If you have severe anxiety, meditation is a no-brainer. Yes, it will be painful at times and no, you’ll never stop your anxious thoughts. That’s not the point of meditation though. Sadly, the image of a clear mind has been overused and misunderstood in the sense that you can’t physically stop thoughts. What you can do though is get to know them. In fact, meditation for anxious people is perfectly doable and you will eventually get some peace of mind. 

Different Meditation Techniques 

I’m not going to pretend to be an expert on all the different meditation styles and techniques. Some of the purer scholars even say that they don’t like teaching techniques because Buddha never did. Of course, meditation should feel natural and you should be guided by what feels right for you. 

We still live in a very different world to what Buddha was dealing with so some of us need a little bit more help. Also, don’t forget that in those days, they had whole communities supporting each other with meditation whereas most of us are trying it out alone with our apps. 

Whether you choose focused, mindfulness, mantra or any other type of meditation, you’ll still learn to be more present with less judgement of yourself and those around you. This is particularly important for anxious people because we tend to live in a multitude of future scenarios. Instead, meditation can bring you back from the future into the now. The chances are that in this now, everything is ok. 

Why Meditation for Anxious People is so Hard 

If you have anxiety, there’s a great book called Make the Beast Beautiful by Sarah Wilson, TV presenter and author. She tells her very honest story about dealing with anxiety and relates it to the often misunderstood octopus. If nothing else, they actually eat their arms when they’re bored. I don’t know about boredom but anxiety can definitely take us down that path. 

Anxiety is horrible to live with. It’s like you have this other person inside you constantly telling you how scary the world is. You can’t sleep, you constantly check things and you over react when your kids or pets do anything wrong because you assume it’s the end of everything in that moment. 

Meditation brings some relief if nothing else simply by accepting and befriending your anxiety. You also learn to redirect the energy so that it isn’t part of you anymore but just another emotion. For decades, I attached my anxiety to my identity. The day I finally clicked that it was just another intense emotion that I could also ground and get rid of was an enlightening day if ever there was one. 

Most apps and other popular Western takes on meditation are to focus on breathing as the common approach. This makes sense because clearly, we all know what it feels like to breathe and it’s pretty obvious, most of the time, when you’re breathing. 

If you have anxiety though, the very thought of following your breath could be terrifying. After all, what if it stops because you were focusing on it? What about if you’re already stressed and hyperventilating? Focusing on that is just going to be even of a trigger for anxiety. Luckily there is some good meditation for anxious people though.

How to Meditate to Ease your Anxiety 

Neuroscientists have proven that meditation eases and with time, you change your relationship with anxiety. It won’t have such a hold over you anymore. Of course, the path is long and arduous and of course, some days you’ll hate meditation but it does get easier.

1- Be curious with your anxiety

Try to remember that meditation isn’t about having a blank mind. On the contrary, it’s about observing the patterns of thoughts and how they impact us. That’s how you get to know your anxiety. Add a little curiosity and you’ll start seeing all the different layers of anxiety. How it feels, what it looks like to you and how it changes according to time of day or various situations. 

As Sun Tzu said “If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.”

2- Open awareness

A useful meditation is to practice open awareness because it’s less intense. You simply sit and observe what happens around you including sounds, senses and thoughts. The idea is to follow everything and to be with it without judgement. 

Some people even choose to open their eyes so allowing the vastness of the world to support their anxiety. Think of it like a fish going round in circles in a tiny fish bowl versus opening your eyes and your awareness to the world and its compassion so enlarging your space. 

3- Forest bathing 

If you’re new to meditation, why not try easier steps? Let nature be your guide as you sit in a forest and let the natural calm support you. There’s something ancient and wise about trees that makes us feel held and supported. The Japanese were onto something when they coined the term forest bathing in the 80s to overcome burnout. 

What Can You Start Doing Today? 

You always have a choice. You can either be ruled by anxiety or you can understand it, accept it and slowly let it go. Of course it’s hard and will take time and patience but try not to let that put you off. The gain far outweighs the effort that you need to put in. 

Sometimes, you might literally just sit with the anxiety and do nothing else. That’s ok too and that still counts as meditation. Alternatively, as Sun Tzu says, you can also simply succumb. Why not displace fear and anxiety once and for all?