Karen Kissel Wegela Ph.D. on July 15, 2010
A Buddhist-based mindfulness approach to working with anxiety suggests a couple of things. First, of course, if there's an easy way to relieve one's anxiety-a way that doesn't involve masking it or just distracting oneself-that should be used. The second approach is to work with anxiety by bringing mindfulness to our actual experience. For most of us, this feels counter-intuitive. We want to get rid of our anxiety, not get to know it better!
A Buddhist-based mindfulness approach to working with anxiety suggests a couple of things. First, of course, if there's an easy way to relieve one's anxiety-a way that doesn't involve masking it or just distracting oneself-that should be used. The second approach is to work with anxiety by bringing mindfulness to our actual experience. For most of us, this feels counter-intuitive. We want to get rid of our anxiety, not get to know it better!