Understand the ways in which you can use mindfulness to lessen stress and anxiety in your daily life.
Being Present-Mindful: Your Ultimate Stress-Busting Superpower
Imagine this: You are traveling to work, you have a crucial presentation, and you are mentally practicing a conversation with your team and manager. You are trying to remember whether you locked the front door, turned off the lights, and turned off the toaster. All of a sudden, you realize that you have reached your destination, but you have no memory of the trip. You at times walk or drive and suddenly gasp with realization because your body was on auto pilot and you are wondering how I managed to reach while being zoned out. You feel exhausted and appear to have used up all of your energy for the day, and you are just wishing that work would end soon. Does this sound familiar? Welcome to the club of the mind-wanderers, a group that most of us are lifelong members of!
Mindfulness is the antidote to this autopilot mode, a life raft that rescues us from the sea of stress and overthinking. And guess what? It’s not just for Zen monks meditating on mountaintops. It’s for you, right here, in the chaos of everyday life.
The Missing Mind: Where Does It Go?
Have you ever:
Arrived into a room and immediately forgotten why you’re there?
You wanted to talk about an important thing with your friend and all of a sudden you don’t remember what it was all about Had someone talk to you while you nod absentmindedly, only to realize you’ve absorbed nothing they said?
Consumed a whole bag of chips while watching Netflix and wondered, “Wait, who completed these?” Although you ate to your fullest you still have the urges to eat more because you feel like its not enough and end up binge eating
It’s acceptable if you nodded in agreement or simply fell asleep in the middle of reading. Your brain is screaming, “Help, I’m overwhelmed!” when you have these attentional gaps. Even after reading it multiple times, you still can’t understand and make sense of it.
Imagine your mind continually hopping from one sparkling object to another, like a toddler in a candy store. That toddler is guided by mindfulness, which teaches it to enjoy each candy individually rather than consuming them all at once.
Let’s examine what occurs to us while we are in autopilot mode and why our brain zones are off.
1. Autopilot Mode & Zoning Out
Why It Occurs: When your brain conserves energy by diverting attention from present stimuli, it is said to be zoning out. This may occur when you’re performing a monotonous work that doesn’t call for critical thought.
Unrelated thoughts are being processed by your brain (daydreaming or introspection).
Neural Mechanism: When you’re not paying attention to the outside world, your brain’s default mode network (DMN), which is made up of interconnected brain areas, comes into action. It enables the brain to relax or think.
2. Reflexes.
How It Works: Reflexes are involuntary responses to stimuli regulated by the spinal cord rather than the brain in order to save time.
Neural mechanism: Reflex arcs involve sensory neurons, which detect stimuli such as a heated surface.
Interneurons (relay signals in the spinal cord).
Motor neurons (cause muscles to react).
For example, touch a hot burner and immediately draw your hand back without “thinking” about it.
3. Muscle memory
Why It Happens: Repeating a task increases connections between neurons in the motor cortex (which governs movement) and the cerebellum.
Repeated practice increases the efficiency of brain networks through a process known as synaptic plasticity.
For example, typing without glancing at the keyboard or riding a bicycle after many years.
4. Absence of Mind
Why This Happens: Absent-mindedness arises when the brain fails to adequately encode information due to split attention or low involvement.
Neural Mechanism: During low attention, the hippocampus (which is responsible for memory formation) is not fully active, resulting in incomplete
memory storage.
For example, forgetting where you left your keys while preoccupied by a phone call.
5. Difficulty Remembering While Speaking What Causes This
Attempting to suppress a memory engages both the prefrontal cortex (thinking and suppression) and the amygdala (emotional memory). This paradoxically increases memory.
The hippocampus is responsible for forgetting, while emotional or repetitive thoughts stimulate deeper regions such as the amygdala, reinforcing memories.
For example, attempting to avoid recalling a humiliating moment increases the likelihood of it occurring again.
- Efficiency: Zoning out and autopilot allow your brain to conserve energy for more demanding tasks.
- Survival: Reflexes ensure rapid responses without conscious deliberation.
- Learning: Muscle memory lowers cognitive burden by automating repetitive operations.
- Attention: Absent-mindedness occurs when focus is split, disrupting memory encoding.
- Emotions: The more intense or deliberate a thought, the more difficult it is to ignore or forget.
Mindfulness: A Valuable Technique for Everyday Stress
Mindfulness is not limited to sitting cross-legged and meditating. It’s about being present in your own life, even if it’s untidy, boring, or frustrating. It is about practicing this wherever and at any time to bring your calm and composed self in the moment and experience life to the fullest.
Mindfulness is the practice of completely focusing your attention on the current moment without criticizing it. It entails being mindful of what you’re doing, feeling, and thinking right now rather than becoming lost in the past, future, or distractions.
For instance, instead than looking through your phone while eating, focus on the taste, smell, and texture of your food.
Take deep breaths and feel the air enter and exit your body. It’s like pushing the “pause” button on autopilot and living in the now moment with openness and compassion.
1. Mindful breathing: The Pause Button for Your Brain.
Consider your brain to be a web browser with 37 tabs open—one for that email you forgot to send, one for the fight you had on WhatsApp last week to which you have yet to respond, one for the paused YouTube video, one for Instagram, one for the Amazon app, and one for the groceries you need to buy. Mindful breathing is the refresh button that removes the clutter.
Example:
The next time you’re stopped in traffic and your heart rate rises, take three slow, deep breaths. Inhale for four counts, hold for four, then exhale for four. You may not be able to miraculously relocate the automobiles, but you will be much more relaxed about it.
2. Body Scan: Human Radar
Your body functions like a well-tuned instrument of music, but stress can cause it to go out of tune. A body scan can help you refocus.
For instance: Imagine your body as a Wi-Fi network. Sometimes the signal weakens (hello, tension headaches). You are trying to communicate, but there is some fluctuation. A body scan is similar to inspecting your router to determine where the problem is. Before bed, mentally “scan” each portion of your body. Begin with your toes and work your way up to your head, noticing where you’re holding tension. It’s like clearing your personal closet: instant relaxation!
BODY SCAN STEPS:
- Find a Comfortable Position: Sit or lie down in a quiet location. If you feel comfortable, close your eyes.
- Begin with Your Breath: Take several deep breaths, concentrating on the rise and fall of your chest.
- Pay Attention to Your Head: Take note of any sensations or tensions in your forehead, eyes, and jaw. Relax them.
- Move Down Slowly: Concentrate on your neck, shoulders, arms, and hands, releasing tension as you go.
- Scan your torso for feelings in your chest, stomach, and back. Examine any tightness or pain.
- Concentrate on Your Lower Body: Move from your hips, thighs, knees, and legs all the way to your feet.
- Notice Without Judgment: Don’t try to change anything; instead, observe how each aspect feels.
- End with Full Awareness: Take a few deep breaths and return your focus to the present moment.
Progressive Muscle Relaxation
Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR) is a technique for relaxing the body. The idea is to help you notice how your muscles feel while also releasing tension.
PMR can help relieve stress by allowing it to flow out of the muscles.
In order to engage in PMR, start by finding a quiet place where you are not distracted. Settle down on a chair or lay down.
- Lift your toes high. Hold and then release go. Pull your toes down. Hold and then release go.
- Next, strain your calf muscles, then relax.
- Bend your knees toward each other. Hold and then release go.
- Squeeze your thigh muscle. Hold and then release go.
- Cinch your hands. Pause and then let go.
- Tense your arms. Hold and then release go.
- Squeeze your buttocks. Pause and then let go.
- Contract the abdominal muscles. Pause and then let go.
- Inhale and tighten your chest. Hold, exhale, and release go.
- Raise your shoulders towards your ears. Pause and then let go.
- Purse your lips together. Hold and then release.
- Open your mouth wide. Hold and then release go.
- Close your eyes tightly. Pause, then let go.
- Lift your eyebrows. Hold, then release.
- Once done, allow yourself some time to calm down before getting up
- and getting back to your work.
3. Mindful Eating: Stop and Taste the Pizza
When was the last time you really tasted your food? Most of us eat our meals while browsing through our phones, barely tasting the flavors.
For instance, instead of multitasking while eating, focus on one bite. Examine the texture, taste, and scent. Chew slowly. Congratulations, you’ve transformed a humdrum sandwich into a five-star experience!
Mindful eating is based on mindfulness, a Buddhist concept.
Mindfulness is a type of meditation that helps you recognize and manage your emotions and bodily experiences. It is used to treat a wide range of illnesses, including eating disorders, depression, anxiety, and other food-related behaviors.
Mindful eating entails eating carefully, paying attention to physical indicators, and distinguishing between hunger and non-hunger stimuli.
Engage your senses by noting colors, smells, sounds, textures, and flavors.
To improve health and well-being, learn to manage with guilt and worry over food, eat mindfully, recognize the impact of food on emotions, and appreciate your food.
- Mindfulness When Eating A Sultana/Raisin
Throughout this activity, a variety of thoughts and emotions will emerge. Focus on the exercise and let distractions pass. If you realize your focus has wandered, take a brief note of what diverted you before returning your attention to the sultana.
Take hold of the Sultana.
First, imagine yourself as a curious scientist who has never seen anything like this before. Take note of the shape, color variations, light reflections, curves, and stalk attachment pit.
Feel the weight and texture of the flesh against your fingers, as well as the temperature. - Raise it to your nose and sniff it. Consider the smells.
- Raise it to your mouth and hesitate briefly before biting into it. Focus on your oral sensations, such as salivation and the desire to bite.
- Slowly bite it in half, notice how your teeth break through the skin and dig into the meat, as well as the sound and sweetness on your tongue.
- Consider the sensation of your teeth meeting, the sultana falling onto your tongue, and the desire to chew and swallow it.
- Chew slowly, taking note of the taste and texture. Pay attention to the movement of your jaws, the sound of chewing, and the sensation of flesh breaking down. Observe how your tongue molds food.
- Observe the need to swallow, as well as the movement and sound of your throat.
- After swallowing, notice how the taste fades from your tongue. Notice your increasing desire to eat the remaining half.
- Eat the remaining sultana in the same way.
4. Mindful Walking: Meditation in Motion.
Walking is more than just getting from point A to point B; it also provides an opportunity to practice mindfulness.
Consider your walk to be a nature documentary, with you as the curious explorer. Consider the colors of the leaves, the sound of birds, and the feel of the ground beneath your feet.
For example, during your lunch break, take a 10-minute walk without headphones. Concentrate on each step and the sensations in your body. It’s similar to taking a mental break.
