“Anxiety, the illness of our time, comes primarily from our inability to dwell in the present moment.”
This quote is by Thich Nhat Hanh, a Vietnamese Buddhist monk, peace activist, author, poet, and teacher who lived from 1926 to 2022.
As Nhat Hanh’s words suggest, being able to dwell in the present moment can help us to deal with feelings of anxiety. When we focus on the present moment, we’re able to stop thinking about things that happened in the past, even what happened earlier that same day, or concerns about the future, the unknown. Both are often sources of anxiety. It’s a reality of life that there are many things we cannot directly control. Some are large and affect many people, such as wars and natural disasters; others are more personal, such as having relationship problems and worries about people we care about who are struggling with challenges. As we do what we are able to when dealing with various difficulties, we also need to take care of ourselves when those difficulties cause anxiety.
Nhat Hanh’s referring to anxiety as the illness of our time reflects what is often spoken and written about. There are many articles and books about the prevalence of feelings of anxiety by many adults of all ages and by some children also. As with all emotions, the degree of anxiety varies considerably. In addition to concerns or challenges we can identify that are causing us to feel anxious, there are also times when we feel a low level and often present anxiety where it isn’t clear what might be causing it.
When we feel our anxiety rising, doing deep breathing is one approach that helps many people. There are several types of breathing techniques, but they all have in common concentrating on our breathing so that we step away mentally from other thoughts. A basic form is to breathe in slowly through our nose to a count of four, expanding our lungs, hold the breath to a count of four, and then slowly release the breath through our mouth to a count of four. Deep breathing also is effective because it stimulates our vagus nerve which cues our bodies and minds to relax.
Deep breathing and other “in the moment” self-help approaches can assist us with less intense feelings of anxiety. For those who experience frequent and intense anxiety, I encourage meeting with a therapist to explore what might be underlying it in addition to doing deep breathing and other self-help skills. I highly recommend meeting with a Jungian-based therapist, if possible.
If you’re not already in the habit of doing deep breathing and/or other types of coping techniques that help you to be in the present moment, I encourage you to do so. In addition to caring for others, it’s important that we care for ourselves and thus to live healthier and more fulfilling lives.