Mindfulness for anxiety
As I write, we’re at the end of the first week of term 2, which has meant home learning for the majority of kids in Brisbane, including my two primary aged kids. I confess I was a little anxious about how this would go! It’s a bit of a juggle trying to keep them both going with their work (and snacks! Home tuck shop is a thing, apparently). But it actually turned out to be a lovely week, with my grade 1 doing lots of activities about bears, including making himself a cosy den to curl up and read.
Setting up this quiet and cosy spot was actually one of his set activities for the first day, and continued as a theme across the week, using the quiet space as a place to spend time reading and reflecting, with the suggestions of also using it to learn and practice some mindfulness. I’m so pleased that schools are recognising and recommending mindfulness; it’s long been something I discuss with clients as a way of dealing with anxiety and has been found to be very beneficial for children and young people. For example, the British Psychological Society has published a number of articles on the use of mindfulness in schools, including a literature review by Louisa Reynolds in March last year, which found that of 13 studies reviewed, 12 showed that mindfulness-based interventions decreased anxiety levels for children and young people.
And looking to mindfulness as a way to reduce stress and anxiety is very timely right now, with lots of people finding it difficult to navigate the myriad changes caused by Covid-19. Many people are noticing signs of anxiety or stress in themselves during isolation, and looking for ways to calm the anxiety, including through mindfulness.
WHAT IS MINDFULNESS?
The definition I found for my kids, from Kidshealth.org, describes mindfulness as ‘…paying full attention to something. It means slowing down to really notice what you're doing. Being mindful is the opposite of rushing or multitasking. When you're mindful, you're taking your time. You're focusing in a relaxed, easy way.’
For example, if your child is busy creating something with blocks, clay or paint, they are focused only on that task, noticing any patterns they make with the different colours and shapes, noticing what happens when they try different pieces, or techniques, not being so much focused on the end result of how their creation turns out, but rather simply enjoying the time spent making it.
The definition for grown-ups is pretty similar. Jon Kabat-Zinn, who pioneered applying mindfulness techniques to stress reduction, describes mindfulness as ‘awareness that arises through paying attention, on purpose, in the present moment, non-judgementally’. The ‘non-judgementally’ part of the definition is important; it means letting of the automatic judgements that come up with each thought and experience, including letting go of the idea that you’re ‘doing it wrong’ when thoughts pop into your head while you are practising mindfulness or meditating. Acknowledge the thought, then let it go. It’s natural to have thoughts pop in there; and impossible to totally ‘clear your mind’.
DOES MINDFULNESS HELP WITH ANXIETY?
Practising mindfulness has been associated with many beneficial outcomes, including reduced anxiety. A study published last year by Australian researchers Gordon Spence and Michael Cavanagh, on the impact of three forms of mindfulness training on mindfulness, wellbeing and goal attainment, found that, among other things, “mindfulness procedures can also ameliorate depression and anxiety, increase wellbeing, and support wellbeing and goal attainment”.
HOW DO I USE MINDFULNESS OR MEDITATION FOR ANXIETY?
Mindfulness can help to keep your mind where your body is and is particularly helpful during anxiety to help calm the multitude of thoughts. While you can be mindful through focusing during everyday activities (more below) for many people an App is the best way to get started. I mostly hop between the “Plum Village” App and one simply called “Mindfulness”. There are lots available and it generally comes down to finding a voice that appeals to you. I’d suggest trying 15-20 minutes daily and remember, there is no expectation that you will ‘clear your mind’, rather it’s about acknowledging that thoughts pop up, then refocusing.
This 5-4-3-2-1 strategy is a mindfulness exercise which is great to practice, and then use if you feel anxiety creeping up, or when you just have a few minutes, and want to ground yourself. I often do this while I’m out walking. What are:
5 things you can see – aim to notice things you hadn’t seen before, like a pattern or a flash of colour in your surroundings
4 things you can feel – your feet on the floor, breeze, feeling of sun if you’re outdoors, texture of a fabric etc.
3 things you can hear – birds, clock, music from a passing car etc.
2 things you can smell – coffee, plants, spices etc. and
1 thing you can taste – notice how your mouth tastes, maybe still a lingering taste from recent food or drink, or have a sip of tea, and really taste it.
You can also be mindful while you exercise; if you are doing weights, pay attention to the in breath and the out breath, and how your breath is flowing in time to your movements. If you’re running, again pay attention to your breathing, or the rhythm created by your feet as you run.
Breathing in itself is a really useful strategy to help calm anxiety, and again practising when you’re not particularly anxious, so you can draw on calm when you need to.
Belly big - breathe in - belly small - breathe out
Take a slow breath in through your nose for a count of 4, breathing into your lower belly so it inflates
Hold it for a second or two
Breathe out slowly through your mouth for the count of 5, and feel your belly deflate
Wait a few seconds then take another deep breath, and find a breath pattern that suits you.
And you can be mindful through hobbies. If you’re on Facebook, I’m sure you’ll have seen people in your local suburb looking for puzzles, or with books to swap, or offering unused art supplies to help people keep busy during isolation. The colouring books for grown-ups that became really popular a few years ago have been found to reduce stress, for example studies have found that after colouring undergraduates were calmer and more mindful. And cooking and baking (which have been massively popular in my house during this stay at home period) can also be mindful. There are smells and tastes and textures to pay attention to and cooking can be another great way to try out the 5-4-3-2-1 (using your senses to find things you can see, hear, touch etc).
Right; I’m off to laminate some resources for week 2 of learning at home, and then get ready for the Masterchef challenge my kids have set J I may have to do a future ‘myth busting’ blog on this idea that there’s plenty of free time in iso!!
As ever, give me a shout if you have any queries, or any mindfulness practices that work well for you.