Stillness and Stress Management in An Anxious World

By Betty Bassett

Stress is a response to threat.    Sometimes the fear is rational and sometimes it is not. 

People emotionally process threats differently.  In moments of anxiety the body's sympathetic nervous system releases epinephrine.   Cortisol is produced. Digestion slows.  Blood vessels constrict.  Hearing lessens.  Vision narrows.  Heart rate spikes.  Saliva production is inhibited.

Being triggered takes its toll  through expressions of anger, depression, anxiety, chest pain, headaches, high blood pressure, insomnia, suppressed immunity  and reduced longevity.  

Is there a counter-balance to anxiety?

Meditation practice remediates anxiety, depression, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, as well as cancer.

Focusing on your breath and ignoring intrusive thoughts is how you find stillness, silence and detachment.  Clearing your mind of clutter; focusing on just breathing in and breathing out relinguishes the fear.

Emptying your mind helps you to  focus on the breath. Inhale. Exhale. This is where you find the whole despite the parts, the silence amid the noise.

How do you become imperturbable, unruffled and tranquil?

With practice.

Reference

"MEDITATION SITTING IN STILLNESS." https://thebreathproject.org/how-to-relieve-stress/meditation-sitting-in-stillness/.

"12 Science-Based Benefits of Meditation ." https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/12-benefits-of-meditation.

Simmons, Russell. "Success through stillness : meditation made simple ." https://vufind-dev.schlowlibrary.org/Record/364198/TOC.

Holiday, Ryan. Stillness is the Key.

Pascal, Blaise. "Stillness is the Key by Ryan Holiday: Book Summary, Key Lessons and Best Quotes ." https://dailystoic.com/stillness-is-the-key/.

Penderson, Traci. "Meditation Produces Opposite Effect of 'Fight or Flight' ." https://psychcentral.com/news/2013/05/04/meditation-produces-opposite-effect-of-fight-or-flight#5.