Using Meditation to Quiet an Anxious Mind

If you suffer from anxiety, you know how overwhelming anxious episodes can be. Fortunately, meditation can help to bring you back to the present and calm your mind. The experts at Tapestry outline some tips to alleviate feelings of anxiety through mindfulness and meditation.

How Mindfulness Meditation Helps

Mindfulness meditation is practicing a set of techniques that are designed to elevate your awareness and focus your attention on the present. It helps you to create distance between yourself and your current experience—which can help to effectively reduce feelings of anxiety.

Some benefits of practicing mindfulness meditation include:

• Reduces rumination.
• Reduces stress levels.
• Improves your critical thinking skills.
• Improves your memory.
• Decreases emotional reactivity.
• Improves self-awareness.
• Increases cognitive flexibility.
• Enhances self-compassion.
• Promotes empathy.
• Decreases distressing emotions like anxiety and depression.

Meditation Tips

Focus on Your Breath

Your breath can be used to anchor your mind. Try to focus your attention on your breath without altering your natural breathing pattern. Rather than controlling your breath, take the time to pay attention to the natural rise and fall of your chest as you inhale and exhale.

Acknowledge Your Feelings

When struggling with anxiety, being still can increase your restlessness. Rather than trying to make these feelings go away, acknowledge them and give them your attention. By continuing to practice, you will be able to identify your feelings and where they’re coming from without feeling overwhelmed or consumed by them.

Keep a Journal

You can keep track of your progress as you continue to practice mindfulness by writing down your thoughts and feelings after you finish meditating. Focus on the details of what you felt as if you were observing yourself—this can help you to check in with yourself emotionally without being critical of your feelings.

Mental Health Treatment in North Carolina

At Tapestry, our mental health treatment programs are designed to provide our clients with individualized care while acknowledging their unique life experiences. Our staff members are also dedicated to understanding and treating our clients as whole people.

Whether you have questions about mental health, need treatment for anxiety, or want to know how to support a loved one struggling with mental illness, we are here for you. Contact us today by filling out a confidential form or give us a call at (828) 490-4032.