10 Nov The Best Way to Overcome Anxiety and Depression

It is a human tendency to succumb to negativity. Once we let our mind get swept into negative thoughts, we are welcoming stress with open arms which in turn leads to anxiety and depression. To save ourselves it is very important to get ourselves involved into mindfulness.

How Mindfulness Helps you Fight Anxiety and Depression?

Believe it or not but guided meditation can prove to be a great weapon against anxiety and depression. I am telling this with my own experience. Anxiety and depression are the results of people thinking too much about anything and everything which is mostly negative.

I always had a problem of overthinking. Be it the presentation or the exam, even before appearing on it, I used to think of everything that could go wrong. As a result, I would appear in the exam or the presentation already disappointed with myself. My presentations went well which was proved by my marks but I was never able to enjoy it. My exams didn’t go well as they deserved to be because I used to forget many things that I studied. I was always worried about results and future that I forgot to enjoy my present. I had a problem of overthinking and kept getting all ideas of how badly it can get screwed. Because of my negative thinking, I used to have sleepless nights, throw tantrums, behave unexpectedly and do things which drove people away from me.

My behavior used to annoy people but more than that it used to annoy me. I never liked the way I used to behave with the people I cared about. Apart from insomnia and unexpected behaviors, I also faced problem while breathing. I searched about these problems on the internet and I understood these were all the symptoms of anxiety. Since I didn’t want anyone to know about it nor take medicines, I decided to find a safe and secret way to fight it. I searched on the internet a lot and the solution I got was practicing mindfulness.

I adopted it at once because I felt it was the most feasible solution I could find. So at night, when I wasn’t able to sleep, I used to perform complete body scan. While doing so, several negative thoughts came swarming at me, especially during exams. As mindful meditation preaches, I never used to fight those negative thoughts. I used to acknowledge those thoughts. I used to say to myself, results are secondary. I will see whatever will happen but I have to give my 100% in the exam tomorrow and then I used to get back to my body scan. Focusing on bodily sensations eventually helped me in getting a good night’s sleep. Many times I used to wake up in the middle of the night all thanks to my anxiety attacks. However, instead of panicking I used to practice mindfulness regardless of what time it was. This kept me calm and helped me go back to sleep. I even used to practice mindful breathing which helped me stay calm.

Mindfulness brought positivity in my life. Many people say that it is just a way to avoid your problems but actually, it is the opposite of it. It is a way to acknowledge your problems and develop a way to deal with them. Mindfulness taught me to be fully present and realize what I was feeling and acknowledge it. By being present in the moment, I realized that the anxiety I was experiencing was only because of my perceived threats. When I responded to these threats positively, I was able to overcome unwanted responses. I could manage my negative thoughts better that used to eventually lead to depression.

So, mindfulness does not teach you to avoid your problem. Instead, it helps you to realize your experience of anxiety. This ultimately helps you to get rid of your habit of over-identification with negative thoughts. You learn to react positively to your fears which will ultimately help you to lead a positive life.

Mindfulness is undoubtedly a very powerful tool against anxiety and depression but you must know that results are not seen overnight. You have to be patient and practice it regularly. Since mindful meditation can be practiced anytime and anywhere, practicing it daily will not be the tough job. It took me a month to fight anxiety. So results are gradual but very effective. Even though I do not feel anxious and depressed now, I have made it a point to practice guided meditation daily even if it is just for 10-15 minutes. This is because it gave a new and positive meaning to my life and I only want it to become better.

Purva Jain

Purva is a freelance writer from Udaipur, India. She covers a wide range of topics including health, lifestyle, news, food, and travel. You can reach out to her at [email protected]