How a Feeling of Safety and Security Allows Mindfulness in Your Daily Life, Part 2
3 Techniques to Achieving Mindfulness through Personal Security
We reached out to thought leaders, professionals and passion leaders in the mindfulness/wellness space to find solutions to the idea of how a feeling of safety, and reduction of anxiety and fearfulness in one’s life can lead to a more mindful and fulfilling lifestyle. We had an overwhelming response to this issue facing us all and exacerbated while we struggle with Covid-19 related social and personal issues.
Whether it’s with your family, your loved ones, or enjoying the simple moments of daily life, these ideas can help guide you through anxiety and fear-related distractions towards a more mindful life with greater peace-of-mind.
Family trekking in the woods; Quality family time.
1) Corporate Wellness
Lynell Ross, Resource Director for Education Advocates, a non-profit educational organization dedicated to ensuring all students get fair and equal access to education and helping them achieve their goals through helpful resource articles. She is also a Psychology-Trained Certified Health and Wellness Coach, Nutritionist/Behavior Change Specialist and Certified Life Coach. She frequently writes about the topic of mindfulness and other wellness tools for educational success.
Ross focused on the corporate side of the anxiety and mindfulness connection, relating, “ I believe I can add value as I teach corporate wellness classes on healthy lifestyle and stress management, using mindfulness to reduce stress and anxiety.
Happy friends having fun.
Following are some thoughts on safety, security and mindfulness:
A) The reason mindfulness is such a powerful tool for reducing stress and anxiety is because it brings us to the present moment.
B) When we aren’t obsessing about something that happened in the past or worrying about something that may happen in the future and are fully aware of our presence in the moment, we begin to calm down.
C) Mindfulness refers to our being aware of ourselves without judging anything. It means noticing everything using all of our senses. For example, if you are outside looking at a tree, noticing the branches, the leaves and the bark without naming or labeling it, you get to experience the tree without any thoughts about it. When you notice the beauty of nature, the color of the sky, the temperature of the air, and a calm comes over you, it is because you aren’t thinking about other things.
Couple enjoying a hike in nature. 
Feeling the air and sky and beauty of the world.
That is mindfulness.
D) Stress and anxiety are caused by feeling overwhelmed and having the thought that you may not be able to handle things.
Today with the Covid-19 pandemic, we have more things than ever to worry about, getting sick, loved ones dying, possible job loss and financial pressures. Add to that all the problems in the world with politics, racial tension, fires, hurricanes and flood, and we could be on high alert in a
constant state of stress.
E) To combat stress, anxiety and worry, we need to slow down, and stop our minds from running away with obsessive worry.
Woman enjoying life.
When we take our mind off worries and handle what is right in front of us, we alleviate stress.
Healthy people know that they can handle anything that comes their way. They do this by naming and facing their fears, and having a plan for what could go wrong, while taking action for the best possible outcome
F) When we are mindful, we do things one at a time, remaining calm and aware of our own strengths and abilities.
Worrying and feeling anxious only drains our energy and weakens us, while remaining mindful and aware helps us make clear decisions and focus on life’s most important moments.
2) Techniques for mindfulness
Alexandra Allred is an adjunct professor and author, former athlete, and researcher. Geared more for adults, she teaches that reducing fear and anxiety while bolstering confidence and a sense of security comes in varying forms but … why not attack from all ends?
“FIrst, I’ll tell you what you already know: 2020 has been a terrible year for those who already struggle with anxiety, stress and/or depression. Terrible. Prior to this year, I speak to schools (all ages and adjust to just that), colleges, corporations and organizations.
A). Public speaking is said to be more terrifying to people than death.
Well, good news … you don’t have to speak if you don’t want to. Bad news…. I think we all know where this is going … at some point you are going to die. As much as we fear it, don’t pretend it won’t happen. I have an everything list compiled for senior citizens (I speak on dementia/Alzheimer’s) but it really is for everyone, including, If something happens to me, who will take my dog? my plants? my car? More importantly, my kids? Will your family know what to do with your belongings? Do you want to be buried or cremated? Do you have a medical directive in case you were in a coma? Couldn’t speak for yourself? It is a daunting task but once done, offers incredible peace of mind.
Woman sitting amid of field of chamomiles.
B) Your personal being is worthy of that same list.
Are you healthy – and I don’t mean are you a certain pant size. Can you walk around the block without getting out of breath? If you fell down could you pull/drag yourself to a phone or get help? More than that, could you fight for yourself? For almost 30 years I have been giving free self-defense classes to corporations, Girls Scouts of America, senior homes, colleges, and athletes for one single reason — the self-defense classes that are offered today are all about flipping someone, doing hand-to-hand combat but what I teach is situational awareness and ‘voice’ before anything physical. My goal is that you never get to the physical part, to begin with and THAT begins with you protecting you!
There are specific things you can do to ensure safety, to feel secure and confident.
C) Internalizing.
This one is typically directed more toward females but applies to all. Each day, girls are subjected to 2,000 to 3,000 images of objectified female images. We, as humans, simply internalize this. We’re so used to seeing images of women in bikinis or bending over something while standing in line at the store, watching TV, scrolling past advertisements that we rarely even ‘see’ them anymore but we internalize. When we’re told we’re pretty or that we should smile when nothing is said to the male in the room, we internalize. Long term this teaches us to be quiet; lean back and take it. And, we do. Women have a difficult time speaking up for themselves.
Mother and daughter reading in a blissful momement outdoors.
This is what I ask my students:
Did you earn your high school or college diploma? [head nods]
Did you earn your driver’s license? [head nods]
Did you go to the effort of getting a passport or register to vote? [head
nods] …
You did all this for you but why can’t you speak up for you?
It always gets lots of laughs and giggles, people are embarrassed and it’s actually a really fun segment but we practice yelling. Ask yourself, ‘If I needed to yell/scream for my life right now, what would it sound like?’
Go ahead … I’ll wait. Try it.
Shouldn’t you know that you own a kick-ass power yell? Mine is awesome.
D) Finally, journaling.
The power of writing down something — just one thing — that happened that day that was funny is incredible. It shifts your mind set. While my parents were both dying from dementia, my mom had physically attacked me, believing that I was someone else, I managed to find some humor in what had happened. It wasn’t easy. When my son-in-law and daughter were trudging through waist high water toward a boat that had come to save them in Hurricane Harvey [the newly weds lost both cars, everything they owned except what was in two backpacks that they carried over their heads] and my son-in-law looked at my daughter and said, I hope we get top billing in your mom’s Christmas letter this year. Each year, I take everything bad that happened and make fun of it to share with all our family and friends and have for 27 years. That THAT was what went through Kyle’s (SIL) mind as he trudged through the waters, having lost everything, is amazing. End each day with a positive no matter how seemingly impossible.
These are such hard times for so many but we are strong. If we just set ourselves up properly, train our minds properly, we can be warriors.”
Family picnic time!
Bond services to help you achieve Safety and Mindfulness
3) How a feeling of safety and security equates to mindfulness
Sarah Johnson is a Clinical Therapist & a Health Ambassador at Family Assets, an organization that provides free information to families about organizations that provide senior care including independent living, assisted living, memory care and skilled nursing.
A) Fear and Anxiety
For Sarah, “Fear and anxiety are interrelated but not interchangeable. Both may have similar symptoms, but their context can be different. Fear can result from a known or understood threat, whereas anxiety can be due to an unknown but an expected threat.
Fear and anxiety link to other mental health conditions like specific phobias, agoraphobia, social anxiety disorder, and panic disorder. You need to book an appointment with your doctor if you find it challenging to manage.
B) The relation with COVID
Since COVID, we are as far away from the life we used to live as possible. Locked down in our homes, we are left with a feeling of emptiness, which causes anxiety. This leads to mindlessness, where it becomes complicated for anyone to even enjoy the little good moments with their families. To overcome this, we need to start accepting and living in the new norm. Only when you face this mindlessness, you realize how important mindfulness is.
C) Mindfulness
Mindfulness is a practice that requires time and effort to be maintained. Research has proven that it is very significant to overcome anxiety. Some exercises that you need to do to achieve mindfulness are:
1. Slow down and do things at your own pace, instead of rushing to meet other’s deadlines.
2. Close your eyes and focus on your breath; feel every inhale and exhale for a few minutes.
3. Instead of multi-tasking, focus on one task at a time; it will help you live in the present moment.
4. Practice meditation, the skill of allowing thoughts to enter and exit the mind without attaching judgment or reactions.”
Conscious parents with child rest on sofa meditating to relieve negative emotions on weekend at home.
Enjoy Bond. Stay safe. Keep the comments and recommendations coming,
Download Bond from the App Store
Download Bond from Google Play
