Get Off the Anxiety Wheel by Practicing Mindfulness

The wheel is considered one of humankind’s greatest inventions. It gave humans more freedom and control over their world. Our thoughts very often move around and around like a wheel, however, when this happens, we lose our sense of freedom and become stuck in indecision.  Think of the phrase, “you’re just spinning your wheels” with thoughts like, ‘what if I fail?’, ‘what if I make the wrong decision?’, ‘what will other people think of me?’ and so on.  These questions end up spinning around in our minds without end. It is a thoroughly frustrating experience.  A way to stop the spinning is to practice mindfulness, noticing and being curious about our thoughts rather than judging them.

What fuels this wheel-spinning is fear and anxiety. We feel a lack of internal control, like our mind and body are doing this distressing thing to us.  In response, we look for things outside of us to control, like situations, people, outcomes.  It relieves some of our anxiety for the moment and is, therefore, a protective response.  If we can become aware of this response in the moment, we can then consider the underlying anxiety. It is preferable to experience our true feelings and take steps to manage those, rather than continue to try and manage things we do not have control over. It is a paradox in that the more we attempt to control what is external, the more powerless we become. So, what DO we have control over? The answer is our internal world and all of the thoughts and feelings that reside there.

Our thoughts have the power to either increase anxiety or to lessen it.   Being mindful of our thoughts can help make anxiety more manageable. The three main components of mindfulness are:

§  Notice

§  Be Curious

§  Let it Go

When we stop what we are doing, close our eyes, and turn our attention inward, thoughts will naturally come and go.  The goal is not to stop the brain from producing thoughts. The goal is to be aware of them by noticing the thoughts in the moment they come up, be curious without judging them as good/bad or right/wrong, and then let them go.  

The following visual exercise can help:

See a snow globe in your mind’s eye that has been shaken up.  Notice the tiny flakes all swirling around inside.  Think of the globe as your mind and the flakes as your thoughts. As you watch the flakes float gently downward, imagine your thoughts floating around, then notice as they slowly descend and settle on the bottom of your mind just as the flakes settle at the bottom of the snow globe.

IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER: No one flake is better than another and, most importantly, you are not connected emotionally to any of the flakes.  It is similar to riding in a car or train and watching the scenery go by. With mindfulness, you simply watch your thoughts go by.

If you practice noticing your thoughts in a neutral way, they will naturally slow down, stop spinning, and prevent your anxiety from increasing.

May we all create the time and space to connect to our internal world, gifting ourselves with mindfulness.