The world is beginning to settle down a little bit, and the American newscasters are delighting in the dullness of everyday political reports. It feels good, for many, to put away the daily stress of wondering what will happen next on the American political front, but we are still in a pandemic and there is still much to worry about for all of us.
As I have written about many times in this blog, chronic stress is incredibly damaging to our physical, mental, and emotional health. We need to take the outcomes seriously and do all we can to combat them in our own lives.
For some, myself included, staying busy can help block out the stressful internal dialogue, at least for a while. But staying busy and blocking out those internal conversations does not get rid of or resolve them. We must take time for stillness to authentically address those concerns from which we try to run each day.
Research is clear on this: avoiding your stressors, through procrastination or denial, does not make them go away, and does not remove the physical, mental or emotional risks of chronic stress. Often times procrastination or denial result in increasing stressors along with those outcomes, such as loss of sleep or appetite, impaired memory and attention, feelings of impatience and frustration, sadness, and depression, to name a few. So, let's work on addressing those stressors 'head on'.
You may not have the luxury of procrastinating or denying your very real stressors. Maybe you need to deal with them each day in order to survive. If so, you are not alone. So many people right now are suffering: unemployment, underemployment, or employment with risk of COVID-19 exposure, balancing home and work, learning online or helping kids or partners that are learning online, housing insecurity, food insecurity, financial insecurity, continued civil unrest and social injustices. The world remains a bit of a shit show right now, even though we have finally made it through the disaster that was the American election process.
So, dealing with our problems is key. They won't go away. We know that. They are very real and very much here to stay for a while. Building or maintaining our resilience is key to surviving and, hopefully, thriving, now or later. We must protect our emotional and mental well-being along with our physical health in order to be at our best now, and later.
As part of this commitment to our overall well-being through resilience practices, I want to return to a topic I have hinted at in the past: meditation. Meditation is a practice we can all benefit from, it takes little time and ZERO special equipment, and the hard truth is that when we least have the time or interest in it, is when we need it the most. Tired, stressed, busy, people are the ones who have the most to gain from regular meditative practice.
The science, especially the neuroscience, is clear on this: Our brains and our bodies function better when we practice meditation regularly. We are better able to sleep, to create, to problem solve, to remember, to connect with others. Our brains and bodies are better able to create homeostasis, or balance. When our body is functioning optimally for homeostasis, our body's thermostat for temperature and all other functions like metabolism, libido, stress response are functioning like a finely tuned car.
Meditation can be seen as one element in the best oil you can put into your car: It doesn't work optimally alone, but as part of a holistic approach to your own well-being (eating right, exercising, sleeping well, reducing stress as much as possible, staying connected to others, for instance). As part of that holistic approach to being your own best self, meditation practice can provide you with some really great benefits mentioned earlier.
Even without all of the other elements of that holistic approach, meditation can improve your life.
Meditation can be described very simply as the practice of shutting off your brain. It is the practice clearing your mind, of emptying your brain, of pushing out all of the thoughts for a while. This is not easy, which is why it is called 'practice'! The more you practice, the better you get at shutting off.
And it is simple to integrate into your daily living.
If you begin with 10 minutes, or even 5 minutes, per day, and build up to 20 minutes per day, the benefits are measurable.
How do you begin, you might ask. There are many approaches to meditation, and you may read more about the details here: How to meditate!
Give it a try. The first time I attempted to meditate, I was in graduate school, and we were ASSIGNED meditation for one week as part of a class on the 'Foundations of Positive Psychology". I thought is was silly at first, then I realized it was difficult to shut off the mind, which I saw as a personal challenge to 'win'. So, I continued and was surprised at how much I benefited from the practice. I, like many, come and go with my meditation practice. Like many, I let it slide when I get busy and could most benefit from it being a part of my daily life. But I do continue to return to it, because it does feel so good. Trust me. Give it a try, just for a week or two. That is not too much to commit to, especially given you don't even have to buy anything to start!
Check back with me in a week or two, and let me know how this goes for you. I want to hear from you!
Here is more information for you to absorb at your leisure:
For meditation music, click here.
Want a guided, 10-minute meditation? Try this one here!
For more guided meditations, try the free YouTube channel Calm!
For more information on the science of meditation and emotional well-being, listen to Dr. Richard Davidson from UW-Madison! His work is fascinating!
As always...
Be well, stay safe, and take care.
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