Mindfulness: Treating Anxiety Without Pills

It’s easy to stop noticing the world around us. 
We can wind up living in our heads – caught up in our thoughts, without stopping to watch how those thoughts are creating anxiety and stress. As a physician, the pill-free antidote for stress that I recommend is mindfulness. Read on to find out how this holistic tool can help.

What is Mindfulness?

In short, mindfulness means paying attention, on purpose and without judgment, to whatever arises in the present moment. It means feeling connected with our bodies and the five sensations they experience, giving full attention to touch, sights, sound, smell…and taste.

Bagel Mindfulness

The Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction program at Harvard famously begins with the mindful eating of a raisin.

Students delight in tasting its coolness, its texture, and sweetness, as if for the first time. Try it for yourself. Start with a raisin, a bagel or a square of chocolate. First look at the treat in your hand and, feeling grateful, bless it (blessed food carries more prana or vital energy). Notice its color and smoothness. Then close your eyes. Take a bite.

As the yummy treat sits in your mouth, taste its sweetness, feel its texture, smell its aroma. Take your time — 60 seconds minimum. 

The Benefits

What’s the benefit of present moment awareness? It helps us enjoy the world around us more and understand ourselves better. 

Mindfulness has also been shown to improve relationships, increase creativity, boost immunity and even prolong life. It gives us insight into the workings of our own minds. Mindfulness on the job  leads to a more harmonious workplace. Mindfulness at the supermarket leads to better choices for good nutrition. 

Treating Anxiety Without Pills

If you suffer from medical problems like high blood pressure, anxiety, and insomnia, mindfulness may just be the pill-free tool you’ve been looking for. Harvard Medical School uses Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) as complementary therapy for all of the above plus chronic pain and opiate dependency.

Since 1967, over 1500 studies have been conducted by over 250 research institutes showing MBSR to be clinically effective for the management of stress, panic attack, chronic pain, depression, obsessive thinking, strong emotional reactivity and a wide array of medical and mental health-related conditions. 

The good news is that mindfulness is easy to learn. Anyone can do it. The more you do it the easier it gets. Join a mindfulness meetup or experience my interactive online course, available on my website, harrisongravesmd.com.

A Mindful Life

Ultimately, mindfulness becomes a way of life. That’s the goal. When every action becomes mindful, we bring a calm awareness and caring into everything we do. We become OK with what is. Over time you may notice that your mind wanders less. And when it does wander you more easily bring it back.

With mindfulness, you find more joy in the present — the sight of a full moon,

 

 

a poppy…

 

or 

 

 

a puppy.

 

Summary

In this blog, we learned about mindfulness and its benefits: complementary therapy for anxiety, depression, insomnia, and even opiate dependency.

In our next blog, we’ll learn more about MBSR, Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, the gift of Jon Kabat-Zinn of Harvard Medical School. MBSR is used as complementary therapy for anxiety, depression, insomnia, and even opiate dependency. Meanwhile…

More info?

To learn more about alternative treatments used for anxiety, depression and chronic pain, see my books and online courses available at harrisongravesmd.com.

While you’re there, sign up there for my free Alternative Medical Newsletter.

Books: Alternative Pain Relief: A Pill-Free Tool Kit 

                                  and

Mantra Meditation: An Alternative Treatment for Anxiety and Depression

Courses: Healing Mantras and more…