Stress and Anxiety

This is the final part of our introductory series to mindfulness. So you’ve read this far and want to know more about mindfulness, do you? Great then! That means that your conscious mind is truly seeking something for you, a state of being in the moment where your mind is in control. You’ve realized that you are dissatisfied with the way you think and doing things so that change is in order. Congratulations on taking that first step! Here’s more…

For many who have never experienced, nor have ever been in this state of continual mindfulness, it could come on as an extreme revelation to them. When I refer to the idea of revelation I am referring to this sense of liberation, or self-efficacy – freedom to not be held captive to negative, nagging and self-deprecating thoughts. It means that you, and I mean the term “you”, the part that seems to be separate from the unconscious gets to gain control over your thoughts. I know this may seem complicated to grasp so stay with me as I try to explain…

Most people struggle with negative and destructive thinking patterns. Perhaps the greatest struggle that most of these individuals toil with is actually being able to control their thoughts, at least most of them. In order to be a mindful thinker, one has to first plant them self in the driver’s seat of their mind and take control. What are the negative thoughts or self-destructive mindsets that you struggle with on a daily basis? What are the thoughts you have that literally haunt your mind like ghosts in a haunted house? The more you try to shake free from them, the louder they become. More here…

Often times you will hear people make reference to the concept “mindfulness”. They will drop the word on you, then they just kind of leave you hanging, never explaining what the word meant or what they intended by its use. “You need to be more mindful of what you are doing or the decisions you are making!” They might say. And there is you, “Say what? How can I be more mindful of what I am doing… is there another gear I can shift my mind into?” Ah, herein lies the vexation as to where most people get lost when it comes to “mindfulness”. Don’t worry we’re going to explore this topic in the next four articles. Get started here…

Stress is considered the number one cause of illness, both physical and psychological. Even though studies and medical professionals continually tell us it is bad for us, most people continue to thrive on it. Of course the definition at the beginning of this article was in jest, however the truth is many people live this way. The only way they truly know they are alive is when they are stressed! How about you? What are you doing to manage your stress? Stress will always exist in some form in everyone’s life. Not all stress is bad as humans need it to evolve and create positive changes in their lives. There are two types of stress; distress and eustress.