Mindful Meditation and Managing Anxiety with Tech
I recently decided to make a real effort to practice mindful meditation to control my anxiety. After years of letting my anxiety control my life, I wanted 2019 to be the year of purpose and fearlessness. In order to do that, I have to figure out ways to control the fears that have held me back for so long.
Over the past year, I’ve been doing a lot of personal research to help find natural ways to manage anxiety. Mindfulness is a practice of being fully present and aware in the moment. Practicing mindful meditation is often a recommendation to help reduce and stress and anxiety. As part of this process, I wanted something to help motivate me toward spending more time in meditation.
I downloaded a few apps that I thought would help me with my meditation journey because you know, I’m a tech person and I always appreciate a good app! I tried quite a few including Simple Habit, Headspace, Calm, 10% Happier, and a Christian based one called Abide. I’m not going to do a full product review on these (unless requested). All of them had good aspects. Price can be a concern. If you are just starting off, most of these offer a free trial so you can see what works best for you.
My husband Charlie, who’s a licensed therapist, recommended the Calm app for me months ago and I kept putting it off. After a few weeks of testing out them all, this was the one I decided to keep.
A little bit of background
First of all, let me explain a little bit of what I struggle with as we all have different needs and all methods don’t work for all people. I have struggled with some form of social and generalized anxiety disorder since I was in elementary school. I was diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder at 17 years old after a series of panic attacks. I would have panic attacks over things that were so out of the realm of my control it seemed silly later. I would not eat, I would lose sleep, and make myself sick to the point I would go to the emergency room. The really strange part about anxiety is sometimes you know you are overreacting, but your body doesn’t care. It’s still a fire alarm going off and you can’t shut it off. There is no reason for a while. Just fear.
Doctors recommended medication for me at first. However, I didn’t like how it made me feel. Even though it did manage the anxiety, I still felt out of control. I managed to get through college without any major problems. Sometimes I would get stressed about normal things like final exams or big performances. For the most part, I had the anxiety controlled.
I managed it for a long time. Pretty well too. Then I got married and had kids! Three rough and tough little boys who are always running and exploring. Talk about new stuff to worry about. In 2019, I don’t have to tell you the state of the world. You know what it is. However, it was my 7-year-old that helped me realize I need to get my anxiety under control. Why? Because he started exhibiting the same signs I had as a child. Overly worried, crying and extremely sensitive to the cares of other people. I want to make sure he knows how to handle those emotions effectively when they arise. So it was important for me to model that skill for him. I knew I had to make a concentrated effort on managing anxiety for myself and my family.
How did the Calm App help?
Quick note: This is my general review. No one paid me, I actually bought this!
I started using Calm about a month ago. I begin the day with a daily meditation either at home or before I start the workday. It helps me to focus on what’s important that day and keeps me centered. Not only do they have daily meditation that you can schedule at any time of the day, but they also have meditations for different things that you may be dealing with whether work, sleep, family, etc. There have been times where I begin meditation practice for a few minutes before an important meeting to clear my mind and help me focus on the task before me.
When I began, I immediately recognized how erratic my breathing was. It is really eye-opening to pay attention to your breath. Don’t be discouraged if it is difficult at first. It takes practice. Part of mindfulness is letting go of judgment, even of yourself. Stop being so critical of yourself. Soon after, you will be able to relax your breathing on your own.
One of the biggest challenges I had to get over was the thought that meditation had to take a long time. Actually, 5–10 minutes in the morning makes a huge difference in your mindset for the day. Even if you forget to do it in the morning, it’s okay to do it later. The great thing is that you don’t have to do it at the same time every day, nor do you have to do it every day. The Calm app sends reminders to me every day in the morning about meditation in general, but no notice that says I HAVE to do it. Trust me, after a while, you will want to.
Sleep Stories
Sleep stories are pretty amazing. I entered this with some skepticism thinking this person talking is not going to get me to fall asleep. I was wrong. I don’t even remember when I fell asleep. There is something incredibly soothing about bedtime stories.
I even introduced the app to my kid. Yes, Calm has a section for kids too! We found a meditation for 7-year-olds and to my surprise, he completed the entire session which was about 10 minutes long. Side note, I tried a 4 minute 4-year-old mediation with my 4-year-old twins that did not go as well. However, they absolutely love the kids sleep stories.
If you are struggling with anxiety, I would strongly recommend meditation, and if any of these apps can help, I say go for it. It has been really helpful for us. However, if you are currently taking medication to help control your anxiety or depression, please consult your physician first. I am able to function really well without medication. So apps like Calm are really great to support in reminding me to take the time to practice mindful meditation.
