There are Some Great Mantras for Anxiety Out There.
So, let us guess – you’re sitting on the bus or in the car on the way to work when anxiety strikes you. Maybe you are at your desk at work – or at school already? Now, you are looking for a mantra to remove stress and anxiety from your life. Do we have that right? If so, you’ve come to the right place.
Sometimes, despite how hard you try to follow all the tips for reducing anxiety on a daily basis, your racing mind can be triggered by the smallest thing. Luckily, having positive mantras for anxiety in your anxiety toolkit can make all the difference. Bruce knows full-on what having a good mantra can mean for getting through some tougher days.
Mantras are repeatable words or phrases which are commonly used to aid in mental concentration. Their root comes from yoga (among other places) – and mantras can help us reach a deeper state of consciousness and awareness.
As we, as a society,
Disclaimer: We are not medical professionals and are purely speaking from personal experience. These are things that have helped us with our anxiety. If you suffer from anxiety, please consult a medical professional for any questions and concerns.
Breathe in. Breathe Out.
This one is simple but powerful. We talk about the importance of breathing in combatting anxiety and we think that when you are stricken by anxiety all of a sudden, a really easy way to make sure it doesn’t turn into a runaway train on you is to start breathing.
Become aware of your breathing. Make sure it’s not shallow. This also helps you build self-awareness of your body in space – another helpful way to bring yourself into the present moment and out of your head!
Read Next: Ways That We Can Sometimes Stop Anxiety Attacks
That cave is not meant for you.
Another super powerful one. We like to imagine we are physically standing at the edge of a long dark cave. You’ve got a lantern in one hand, and you peer down it. You can hear the echo of the rock walls and the drips of water droplets. However, you peer down it.. and don’t go in.
Symbolically, the cave is your mind – and you peer down but don’t enter. As in, do not let your mind wander into itself and down a winding path. Entertain the ideas in your head, but do not allow them to suck you in. Do not explore them. You do not need to do that today. You are choosing whether you are in control or not.
I am here – and here is here.
This one is a personal favorite of Bruce’s. This mantra is all about grounding yourself in the physical present. What is around you in the physical world is the only thing that matters at that moment.
Saying “I am here” literally should mean that you are in whatever room, building, or place that you are in. Then the second part is just reaffirming that where that place is truly is where that place is – in the physical world.
Often times, an anxious mind knows where you are but allows itself to run away to other places. Bringing yourself to where you are physically and then acknowledging where that is in general time and space can be super powerful.
Once, Bruce was sitting on a carpeted floor working on a university essay when anxiety popped up. He recalls acknowledging that he was in his room on the carpet in the city he was living in at the time and repeated that mantra over in his mind. He was able to nip it in the
Read Also: 7 Valuable Tips For Living In The Present
Slow is fast and fast is slow.
Even though your mind might be racing at a million ideas per minute, that pace is actually quite slow. You basically trick your mind.
This mantra is also useful because the more you think about the logic of the mantra the less your mind runs away with whatever you were fixated on before you started saying this mantra!
This too shall pass.
This is a popular one but we put it on here for that reason. It works. Sometimes, the mechanism behind mantras is that they work because they help you gain perspective at that moment.
Understanding that what you are feeling/going through shall pass in the near future can be comforting. Nothing is permanent, and your current mind state will pass. This leads nicely into the next mantra which you might want to try for yourself.
My thoughts are powerful and I have power over my thoughts.
This one acknowledges the power of the human mind. This says – “I know that my thoughts and ideas can be very powerful in affecting me”.
However, it also means that you are in control of those thoughts. You create them, and you can take them away again fairly easily”.
Clear mind, full heart.
This acknowledges that yes, you are full of emotion as a passionate person but no, you are not a slave to it. Your mind does not get to run away with your sanity. You can have a clear mind and leave the passion/fire in you attached!
Also, you might recognize this one as being close to a line from a popular TV series “Friday Night Lights” from the early 2010s. The football head coach has a line for the team which is “Clear Eyes, Full Hearts, Can’t Lose”. Bruce is/was a true fan of the show back in the day and this mantra makes him think of the show a bit!
And there you have it – 7 powerful mantras for anxiety that you can try out the next time you are feeling the pressure. Hopefully, you don’t need any of these – but if you do, here they are.
Mantras don’t always work for everyone. The messaging is one thing but the imagery and connection to the message changes from person to person. That’s why when you find one that just works for you, you stick to it!
What did you think of the article? Which mantras do you use? Share it on Twitter and tag us @boardandlife so we can hear and have others can weigh in on the conversation! We’re always happy to hear about the ways you best take care of yourself. It might just be useful for another!
As always, Stay Curious,
-L&E
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