sounds a bit like this Self-compassion practice where you tell an imagined compassionate person what's going on with you and imagine the compassionate look on their face and the sound of their voice as they sympathise with you. It can be difficult - I find compassionate journalling easier - but if you're interested in a better explanation of this than the one I've just given (!) , check out Paul Gilbert's book The Compassionate Mind or YouTube videos about compassion based therapy.
@Rosa9570
Thanks! Yes, I do tend to journal and write as well if I am feeling overwhelmed. Although sometimes I just need to talk and let things out in the open to relieve some tension and anxiousness. Personally, I sometimes just sit in my room or somewhere private to just let out everything as if someone was there to just listen. I also try to reassure myself and peptalk myself as well to just speak things into existance so they stick more and become easier to believe. I think your self-compassion tip sounds really helpful too, and I will definitely check it out! :)
@honeypie720
Wow, wow, wow Honeypie, I could not have said it better myself, about myself. Anxiety seems to start with the worried thoughts in my head. A place I have spent too much time at, worry, worry, worry. Mostly I would worry about finances, or my son, and then the what if's, the unknowns etc. I becme a chronic worrier....oh no...that worry would often lead to me self medicate with too much, way to much wine, just to shut my worried mind off. Or isolate, which I am very good at too, sad to say. But, I'm sorking on it. If my normal state of worry was complied with additional worry, like covid for example it could, it would , send me over the edge, into full blown panic. The worry, the physical feeling of anxiety, which showed it self in many ways.... it's like that fight or flight response gets stuck, and all wrapped up in a nervous tightly wound ball. I hate even thinking about it. ...so I will go breathe now and use my mindfullness to find my peaceful place. Thanks!!
@optimisticRaspberries5247
I know anxiety can be such a huge struggle to deal with, and with the addition of everything going on in the world lately, especially with this pandemic, I understand how it can be unbearable. I'm glad you're on this site though, I hope that reaching out to others and talking about your worries provided some relief for you! Just know you are never alone, and there are so many caring people here to listen and even relate to your worries! I truly believe that practicing mindfulness, and also indulging in healthy and creative activities that take your mind off the things you can't control can help you find some peace. Isolating yourself can be nice sometimes, but please try to reach out whenever you feel overwhelmed! There are so many resources out there, and I believe 7 Cups is definitely one of them! I honestly wish you the best and hope you feel better soon! 💕
@honeypie720
Honeypie,
Thank you so much!! Yes, 7cups has been a wonderful support for me, excellent!!. I am feeling much better now, and doing things that I can control. Things that bring me some joy and peace. Breathing and mindfullness have been wonderful too. Thank you so much and I appreciate your support. Be safe and well!!