Worry is a silent killer. It can cause anxiety, chest pain, high blood pressure, irregular heartbeat, and heart disease. It’s deadly, and yet we are so prone to worry. It’s automatic, just like breathing. It’s second nature and we’re wired to constant worrying. We overthink things and quite often make things far more complicated than they actually are.
Whenever we worry, we raise our cortisol levels. Our bodies typically recover, but if we never get a break from worrying, the constantly high levels of cortisol only mean one thing to our bodies, chronic stress and ill-health. It weakens the immune system and we become more susceptible to disease. Your body could be doing all the right things to be healthy, but if your mind is stressed, it is immensely unhelpful.
Your mind is connected to your body in powerful ways you may not understand. If you have heard of the mind-body connection you will know how integrated they are! All your effort at a healthy lifestyle can go to waste if you constantly worry. This is where the discipline of mindfulness comes in with a very promising and powerful role.
Stop Worrying by Cultivating Mindfulness
There is one antidote to worry: do not worry! But saying that may be simplistic and counterproductive. The truth is, quitting worrying is not easy. Our impulse to worry is a mechanism of our brains that seeks to protect us from danger.
Being able to anticipate the future and recall the past often enables us to dwell on what went wrong so we can better prepare ourselves for better action in the future. Our subconscious mind will typically be negative by default, as its main role is to keep us out of harm’s way. This is why it’s difficult to break away from our human instinct to worry, but we have to, for our health’s sake.
It’s never easy to just quit worrying, that is why it’s best to use a technique or strategy to do it effectively. The act of worrying is usually due to not being fully present. When we worry, our minds are either stuck in the past or the future, and that’s what we need to address.
Mindfulness can help a person effectively stop worrying by bringing the mind and attention back to the present. It’s focusing on the now, which is the point in time you have control over.
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Living in the Present
Life is happening right here right now, not yesterday nor tomorrow. So you need your mental faculties where all the action is happening and where your remarkable power lies – in the present.
Quitting worrying is just one of a multitude of benefits gained from cultivating mindfulness as a regular part of life. When you learn to be mindful it is easier to embrace gratitude. Being deeply in tune with what’s happening to you in the moment opens your eyes to see and appreciate every little thing this moment is offering to you.
Cultivating mindfulness also helps you to forgive and let go of the past; any regrets, resentments, and anxieties you may have long-held. All of these can cause worry, so by letting go, you are letting go of your worries too. In doing so, you are not only healing your mind but also your body.
Mindfulness Meditation To Help Stop Worrying
Mindfulness meditation has proven to be very effective and beneficial to health, focus, and mood, and productivity. All of these aspects contribute to happiness and living a more fulfilling life. This technique is done by sitting in silence for a few minutes and focusing deeply on your breathing.
The process involves tuning out of the worldly noise, disengaging from your thoughts, letting them pass without judgment, and deeply tuning in to your body through your breathing.
This simple mindfulness method practiced regularly, has allowed many people to regain their good health and mental clarity. It’s the simplest way to quit toxic worrying.
Living fully in the present empowers you to conquer many things, including bad habits and addictions, and even to heal and recover from physical ailments. Realize how immense the ‘Power of Now’ really is.
“Worry never robs tomorrow of its sorrow, it only saps today of its joy.”
- Leo Buscaglia
