Mindfulness Techniques: an effective way to reduce anxiety
Written by:Dr. Pérez Mijares is specialized in the treatment of anxiety through Mindfulness techniques. These techniques derived from relaxation and meditation have other practical applications and can be of great help for an increase in the quality of life. The psychologist explains what this therapy consists of and how it can be beneficial.
A treatment for anxiety
Anxiety is an emotional response that makes us perceive as dangerous harmless situations, many times of everyday life, as they are, for example, going by subway, being in a place with many people, climbing in an elevator etc.. Many hospitals choose to use a therapy called Mindfulness to lower these levels of anxiety.
Anxiety arises from negative thoughts (example: if I get in the elevator, it will run aground and I will run out of air). Therefore, Mindfulness proposes to be present in what we do, but without judging what happens to us. So, for example, if the heart beats a little faster, we are not going to think "it's giving me a heart attack", but "I have a little accelerated heart".
Mindfulness in daily life
Mindfulness emerged in the USA during the seventies and is a fusion of a series of meditation and relaxation techniques that impel us to have full awareness of what we do and live in every moment. Although it seems obvious, it turns out that we tend not to be as present in our lives as we think. For example, when we go by subway, we are usually thinking about what we will do when arriving at our destination, and that is why we are not living this moment of our life completely.
When we remove this "autopilot" and start to live our lives, Mindfulness makes us feel happier immediately because we pay attention to every detail. In a patient diagnosed with anxiety, these improvements are effective, as long as the patient commits to perform the exercises. The therapy can be combined, for example, with Cognitive Restructuring techniques that help eradicate negative thoughts.
In addition to lowering levels of anxiety, Mindfulness can be useful to relieve stress and even reduce physical pain. Their innocuous techniques produce an enormous well-being, since, in general, being more connected with what we do helps us in any vital process. Living in full consciousness makes us happier.
