Active Mindfulness Alternatives For Anxiety Sufferers Who Hate Meditation
Because meditation doesn’t work for everyone!
On my first ever phone call to my therapist, he said, “grab a pen and paper; I’m about to tell you the most important thing you will ever hear. Remember this next time you are struggling to cope with anxiety.”
I suffer from anxiety when I live in the future.
“The best thing you can do to help,” he recommended, “is to focus on practising mindfulness.”
Mindfulness is something I have tried for many years, with varying degrees of success. The main takeaway from my many adventures in mindfulness is that the meditation activities that are often suggested just don’t work for me. Worse than that, it makes my anxiety worse. And if you clicked on this article, chances are, meditation doesn’t work for you either.
What is mindfulness?
You would be forgiven for thinking that mindfulness is another term for meditation. After all, what’s the first thing people usually say when you tell them you’ve been struggling with your anxiety lately? “Have you tried mindfulness? Meditation really helps me relax and clear my head”. “Headspace is amazing; you should try it!”
Even when you Google mindfulness, the majority of the front-page hits are based on meditation. You just can’t escape it!
Although rooted in early Buddhist meditation tradition, modern mindfulness practice is actually just the act of being present and keeping your attention on the here and now. It acts as a circuit breaker to the destructive thought spiral that fuels anxiety.
You can access mindfulness in many ways, and while meditation remains a popular option, there are many other activities available for those of us who do not find meditation helpful.
Why do the experts recommend mindfulness for anxiety relief?
In the U.K, over 5% of the population suffer from generalised anxiety disorder (GAD). Although simplistic in explanation, a big part of anxiety is worrying about the future.
Will people like me? Will I be any good at this? What if it goes wrong? What if I fail? What if I’m not good enough? We put on our best Mystic Meg impression, and our brain tells us that the worst-case scenario is the most likely. In short, your brain tricks you into fearing that future outcomes will be negative experiences.
An excellent way to combat this is by keeping your attention to the present. Pepping et al. found that the majority of participants use mindfulness as a way to alleviate emotional distress. In addition, a study by Flückiger et al. found that having mindfulness intervention showed that quality mindfulness practice improved psychological stress symptoms.
Mindfulness can also help you put your life in perspective and avoid catastrophising negative events. Neff and Dahm found that mindfulness is a critical component of developing self-compassion, which can lead to increased self-esteem.
So now for the million-dollar question: how can I bring mindfulness into my life when I hate meditating?
Top mindfulness activities that aren’t meditation
1. Mindful walks
We all know walks are good for relieving stress and anxiety. But we can often get from A to B without realising we have started moving! This is because we don’t pay any attention while we walk; we are that laser-focused on the destination.
To make your walk more mindful, make sure to take in the details of your surroundings. Look at the greenery on your journey. Can you spot any animals? Maybe a bird or 2? What noises can you hear? You can even change up your paths to experience new places you hadn’t before that force you to be more present.
2. Listen to music.
And when I say listen, I mean really listen. Let Angelica Schuyler tell you why she will never be satisfied. Let Wheatus explain why they are just teenage dirtbags. Take in every single word. Absorb its meaning. Listen to the melody; what instruments can you hear?
Actively experiencing your music, instead of it being simple background noise, is a fun way to practice mindfulness and be present in the moment.
3. Listen to a podcast or audiobook
Similarly to listening to music, you can use a podcast or audiobook to keep your mind focused on the present. The key, once again, is to listen to and take in every word that the host says. Choose one you’ve wanted to listen to for a while that you’re likely to enjoy. How is the podcast making you feel? Can you identify any keywords?
With this method, you will need to make sure you stay focused on the story and try not to let your mind wander on how you can implement any thoughts into your own life in the future (this isn’t in the spirit of staying in the present after all!) For this reason, I would recommend you stay away from self-help non-fiction and stick to fictional offerings.
4. Mindful Journaling
Journaling is a good tool in any anxiety-busting toolkit. Mindful journaling involves taking stock of your thoughts in that exact moment and committing them to paper.
You can achieve this in a few ways. You may want to focus on the things you feel grateful for at that moment — otherwise known as practising gratitude. You can also write down your stream of consciousness. This allows you to focus on just the thoughts in your mind as they come to you.
The secret here is not to control your thoughts but rather to let them flow freely no matter what tangents they take.
5. Yoga
Yoga is a gentle form of exercise that urges you to take notice of your body. In yoga, you focus on your breathing while moving your body into different shapes and holding the stretch. You are encouraged to feel the sensations each position creates and in which parts of your body. It sounds easier than it is! But the challenge allows you to stay in the moment and really be mindful of what is happening in your body.
Being so gentle, yoga can help you reduce the physical symptoms of anxiety and stress, such as palpitations and increased heart rate. After all, sometimes, the physical anxiety symptoms perpetuate negative thoughts going around your head.
6. Mindful showering
I promise this isn’t as weird as it sounds! When you shower, you are left alone with nothing but your thoughts. So rather than let them wander and spiral during an anxious period, you can take this time to centre yourself and practice some mindfulness.
Focus on the smells of your shower gel. Check-in with your body — are your muscles achy? Is the warm water helping them to loosen up? Take the time to enjoy some self-pampering and stay in the moment.
Unfortunately, we can’t control the future, and no amount of worrying will change that; we just end up suffering emotionally. Mindfulness offers a tool to help keep our thoughts grounded in the present to stop us overthinking negative thoughts rattling around inside our heads.
So next time someone mentions mindfulness, instead of groaning at the thought of meditation, take one of these alternatives out for a ride.
And remember, if you try one of these ideas and it doesn’t work, keep experimenting until you find the mindfulness activity that works for you. There is a mindfulness activity out there waiting for you, I promise!