Mindfulness and Anxiety

When the elevator gets stuck, a tiger breaks out of the zoo or the next assignment deadline is approaching, fear is completely normal: Your body reacts to it with worried thoughts, sweaty hands or racing heart. However, if you get stomach aches days before you go to the dentist or if it constantly feels as if the tiger is after you, then it may be that the hormones and neurotransmitters in your head are out of balance - they create a feeling of fear inside you, although objectively speaking, everything is actually fine.

Why do we need fear at all?

Even if it sounds strange: being afraid is important - as long as it occurs in a healthy setting. It is our early warning system for everything that could hurt our psyche or our body. Without fear we would get ourselves into unpleasant or dangerous situations more often than necessary.

Our Top 3 Tips on how Mindfulness can help with your Anxiety

1. Turn off your mobile device

Don’t sleep with your phone in bed, and take a social media detox. Your cell phone can be a great distraction for your mind. Especially Social Media can create anxiety or the fear of missing out. So, try to avoid spending the last half hour before you go to sleep on your smartphone. Instead, read a book or listen to some music.

2. Have a sleeping routine

Try to allow your body to rest during the night. Getting enough sleep is one of the most important ways to deal with anxiety. So we recommend that you set up a sleeping schedule in order to get enough sleep.

3. Stay calm

A lot of young students struggle with anxiety during finals week and with mental health issues. Furthermore they are afraid to not be able to pass several exams at a time. Our advice is stay calm. So many students before you passed this challenge and so will you.

If you feel you can't cope with stress please check out the Student Counselling Resources at Trinity College.

Stay Mindful,

TCD Mindfulness Society