A lot of energy can be expended in trying to switch off negative thoughts. When you are used to worrying and have tended to focus on the negative, your brain has become wired to think that way. This can make it excessively difficult to change.
A different approach is not to focus on your negative thoughts at all. Instead, focus on what is around you.
Switch on to your surroundings.
Grounding is a very good way to do this.
Ask yourself:
What am I seeing?
What am I hearing?
What am I smelling?
What am I tasting?
What am I touching?
This is a quick and easy way to ensure that you are in the present moment. If you are away on holiday, be at your destination drinking in the sights and sounds of a new environment. If you have taken leave from work, look around your home with new eyes. Observe sights and hear sounds and smell smells for the first time as if you are a curious scientist. When you go for a walk, leave your phone at home or at the very least in your pocket. Look around you and absorb all the stimuli that are stimulating your senses. Be present. Be in touch. Focus on your senses intentionally.
Being mindful does not promise that you will be relaxed or happy. But it will ensure that your thoughts are where you are which often leads to calmness. Either way, it is about switching your mind onto the present and taking the focus off your negative stream of worries.
Practice grounding and you will feel your experiences heighten. Move away from being a slave to your worries and fears. Make a change. Easily.
At Masterpiece Psychology (former Anxiety Solutions CBT Psychology Practice), we teach mindfulness in a way that you can easily integrate into your everyday life. Mindfulness has become a buzzword, but its meaning is quite simple – be present in the moment. Being in the now is very beneficial for one’s mental health. It also enhances one’s enjoyment of life. Many people are scared off from learning about mindfulness because they think that mindfulness involves a huge commitment of at least it is 20 minutes of meditation a day. It can. However, there are easier, shorter more practical ways of implementing mindfulness such as grounding.
To find out more, contact Lisa on 02 9328 5899, email reception@masterpiecepsychology.com.au or BOOK ONLINE. All our psychologists are trained in these methods.
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