9 Simple mindful attitudes to reduce your anxiety and stress

If you haven’t heard of it yet, mindfulness is simply the practice of being aware of what’s happening in the present moment without try to ...

If you haven’t heard of it yet, mindfulness is simply the practice of being aware of what’s happening in the present moment without try to change it or judge it. It’s something all human beings can do.
Whether it’s just being aware of what’s going with your senses, or your thoughts, you’re being mindful.
Mindfulness has been shown by several research studies to offer positive benefits for people who experience anxiety.
Below we’ll talk about the different mindful attitudes you can adopt to reduce anxiety and stress.

1) Volition or intention

This is the attitude that supports all other attitudes. When it comes to mindfulness, your intention is to work within yourself to gradually transform your anxiety and find peace. By setting the intention to work with your anxiety, you’re setting the stage to no longer see your anxiety as an enemy, but rather as a friend.

2) Beginner’s mind

This is a mindset in which you act as if everything you encounter is your first time. Meeting anxiety in this way, with curiosity, can play an extremely important role in transforming your experience. Wheneever you approach situations in this way, new possibilities arise that you never would have thought of.

3) All things come and go

According to Buddhists (and science) the only law in the universe is change. This can be liberating for your anxiety, becuase no matter how bad it seems now, it will eventually pass.

4) Acceptance

This all about meeting your experience as it is. You acknowledge that anxiety is present and accept that it’s there, rather than trying to change it.

5) Nonjudgment

When you have anxiety, it can be easy to add a layer of judgment onto these feelings. This can only make anxiety worse. However, if you let go of evaluations, your anxiety can simply fade away. It can reset your mind in a more balanced state.

6) Letting be or allowing.

This is similar to nonstriving. For example, if anxiety comes up as you meditate, you could choose to work with it by allowing the feeling to be there. In time, you can learn to ride a wave of anxiety until it dissipates, just as a storm runs its course in the sky.

7) Self-compassion

This is treating yourself with kindness. Sadly, we tend to beat ourselves when we have anxiety. However, we simply need to realize that anxiety is actually normal. All anxiety is trying to do is warn you of a threat, even if it’s being too over protective. See it as a friend, rather than an enemy and don’t beat yourself up about it.

8) Balance

From this perspective, you understand that all things change and that your experience is so much wider and richer than temporary experiences of anxiety and other difficulties.

9) Honor your Feelings

Fighting against your emotions and thoughts will only increase anxiety. Slow down and acknowledge what you are feeling and the reasons why. By approaching your feelings with a calm mindset you can stop negative emotions in their tracks.

Stress isn’t always bad. In small doses, it can help you perform under pressure and motivate you to do your best. But when you’re constantly running in emergency mode, your mind and body pay the price. If you frequently find yourself feeling frazzled and overwhelmed, it’s time to take action to bring your nervous system back into balance. You can protect yourself by learning how to recognize the signs and symptoms of stress and taking steps to reduce its harmful effects.

What is stress?

Stress is your body’s way of responding to any kind of demand or threat. When you sense danger—whether it’s real or imagined—the body's defenses kick into high gear in a rapid, automatic process known as the “fight-or-flight” reaction, or the stress response.
The stress response is the body’s way of protecting you. When working properly, it helps you stay focused, energetic, and alert. In emergency situations, stress can save your life—giving you extra strength to defend yourself, for example, or spurring you to slam on the brakes to avoid an accident.
Stress can also help you rise to meet challenges. It’s what keeps you on your toes during a presentation at work, sharpens your concentration when you’re attempting the game-winning free throw, or drives you to study for an exam when you'd rather be watching TV. But beyond a certain point, stress stops being helpful and starts causing major damage to your health, your mood, your productivity, your relationships, and your quality of life.

The effects of chronic stress

Your nervous system isn’t very good at distinguishing between emotional and physical threats. If you’re super stressed over an argument with a friend, a work deadline, or a mountain of bills, your body can react just as strongly as if you’re facing a true life-or-death situation. And the more your emergency stress system is activated, the easier it is to trip and the harder it is to shut off.
If you tend to get stressed out frequently—as many of us do in today’s demanding world—your body many be in a heightened state of stress most of the time. And that can lead to serious health problems. Chronic stress disrupts nearly every system in your body. It can suppress your immune system, upset your digestive and reproductive systems, increase the risk of heart attack and stroke, and speed up the aging process. It can even rewire the brain, leaving you more vulnerable to anxiety, depression, and other mental health problems.