Tag: Work with Anxiety

  • Easing Anxiety for Seniors with Easy Mindfulness

    Easing Anxiety for Seniors with Easy Mindfulness

    A Step-by-Step Guide: The “Just Notice 10 Things” Tool for Easing Anxiety

    When the “runaway train” of anxiety or upset starts to pick up speed, it can feel totally overwhelming. While a single mindful breath is a powerful tool for mild unease, easing anxiety when the upset already has a strong hold of us, sometimes we need something more tangible to help us regain our emotional footing.

    In this guide, we’ll walk you through a simple, practical, and incredibly flexible tool I call c

    What is the “Just Notice 10 Things” Strategy for Easing Anxiety?

    Is Easing Anxiety something you want to learn how to do? This approach is inspired by proven therapeutic techniques but is designed to be gentle, accessible, and adaptable for seniors. The goal isn’t to solve the larger problem in the moment; it’s simply to give your mind a new, easy job to do. This simple act shifts your focus away from the internal emotional storm and toward the neutral, external world, which in turn helps to calm your nervous system.

    How to Use the Tool: A Step-by-Step Guide

    When you feel an upset starting, easing anxiety is important… You can start by gently shift your focus and choose one of the following simple “tasks” for your mind.

    The key is to intentionally shift your focus with a gentle nudge toward something other than the upset.
    • Try Counting: Casually and slowly count “just 10 things” around you. This could be ten books on a shelf, ten pictures on the wall, or ten cars passing by a window. The number isn’t as important as the gentle act of looking and counting.
    • Try Naming Colors: Look around your space and silently name five things you can see that are blue. Then maybe four things that are green. You can repeat this with any color you see.
    • Try Noticing Textures: Without moving, bring all of your attention to the feeling of your feet on the floor. Or reach out and feel the texture of the fabric on your chair or the cool, smooth surface of a table.
    • Try Mindful Sips: Take ten slow, deliberate sips of a warm cup of tea, coffee, or even just water. Focus completely on the temperature, the taste, and the sensation of swallowing.
    • Try an Unusual Task: This is a surprisingly effective way to interrupt a thought pattern. Pick up a book or magazine, turn it upside down, and simply try to read one or two sentences. This requires just enough focus to derail the “runaway train” of upset or anxiety.
    • Note: These approaches are based on the DBT model. Read more about Dialectical Behavior Therapy >

    The Invitation: Make It Your Own

    Remember, this is an easy, flexible, and highly adaptable Life Tool, so be sure to make it your own! It doesn’t matter if you count to 10 or count to 100… And if counting isn’t your thing, focus on colors if that works better. Don’t want to focus on colors, use your other senses, including touch for textures, hearing for sounds, smell, etc. You can do these inside, outside, or wherever you prefer. If you have questions, please feel free to let us know >

    The Key Takeaway: If it helps you regain your natural calm, it is the right way to use the tool.

    Disclaimer: The information provided in this article is for educational purposes only and is not intended as a substitute for professional medical or mental health advice, diagnosis, or treatment. The author is not a licensed medical or mental health professional. Please consult with your physician or a qualified healthcare provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.

  • The Founder’s Story: How I Learned to Work With Anxiety Using Mindfulness

    The Founder’s Story: How I Learned to Work With Anxiety Using Mindfulness

    In this candid conversation, Mindfulness for Seniors founder Blair O’Neil sits down with our dialogue partner, Lisa, to discuss a challenging period in his own life. He shares his personal story of navigating the “runaway train” of his work with anxiety, and the simple, intuitive turning point that changed his relationship with it forever.

    Lisa: Blair, it’s so good to connect with you today. The theme we’re exploring is anxiety, which is something that touches so many of our listeners’ lives. To start, could you take us back to a time in your own life when you felt that way?

    Blair: Hi Lisa. Thank you. About 25 years ago, I had a beautiful, brand-new son. Because our son had some minor health challenges that kept him and my wife awake most of the night, she wasn’t able to work, so the entire income-generating responsibility fell onto my shoulders. As it happened, I was also transitioning careers from being a 911 paramedic to relying on my art training to start a career in graphic design. With only a few clients, the sense of responsibility and financial stress was immense. All of this led to sleepless, worry-filled nights and an inability to function effectively during the day. It was quite a tailspin.

    The Turning Point: Creating Space

    Lisa: It sounds like an immense amount of pressure converging on you all at once. How did that weight start to manifest internally?

    Blair: In those early days, my thinking and emotions were running quite high. In my overwhelm, in what felt like an unending state of anxiety, I realized that I had to create some space from what I was experiencing. For me, this meant that I needed to work with anxiety directly… So, a lot of walking and spending time outdoors. Sometimes, if I was feeling very upset, I wouldn’t even count my steps; I would just walk quickly, moving my arms and legs more forcefully, giving myself some mental and emotional space.

    And I think the important point I want to make here is that the anxiety didn’t go away; it was still there. It’s just that my relationship to it changed. It became calmer, and I had a bit more of a buffer and internal clarity about how to work with it.

    My work with Anxiety: From a Long Walk to a Simple Tool

    Lisa: That’s such a powerful insight. But as you know, we can’t always go for a long walk. For those moments, you’ve developed a wonderfully simple strategy you call “Just Notice 10 Things.” Could you walk us through that?

    Blair: Of course, Lisa. This approach is inspired by a known therapy called Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), but my version isn’t so austere. The idea is to take the core of that therapy and turn it into something that’s easy to do wherever you are and is scalable to the amount of upset you’re feeling. In essence, it’s about giving our mind a different “task” or job to do when we feel the need to address or work with anxiety.

    For instance, you could count 10 books on a bookshelf, or the panes of glass in a window. Alternatively, it doesn’t have to be counting. You could look for ‘all the things that are blue,’ or all the things made of wood.

    The idea is to engage your senses intentionally. You could tap your fingers for a count of 10. You could take ten slow sips of tea. You can even take a book, turn it upside down, and try to read one sentence. You’d be amazed at how that simple shift just turns the volume knob down on our troubling thoughts. It introduces a buffer, a safe reset, where we can begin to face our problems with a calmer mind, giving us the ability to more effectively navigate our challenges instead of being launched into space by them.

    The Invitation: Give Yourself Permission

    Lisa: Before we wrap up, what’s one simple invitation you’d like to offer someone listening right now?

    Blair: The main takeaway is an invitation to directly work with anxiety, using a one-two punch. First, just recognize that you are upset. Second, give yourself permission to stop the engagement with whatever is triggering you. Just turn, walk away, or face a new direction to intentionally create space. Take the temperature knob and turn it way down. Get the flames off high. Then you can revisit the feelings later without getting so wrapped up in the upheaval.

    I also want to say that even with decades of experience, I still get upset. I still stub my metaphorical toe. I think of this approach as a ‘life tool,’ much like a screwdriver or pliers. When “Life Happens” and we get on that runaway train of emotional upheaval, we can pull out our life tools and give our upset a twist or a turn to help make things work a little more smoothly, not only for us, but for those around us.

    It doesn’t mean we become saints; it just means we have an effective tool to live with our upset, face it, and find a way to calm it, thereby giving ourselves the ability to have a happier, calmer life.