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Sep 1, 2020 04:29PM
MaritDW
wrote:
My big salvation has been finding mindfulness! I've had 2 surgeries, a daughter's wedding with reception, 2 adult kids moving across the country with their spouse and my one and only grandchild (center of my universe) and found out some alarming diagnosis with me developing severe anxiety and several family members mental health condition much worse than originally thought.
I'm a devout Christian and feel like I've been supported by my faith and seeing the Hand of God in my life in little ways all throughout. But I also discovered this practice and it's really been a game changer. I've gone from frequently anxious, out of breath and shaking, to rare moments that quickly dissapate with focused attention.
I'd heard about it for a long time and on the free app 10 percent (10 percent happier) I learned what it is and how it works. There are tons of apps that help by my favorite is breethe and I use it at least once a day. I can't recommnd this practice enough.
Picture guided meditation. (I lost you, didn't I. No really, stay with me. It gets easier.) You learn to zone out of all the things in the future and the past and get in tune with your body and surroundings in the exact present. It's a procedure that takes practice and a litle help to understand from skeptics like me, but it's SO worth it.
I listen to sessions that last from 1 minute to 30 minutes. I learn to relax and tune out the rest and live entirely in the present. Then, I can process anxiety, or stress, or sleeplessness, or past trauma, or future problems, etc. in a relaxed and strong environment. I am able to read the response of my body to better understand what my issues are. What am I really afraid of? And then, skip the worry stage and face it head on and fix it or understand it.
I love how I can choose so many (hundreds of topics and meditations, music, hypnotherapy, bedtime stories, etc.) options to help me connect with what I'm needing at the moment.
So how is this a game changer? I am able to be more self-aware. I sense approaching anxiety and am able to prevent the build up. Instead of getting caught up in it, I observe it and am able to help disipate it without any meditation. I just have to take a deep breath, refocus my brain on the moment, ask myself what I can and should do, and then do it.
I wish I had learned this decades ago. It doesn't fix my problems. Not one. But it gave me the tools I need to help me fix my own problems from a stronger position.
There are tons of mindfulness apps. I'm glad I started on 10 percent because I was such a skeptic and their free introduction series was fantastic. I'm on Breethe now and love it, but needed the other app to get me ready for it. Look one up and see if it helps you. It takes a week or two to see results and then they are pretty quick to build- at least for me! You've got nothing to lose except a few minutes each day. Give it a try.
Surgery
6/17/2020 Lymph node removal: Sentinel; Mastectomy: Left
Surgery
8/27/2020 Reconstruction (left): Tissue expander placement