This technique involves mentally scanning the body, inch by inch, making us more attuned to what’s being experienced physically. Within this newfound perspective, we’re able to gradually change our relationship with anxiety, differentiating between what is an irrational episode and what’s true.Īnother benefit of this skill is learning body awareness, which teaches us to bring our attention to any physical sensations felt in the moment. In doing so, we learn 2 important things: thoughts do not define us, and thoughts are not real. We learn to see them, sit with them, and let them go. Through meditation, we familiarize ourselves with anxiety-inducing thoughts and storylines. But research shows that a consistent meditation practice reprograms neural pathways in the brain and, therefore, improves our ability to regulate emotions. In knowing its erratic nature, we can obtain a better sense of triggering situations and how our anxiety operates - and that’s where meditation comes in.Īnxiety is a cognitive state connected to an inability to regulate emotions. Understanding anxiety is the first step in managing it. Stress is a heightened emotional state that dissipates once a stressful situation is over whereas GAD is a diagnosable condition that tends to persist for long periods.Īnxiety that becomes a disorder is characterized by a “persistent and excessive worry” where individuals can lose rational perspective and “expect the worst even when there is no apparent reason for concern,” according to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America. Stress can, of course, induce anxiety, and there’s an overlap between the 2 in terms of the physiological reactions. Anxiety on this scale can be all-consuming, debilitating, and distressing.
That’s anxiousness.īut anxiousness becomes generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) when the fear or worry doesn’t abate, escalating into a sense of impending doom, constant ruminating, catastrophizing, and, in some cases, panic. Our adrenal glands start flaring whenever we’re in a dangerous situation or potential conflict, activating the “fight or flight” mechanism, or when we’re a bag of nerves ahead of delivering a speech, a must-win sports game, or walking down the aisle, for example. Then, through meditation, we learn to recognize the triggering thoughts and can work to find different ways around these mental patternsįeelings of anxiousness versus an anxiety disorder Understanding anxiety is the first step in managing it
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