How Being Mindful Protects Against Stress And Anxiety
When you see people sitting cross-legged, palms up, and in a seemingly
peaceful trance, you may wonder if the benefits of mindful meditation are
real. Or, is it just a handy placebo effect for some new-age believers?
Trying
to meditate for the first time can seem impossible! It’s understandable that
you’d feel nagging doubt. However, meditation falls under a broader category
of mindfulness. Many studies have shown that the effects are genuine.
By
David Gomes
What is mindfulness?
Defining mindfulness can be tricky. It comes from Buddhist meditation, but you don’t need to follow any one path to be mindful. Berkeley’s Greater Good explains mindfulness has two essential components:
- Staying mentally in the moment, which includes focus on thoughts, feelings, sensations, and surroundings.
- Accepting thoughts and feelings without judgment.
Activities for mindfulness
Meditation is one of the most studied modalities of mindfulness. However, Mindful.com says most recognize these other activities as ways to harness that inner calm and peace.
- Yoga
- Tai Chi
- Qigong
- Centering prayer
- Chanting
The science behind mindfulness
Scientists have shown a growing interest in mindfulness and its ability to affect us on a psychological level. Although many were skeptical, researchers now agree it’s an important tool for regulating stress and anxiety.
Dr. Elizabeth Hoge told Harvard Health Publications mindfulness is helpful in treating anxiety because it teaches people how to take back control of their own minds. Many people who have anxiety can’t seem to get away from negative thoughts about themselves, situations, and the surrounding people.
Pretty soon, those thoughts spiral out of control. The worst possible scenarios seem like the most likely outcomes. Mindfulness asks you to recognize your thoughts and fears, but from a more objective position. Then, let them pass, which is one reason it’s so effective.
But don’t rest your faith in the words of one psychologist. After all, an analysis of 47 studies on meditation published in JAMA also came to the same conclusions—meditation helped reduce stress, anxiety, and depression.
It changes how you react emotionally
Mindfulness helps train your brain to react to situations differently. It doesn’t dull your emotions, but it can help regulate them. Self-regulating your emotions allows you to stay on a more even keel.
The American Psychological Association cites a study that examined people who had practiced mindful meditation for varying lengths of time, from one month to 29 years.
The people who meditated performed better on a mental task while simultaneously looking at disturbing pictures than the group that didn’t meditate. Instead of letting your emotions get the better of you, mindfulness helps people move beyond them. Then you can focus on a situation on a more practical level.
The structures in your brain also change
Most strikingly, when you meditate, your brain changes. A neuroscientist at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Dr. Sara Lazar, conducted two groundbreaking studies on meditation and how it affects the brain.
In an interview with the Washington Post, she explains that her first study showed people who meditate have more gray matter in several parts of the brain. It was mainly in the sensory regions but also within the frontal cortex. This helped to illustrate why meditation has so many health benefits.
However, Dr. Lazar wondered if her results were skewed. Maybe the people who meditated had more gray matter to start with. In a second study, she found people who didn’t meditate, took brain scans, then asked them to meditate for 40 minutes a day. Afterward, she compared them to a group that used other stress-reduction techniques.
Even after just eight weeks, the group that meditated had developed four regions of their brain says Dr. Lazar:
- Posterior cingulate—helps control focus
- Left hippocampus—involved in memory and cognition
- Temporoparietal junction—allows people to see a situation from someone else{s perspective and is involved in empathy and compassion
- Pons—deals with many neurotransmitters
Significantly, another area of the brain reduced in size, the amygdala. It regulates stress, fear, and anxiety. The amygdala is essential in controlling the fight-or-flight response people talk about so much. This is one reason mindfulness is such a helpful tool in reducing stress and anxiety.
Start practicing mindfulness today
As you can see, the benefits of mindfulness are great. Even just eight weeks of meditating can show improvement. However, you should be cautious about trying to treat anxiety yourself. If you have chronic anxiety, you shouldn’t suffer in silence. Speak to your doctor and develop a plan to reduce your stress together.
If you’re just looking for ways to conquer everyday stressors and find prolonged peace, trying the mindful activities above is safe for all ages.