Trying to control your anxious thoughts can backfire, making them more prevalent, not less. The best way to calm these common feelings is by attuning yourself to your thoughts in a nonjudgmental, attentive manner, acknowledging your anxieties but choosing to act rather than react.
From the author of Calming Your Anxious Mind comes Daily Mediations for Calming Your Anxious Mind, a collection of more than sixty-four daily mindfulness-based meditations to help you engage with the present moment, manage stress and anxiety, and rediscover the joy in living. Each meditation contains an easy-to-learn visualization exercise, affirmation, or activity, with meditations grouped into four sections: relaxing and feeling safe, embracing joys and fears, befriending your anxious mind and body, and connecting to the web of life.
Jeffrey Brantley, MD, is a consulting associate in the Duke Department of Psychiatry and the founder and director of the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Program at Duke University's Center for Integrative Medicine. He is author of Calming Your Anxious Mind and coauthor of Five Good Minutes, Five Good Minutes in the Evening, Five Good Minutes at Work, and The Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills Workbook.
Wendy Millstine, NC, is a freelance writer and certified holistic nutrition consultant who specializes in diet and stress reduction. She is coauthor of Five Good Minutes, Five Good Minutes in the Evening, and Five Good Minutes at Work. Millstine lives and works in Oakland, CA.