Psychology experts say that anxiety is a natural body response to stress. When something goes wrong, we have a rush of adrenaline that triggers anxious reactions. They make us either confront or flee potential threats to safety, or in other words, we get driven by a so-called ‘fight-or-flight’ response.

So anxiety is a normal feeling that helps us avoid dangerous or unpleasant situations and motivates us to deal with difficulties. However, this feeling may become too extreme and uncontrollable. If it interferes with work, relationships, or other aspects of life, it means that anxiety is transforming into a disorder. Hence, it’s very important to deal with this feeling before it causes a serious mental health condition.

Most people face anxiety for the first time while studying at school or college. The youth often experience learning anxiety, which means that they are afraid to try something new because it can turn out to be too difficult. As a result, learners don’t want to look stupid in the attempt of doing it. If you want to know how learning anxiety may threaten self-esteem and even personal identity, find free essays examples on anxiety to get more insights on this issue. Essay samples and other information on the Internet will help you understand other anxiety forms and find ways of dealing with them.

This article will help you find out how meditation works for anxiety and whether it is a viable tool to get rid of anxious feelings. But first, let’s define what meditation is.

Meditation is a mental exercise that involves such elements as deep relaxation, great awareness, and focused attention. Deep relaxation can be reached with the help of even-paced breathing in a quiet setting with no distractions. In order to practice focused attention, one can concentrate on a specific object, an image, or a mantra. Doing this in a comfortable position helps to free the mind from everything that causes stress and worry.

There are many different types of meditation, so you can choose the one that suits your needs best. Read about some of them below.

This practice is shaped by another person’s voice. This means that you can focus solely on words pronounced by someone or an audio-story read by a professional narrator. While listening to a guided meditation, people typically visualize what they hear and get absorbed with beautiful pictures created in their imagination.

This type of meditation requires repeating a calming word or phrase. People say that pronouncing certain sounds quietly again and again helps them stay focused instead of being distracted by negative thoughts.

Those who use this technique need to be extremely aware of all their senses and feelings at a certain moment. To do that, one can focus on the breathing flow or observe all the thoughts and emotions. Mindfulness means not only an increased awareness but also the absence of interpretation or judgment.

Yoga can also be considered as a form of meditation as it includes all of its main elements.  While performing a series of movements and postures together with controlled breathing exercises, one can develop balance and concentration. Yoga practice is a great way to train both your body and mind.

How meditation works for anxiety

The main goal of meditation is to learn how to stay with any emotions and thoughts without analyzing or suppressing them. It’s a well-known fact that when we allow ourselves to be worried, irritated, or absorbed with other difficult feelings, negative conditions start disappearing. As a result, it gets possible to achieve inner peace.

What’s more, a meditative state helps explore the underlying causes of anxiety in a safe environment because one doesn’t fight or turn away from this condition but observes it. So meditation gives a great chance to gain insights into what’s driving your worries and solve issues triggering anxiety.

With the help of meditation, one can learn to stay present in the moment. In other words, meditation a very powerful practice that trains the mind not to wander. Being in ‘hear and now’ means that there is no space left for regrets about the past and worries about the future. The focused state of mind and complete concentration on things that are happening right now are the keys to overcoming anxiety.

Final thoughts

Even though anxiety is a natural state that helps us avoid dangerous situations, it’s important to overcome it as soon as possible so it doesn’t grow into a generalized anxiety disorder. According to the statistics provided by insurance companies, it’s especially common among students getting a degree at leading American universities.

Luckily, there is an easy and powerful tool that can help anybody deal with this condition. Meditation can be used as a psychotherapeutic technique for all people who have anxiety issues.

Hopefully, now you realize how it works and how to use this practice to stay calm in any circumstances. Remember that the benefits of meditation don’t end with a session. This practice helps practitioners stay peaceful during the whole day.

Author’s BIO

James Collins is a mental health expert and coach. His purpose is to help people lead a well-balanced life and reach big goals. James believes that one of the most powerful ways to maintain psychological well-being and achieve success is meditation. So he teaches his clients to practice it on a daily basis and stay mindful.