Using Mindfulness in Crisis to Cope with Stress, Anxiety and Uncertainty

Using Mindfulness in Crisis to Cope with Stress & Anxiety in Times of Uncertainty

 

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Mindfulness is built for difficulty. It enhances resiliency and helps us mitigate the negative effects of fear, overwhelm and uncertainty. When we are not paying attention to our reactions of fear and anxiety we risk becoming overwhelmed and consumed by them. 

Throughout The Whole Cure, the exercises I share are designed to help you build mindfulness, strengthen resiliency and find that space between your triggers and response. These types of practices allow you to regain the space and ability to pause, observe your thoughts and emotions and gain clarity to act in a compassionate, considered and creative manner.

Mindfulness education and practice is a big part of the Simple Pure Whole Solution! Here are a few resources that can support your mindfulness practice during times of uncertainty, anxiety, fear and calm:

Mindfulness Resources for Self-Healing:
      

• Download your free chapters and wellness prescriptions now and get started incorporating a more mindful approach into your life and building resiliency. You can also get your copy of The Whole Cure in paperback or Kindle edition from Amazon.
• My Mindfulness Resources for Crisis and Self-Healing Package provides you with professionally-designed worksheets, handouts and workbooks for creating habits and practicing tools that support optimal stress management, resilience and coping with difficulty.
• Guided meditations and relaxation exercises from my Breathe CD.

Mindfulness Resources for Health Care Practitioners:

   

• If you are a health coach or other health care professional,  I heard from many of you requesting done-for-you content and tools for easy-to-incorporate mindfulness practices that you could use during this time with your clients and patients. To address this need, I want to offer my Done-for-You Package of Mindfulness Resources for Crisis and Calm at 70% off the regular price. Right now you can get the complete package for only $67 here. This Done-for-You Package of Mindfulness Resources for Crisis and Calm provides professional mindfulness resources for coaching and sharing self-healing tools and practices to empower you to teach others how to disconnect from panic, fear and anxiety and build inner peace.
• My newest done-for-you workshop package Rest, Restore & Rejuvenate to Mindfully Manage Stress is the perfect way to offer support for stressful times and everyday optimal health. You can use this completely done-for-you workshop package with your clients or for a virtual teleworkshop or series of sessions. You get everything done for you, from a complete word-for-word script to handouts for your clients to a guided exercise to a complete instruction guide so you are ready to confidently share this guidance with people right away. 

How Mindfulness in Crisis Helps You Cope with Stress and Anxiety Amidst Uncertainty

Fear is a survival instinct alerting you to impending danger. But this instinct can become a threat when your thoughts become stuck in a repetitive cycle without awareness. Once the fear pathways in the brain are ramped up, the brain short-circuits more rational processing paths and reacts immediately to signals from the amygdala.

In this overactive state, the brain more readily perceives events as purely negative, threatening and fearful and remembers them that way. This can trigger physical and emotional responses every time a similar fear stimulus shows up.

With mindfulness, fear and anxiety can be approached as a call to action. The ability to remain calmly aware and present that you cultivate through practicing mindfulness gives you the presence to approach the emotion of fear as a signal. This can allow you to avoid what is harmful and take affirmative action towards considered, purposeful action. 

Since fear is a future occurrence, it is a reminder to reconnect to the present moment. When fear and anxiety are approached and processed mindfully, they become less formidable. You gain the mental flexibility and calm perspective to discover spaces of safety in the midst of uncertainty.

Process Fear to Express Not Repress

“Keep walking, though there’s no place to get to.

Don’t try to see through the distances.

That’s not for human beings.

Move within, but don’t move the way fear makes you move.

Today, like every other day, we wake up empty and frightened.

Don’t open the door to the study and begin reading.

Take down a musical instrument.

Let the beauty we love be what we do.

There are hundreds of ways to kneel and kiss the ground.” – Rumi

To process fear you must feel and express it and not repress or ignore the emotion. This is a time when we are all challenged to figure out our way of being, moving, surviving. In a crisis as in times of calm, it is about being present — about noticing what’s going on right in front of you, and responding to that.

Do you run away, freeze, run towards, or stand still and learn how to surf the waves?

There is often something to be gained by slowing down our pace, including the pace of our thoughts. Mindfulness and meditation teaches us that our endless meandering down the streams of “past” and “future,” the buying into “what-ifs,” leads only to distancing ourselves from reality, ourselves and each other.

What Rumi suggests in the poem above is not that we should pretend that we are not empty or fearful but that we must express it, not repress it. To best process what is actually going on in the present moment, get what is inside out in a constructive, creative way instead of getting stuck replaying old stories and distractions.

Mindfulness Practices for Becoming Present and Processing Emotions

There are many small mindfulness practices that can help you become more present, more attuned to your true purpose and more aware as you practice them with regularity. 

Click here for a few of my favorite simple and quick mindfulness practices you can incorporate into your life each day.

Other simple practices for dropping into the present moment:

• Clear a space for a focused eating time. Clear the stressed energy from your day and take a few deep breaths to appreciate this nourishment.
• Switch off your push notifications and instead set a time to dedicate to check them when it works for you, instead of on demand. The constant ding on your phone keeps your mind in a state of arousal and distraction that takes away productivity and focus. When you are inundated with constant interruptions and alerts from your devices it jolts your stress hormones into action and trains your brain to be in a nearly constant state of stress and fear by establishing a stress-fear memory pathway which contributes to an addictive compulsion to social media.
• Take a playful approach to life’s tasks: make up a game, play fetch with your dog or experiment in the kitchen. 
• Try the mindfulness exercises and wellness prescriptions in Chapter 6 of The Whole Cure to train your mind to slow down and find peace in the ease of the present moment.
• Prioritize your day and life by taking an intentional approach with this free exercise from The Whole Cure Lifestyle Transformation Program: Mind Module! When you put your efforts toward one single task at a time you are more focused, less stressed and able to accomplish what you need to do more quickly. Start making a conscious effort to do one thing at a time and do it will your full attention.
• The art of doing nothing involves being okay with focused presence and no distractions, not needing to constantly fill your time and be stimulated by outside news or stimulation. Even if you can’t take a full day to disconnect, try adding in 10 minutes each day to sit quietly without distractions and allow yourself to simply be present. You may find it easier to start by taking time to focus on a simple guided meditation like this one. When you are ready to disconnect further, find a quiet place to be alone and turn off all distractions like your phone, computer and tv. Close your eyes and do nothing but breathe quietly in stillness.
• Relax & Calm with Extending the Exhalation
• Calm by Counting the Breath
• Guided Relaxation: Relaxing the Entire Body
• The 4-7-8 Balancing Breath
• Soothing Belly Breath
  • These are available as guided exercises on my Breathe CD. If price is prohibitive right now please contact us for sliding scale or to donate scholarships for others so as many people as possible can have access.

Connect with Meaning and Compassion

In times of adversity and uncertainty, it is natural to feel fear and overwhelm. Yet compassion–for ourselves and others–and connection are needed more than ever. Here are 5 Steps for How to Offer Support to Yourself and Those Around You Who Are Feeling Anxious, Fearful or Stressed

Use Grounding Practices to Self-Soothe and Sit With Uncertainty and Fear

Click here for Done-for-You Materials including Grounding Practices and Mindfulness Practices for Finding the Present Moment in Times of Uncertainty, Fear and Stress as well as Calm

What are you finding most valuable in supporting your resilience?

You can also join me on Instagram for mini-mindfulness moments, exercises and discussions on how to add ease and purpose into life.

Join us on Instagram for more mindfulness moments!

I would love to have you in my Insider’s Community! Join for free and receive your FREE Chapters from The Whole Cure: 52 Essential Prescriptions to Overcome Overwhelm, Reclaim Balance and Reconnect with a Life You Love! You can pick up a full paperback or Kindle copy on Amazon for a wealth of insights, exercises and complete toolkit to help you uncover your true passions, authentic purpose and calm confidence as well.

To keep building your healthy lifestyle and best self through everyday habits, take the next step today to commit to a life you truly love and feel fully alive!

• Pick up a copy of The Whole Cure to build resilience and manage stress in a way that makes life flow with greater ease and joy!
• Access guided relaxation exercises utilizing the power of the breath and mind here.
• Join my next online group Whole Cure Lifestyle Transformation Programs to build more powerful coping strategies and skills for meaningful stress management and a calmer life! Contact me to form your own guided online group or register for the next scheduled online program!

Medical Disclaimer: Information provided in this post and related resources are for informational purposes only. Jennifer Weinberg is not providing medical advice, diagnosis or treatment information. The information is NOT intended as a substitute for the advice provided by your physician or other healthcare professional. Every body is unique so be sure to check with your healthcare professional before making any dietary or lifestyle changes, taking any medication or nutritional supplement or using any treatment for a health issue. Do not use this information provided for diagnosing or treating a health problem or disease. If you suspect you have a medical problem please contact your healthcare provider promptly and do not disregard professional medical advice based on anything on this website. This website and related resources are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent disease and do not create a doctor-patient relationship between you and Jennifer Weinberg. These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

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