TrooperX66 t1_j6m2tnc wrote on January 31, 2023 at 7:53 AM

Reply to comment by vote4boat in New study shows how mindfulness can benefit our romantic relationships: Mindfulness can help to enhance attachment security among romantic couples. The new findings deepen understanding of the longitudinal interplay between partners’ mindfulness and attachment style. by lolfuys

The best technique I read was from a book called Active Relaxation in which it describes mindfulness as plugging into your senses repeatedly and can be practiced while doing anything awake. For instance, if you're washing dishes feel the temperature of the water, watch how it cascades over what it's running over, smell the fragrance of the soap, feel the weight of your body on your feet as you're standing up, inspect the wavy colorful patterns in the soap bubbles, etc. If you're taking a walk, listen to the birds, leaves & gravel crunching under your feet, feel the sun hitting your face, notice how shadows are cast across an object or intently study the silhouette of objects and inspect the shapes as though you were going to try to draw what you're looking at.

By repeatedly doing this you are grounding yourself in the present moment and taking yourself away from the eternal thoughts that can consume people's lives. The more you do it, the easier it is to stay present and the more relaxed I have found I become. I definitely recommend Active Relaxation if you can find a copy

NyQuest14 t1_j6no78y wrote on January 31, 2023 at 4:54 PM

So what happens if you are already mindful and are still filled with so much anxiety and stress that it doesn't matter? Because that's my life. I try to enjoy what's going on in the moment and I am aware of all that'd going on in the moment infront and around me. But I'm still always thinking about the rest of the stuff.

TrooperX66 t1_j6nrsa5 wrote on January 31, 2023 at 5:16 PM

Yeah, mindfulness isn't a catch-all, just another tool to help with mental health; daily exercise / walking is a big help, as are some supplements I've found (check out reviews for Ashwagandha (herbal adaptogen), Gabapentin (amino acid), and tryptophan (amino acid), calm magnesium powder (or other magnesium supplements); I take the last three of I'm having trouble sleeping and it wipes me out completely (I a good way).

Daily exercise/ walking was huge for me during my most anxious times, especially paired with mindfulness.

Another helpful tool is writing down everything you're anxious / stressed about and setting aside time to try to find solutions for those particular stressors. Writing it all down and giving yourself a future date / time to think about it helps unload some of the pressure so you can go about your day to day without so much weighing you down. And even if you can't find solutions to those issues immediately at least you're giving focused time to them and only within a specific window.

Part of mindfulness is that over time it relaxes your central nervous system and helps build resilience to stress. The more you can put time in the quicker you can get to that place (I did read this from a scientific study but unfortunately don't have the source off hand)