Mindfulness in a Time of Anxiety

If mindfulness is being aware of what is happening in our minds at the present moment without judgment, how can this help us in the current situation? I would like to look at some aspects of what many of us are facing right now and consider how we can use mindfulness. Being actively aware of our thoughts can help us to remember they are only thoughts. They do not necessarily represent the truth. In fact, much of the time they do not. The same is true for our emotions and body sensations. With this knowledge we can stop emotions driving unpleasant thoughts that generate more negative emotions and stop that vicious circle developing.

Additionally, being in the present moment stops us worrying about the future. It means we are not dwelling on the past and its troubling memories. Being in the present moment gives us the chance to take control of our busy minds. 

Deliberate planning for the future makes perfect sense, of course. Organising our lives reduces stress. Similarly, there are times when we need to reflect on past events to learn from them. But allowing our minds to drift into the future or  past is unhelpful. There is an important reason for this. It is called negative bias. Negative bias is our tendency to think about the worst possible outcome in any situation. From a whole range of possibilities we have an innate tendency to dwell on the most negative ones. Negative bias is something that has evolved with us to serve a purpose.  Our ancestors needed to have negative bias to react to danger. From prehistoric times with threats from wild animals, the elements and natural disasters, and to this day, our negative bias means we are good at detecting danger. So, in many ways it is useful. However, when it persists where it is unwanted, then, it becomes a problem. Negative bias tends to be the default mode for a free-running brain. A mind that is not brought into focus.

Applying mindfulness enables us to notice our unhelpful thoughts and feelings. We can spot false messages for what they are.  We can bring our minds onto a different point of focus: one that is positive, or at least neutral and not poisonous to our long-term wellbeing. Negative bias no longer taints our picture.

No matter how clever we are, we can only think about one thing in any particular instant. So, we replace negative thoughts with something different: a neutral or a positive thought. Whatever it is does not really matter. Although the more we can use thoughts beneficial to our mental and physical health the better.

At any time, our practice is just to notice what is happening, recognise. We recognise that what is happening is no more than what a mind does naturally. We bring our attention back into the present moment. We return our attention to what is happening now, with an awareness that we have a choice and that is how we take control. This way we gradually coax our mind towards a place of peace. Here we have possibilities and choices, rather than being trapped in the past or worrying about the future.

Now we can ask how specifically can this practice help us currently, when we may be especially anxious? I would like to look at three types of concerns arising from the current situation. 

First, concerns about our own health and that of our loved ones. We need a way to deal with these anxieties so we can acknowledge them skilfully rather than to experience them helplessly. We need a positive approach not one where we merely attempt to escape anxieties by trying to push them aside.

Secondly, there are those issues arising because we are confined. Many of us are isolating to the extent we are partially or even totally housebound. This is a different experience from our usual social perspective, since most of us are very social animals. We tend not to notice the extent to which we interact with others, both those we know and total strangers. This social change has been abrupt and often extreme. It goes beyond the feeling of being confined or “stir crazy”.

The third category is that of worries peripheral to health and confinement. By this I mean financial uncertainty, concerns about food supplies or anxieties relating to our personal security. These are peripheral issues, beyond the fear of contagion. The more time we have on our hands the more these issues take centre stage. 

These are the three categories of worries that I am going to use. It is a simplification of course, but useful for the mindfulness tool that follows. Once we have identified a worry it can be put into one of these three categories. Use the third one for anything that does not fit into the first two. 

To begin, we imagine three glass jars. One jar is for health worries , one for confinement and the last for peripheral issues. The jars can be any colour or shape you want. You can make them three different colours if you wish or the same appearance for all three. They should be at least the size of a jam jar, probably bigger. 

Now we explore the troubled mind. Get seated in a relaxed but alert position and bring your attention inward to your mind. Notice the thoughts that arise and label them: one or two words will be sufficient. This helps you decide which of the three categories the thought belongs to. Now imagine that you drag the thought and drop it into the jar it belongs to. Then identify the next thought. Label this thought, decide which category it belongs to. Then drag and drop this one into its correct jar. Back to the thoughts. Notice the next one, label, categorise, drag and drop. And so on. Thought after thought, until you come to the end of the time you allotted. Make sure it is at least five minutes but somewhere between 10 and 15 minutes is better.

Now it is important just to label and pop each thought into its jar. Do not think about it anymore than that. Do not engage with its story or start to analyse it.

If you find that when you are doing this practice, there is not really anything specific you could put your finger on, you will not really have anything to label. This will be when you experience a general feeling of discomfort. Some people call this a ‘fog’ of anxiety. The way to work with this is to bring mindfulness to this feeling itself. Observe this ‘fog’. What does it feel like? What adjectives would you use to describe it? Being able to do this without running away with its story is a skill we cultivate over time. If you get distracted and find yourself analysing just bring your attention back to sitting with the fog and notice how it is. 

Alternatively, you might find you have so many specific thoughts running through your mind that it seems like a whirlwind. So many things happening at the same time it seems impossible to label a particular thought. In this case bring your mindfulness to the whirlwind. It may feel unpleasant, but what kind of unpleasantness is it? How would you describe it? Where is it in the body? What does it feel like? For example, is it a burning sensation or does it feel cool? Do you feel energised or lethargic? By bringing your attention to it in this way you may find it calms down. It could be that it slows sufficiently for you to begin putting thoughts you then can see into their jars!

When you have finished, see yourself stepping back and looking at the three jars. Notice how full they are, which one is most full, and which one has the least in it. Now see yourself turning your back on the jars and walking away from them. You have left them behind. 

Now, you move straight on to the next task of your day. Whether it is your meditation, another mindfulness practice or a work task. That is what you do next.

Do this mindfulness tool whenever you feel too worried to do other practices or too anxious to meditate. You will become adept at doing this after a while and you will be able to free your mind sufficiently to move on with what needs to be done rather than merely worrying.

Martin Zetter, British School of Meditation qualified meditation teacher