Why Is Mindfulness So Hard In Anxiety Recovery? (Episode 65)

Disordered: Anxiety Help

Mindfulness is good for anxiety, right? Isn't this what everyone says? Mindfulness fixes anxiety and makes you happier? Isn't that it?

Well ... not really. This week Drew and Josh are taking a look at the practical applications of things like meditation and mindfulness practice in the context of anxiety disorders and anxiety recovery. A few key points:

• Mindfulness is paying attention to what you want to pay attention to without judgment or evaluation of your ability to pay attention.
• PRACTICE is the key. The practice of training one's attention is where the win is. This is something we do. A process. It's not a state we achieve or a skill to perfect. Expecting calmness, happiness, or perfection in meditation or mindfulness is not a good approach.
• Mindfulness and meditation are NOT calming tools or anxiety shields in this context. Please do your best to steer clear of trying to use these concepts to escape from your anxious state. That usually leads to frustration and a much more fragile state of recovery.
• Mindfulness and meditation apps are great! General wellness advice on how to use mindfulness and meditation is great. Just be careful about trying to apply general advice to the specific context of disordered anxiety and recovery.

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The book we talked about in this episode is Drew's "Seven Percent Slower" which is a short, friendly read on how to use the principle of slowing down to help navigate more mindfully through anxiety, fear and stress. Learn more here.

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Struggling with worry and rumination that you feel you can't stop or control? Check out ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Worry and Rumination Explained⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, a two hour pre-recorded workshop produced by Josh and Drew. The workshop takes a deep dive into the mechanics of worrying and ruminating, offering some helpful ways to approach the seemingly unsolvable problem of trying to solve seemingly unsolveable problems.

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://bit.ly/worryrumination⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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