From Dwelling on the Past or Worrying about the Future to Engaging in the Now

Practicing Mindfulness

Photo by Saffu on Unsplash

I’ve been more enthusiastic about practicing mindfulness lately since discovering a valuable benefit. After my husband died, and given that my body keeps aging despite my best efforts, numerous additional stresses and anxieties had been leading to distractions and mistakes. When I was able to be mindful, I was mentally sharper, noticed things I’d been missing, gained new insights, and developed a greater awareness of myself. It was quite empowering.

While the popularity of mindfulness has led to its use in trendy and commercial ways, the core meaning remains the same: purposefully paying attention to our thoughts, feelings, sensations, and surroundings in the present moment without judgment.

Experimental studies and reviews highlight the benefits of increased mindfulness, particularly in our later years, suggesting that it can help prevent depression and anxiety, improve cognition, aid in disease management and pain control, and enhance our overall quality of life.

Experts say mindfulness may help older adults accept change, find purpose, maintain mental sharpness, and improve their brain’s ability to manage attention and stress when they focus on present-moment awareness.

They further claim that we can cultivate it by breathing deliberately, conducting body scans, and paying attention while eating or walking. If we do this, we not only help ourselves become more adaptable to the challenges of aging, but we also make our lives more joyful in the process.

I’m not good at meditation, mindful breathing, or body scans. However, I do journal, use imagery—visualizing ideas in my mind—and practice Qigong, which combines physical activity, breathing exercises, and mindfulness. Even so, I keep looking for other ways to manage as circumstances change - and they do.

I recently found two additional possibilities. One is art therapy, which is done in a couple of ways. We can use the popular coloring books for older adults if we want to focus on something other than our worries, or we can write a word such as "anxiety" on a piece of paper, draw or paint what comes to mind, and ask the drawing what its message is for us. It depends on what we hope to accomplish.

The other is mindfulness-based mind-mapping, a technique designed for older adults who experience significant mental stress and worry. It can help break negative thoughts and emotions into smaller pieces, preventing us from becoming overwhelmed and allowing us to tackle them a little at a time.

The mind map starts with a central topic and, in some ways, resembles the drawing exercise. We’d write a topic in the center of a blank piece of paper and then add branches—ideas related to it. If the central idea were “situations that make me anxious,” the branches might include “making the right decision,” “managing after eye surgery,” and “fear of offending someone.” We would then add notes to highlight areas we want to address in detail.

I’ve decided to further develop my skills and practice being mindful more regularly - it seems to make a difference.

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Dr. Janice Walton is a psychologist, a widow, a mother, a grandmother, a great-grandmother, and a writer. She’s been writing a newsletter on Substack for five years.