Do you have a tendency to constantly worry about everything from the changing weather to your weight gain? Or what your aunt’s cousin thinks about you? If this sounds familiar, you might be wasting the best years of your life worrying about unimportant things. Doing so will affect not only your peace of mind but also your physical health.
First, you need to realize that it is not the things that are actually worrying you that are important, but it’s your response to this stuff that needs to be brought into perspective. When you get into the habit of worrying about every small thing, anxiety becomes your response to every situation, and you only begin to focus on the negative aspects of life. Second, you need to realize that worrying about something is not going to make it better. Worrying makes you behave irrationally, and being irrational has never helped anyone.
If you are reading this and realized that you have a problem, you’ve won half the battle. Now, let’s delve further and learn how worrying takes a toll on you and what can you do about it.
Physical And Mental Effects Of Worrying
Three parts work together to make you who you are – your mind, body, and soul. Even though worrying occurs in your mind, it influences the other two parts of your being.
If you have been a “born worrier,” you must have accepted “worrying” as one of your inherent qualities by now. However, when you think you are lying awake at night worrying about something, you are actually suffering from insomnia. You are probably also facing other physical and mental conditions that you haven’t paid attention to, simply assuming that you are going through them because you are worried.
Here are some such conditions:
- Easy startle response
- Fatigue
- Irritability
- Muscle tension
- Headaches
- Inability to relax
- Trembling
- Twitching
- Feeling out of breath
- Stomach and digestive problems
You may feel like you are used to these ailments and that they have become a part of your life, but no one should have to live that way. Expecting negative outcomes even when no threat is in sight affects your confidence and reduces the confidence that your colleagues and family have in you.
How Meditation Can Help Your Case
When you worry, multiple thoughts race through your mind. Meditation helps remedy this issue by calming the high-strung mind. When you meditate, you learn to enjoy the silence between each mental action instead of focusing on wasteful negative thoughts. Regular meditation helps you detach yourself from your thoughts and center yourself by practicing mindfulness. You do not need to master the art of meditation. Even if you meditate for about ten minutes daily for a week, you will surely reap the benefits1.
Research has shown that short-term mindfulness meditation alters brain function and brings about a positive change in the brain and boosts the immune system.2 Long-term meditation, on the other hand, has actually shown an increase in gray matter density (important for memory and emotions) in the brain.3
Some Simple Meditation Tips To Calm A Worrying Mind
- Find a quiet spot and seat yourself – preferably cross-legged – on the floor. But if you are uncomfortable sitting on the floor, then you can sit on a chair.
- Close your eyes, push away all thoughts from your mind, and concentrate only on every breath you take. You are now in a meditative state.
- It might not be possible for you to eliminate all thoughts at first. Even if thoughts come to your mind, try not to think too logically about the reasons behind these thoughts. Just breathe and observe silence.
- If you know that the source of your worry is an impending decision you need to make, try the visualization technique of meditation. While you are in a meditative state, visualize a path through your favorite place – along a beach, through a field, or into a forest (whatever makes you feel relaxed). Now, allow your mind to lead you to the answers.
- Mental silence is hard to achieve for many people. Don’t give up! Practice will make you perfect.
- If you are worried about achieving something, create a vision of your end goal; then, focus on this goal as you meditate. Doing this will make your goal appear more realistic and, hence, make it easier for you to achieve your goal.
Meditation can help you acknowledge the countless times you have faced your worst fears, suffered defeat, risen above the situation, and moved on stronger. Use these tips to gain control over your mind, and enjoy life to the fullest.
References
| ↑1 | Marlatt, G. Alan, and Jean L. Kristeller. “Mindfulness and meditation.” (1999) |
|---|---|
| ↑2 | Davidson, Richard J., Jon Kabat-Zinn, Jessica Schumacher, Melissa Rosenkranz, Daniel Muller, Saki F. Santorelli, Ferris Urbanowski, Anne Harrington, Katherine Bonus, and John F. Sheridan. “Alterations in brain and immune function produced by mindfulness meditation.” Psychosomatic medicine 65, no. 4 (2003): 564-570. |
| ↑3 | Vestergaard-Poulsen, Peter, Martijn van Beek, Joshua Skewes, Carsten R. Bjarkam, Michael Stubberup, Jes Bertelsen, and Andreas Roepstorff. “Long-term meditation is associated with increased gray matter density in the brain stem.” Neuroreport 20, no. 2 (2009): 170-174. |