Hello and welcome to this mindfulness meditation on the subject of Covid anxiety.
This is going to be a short discussion as well as an actual mindfulness exercise and we're going to be looking at three things in particular.
Firstly we're going to be having a look at acknowledgement,
Acknowledging the very real reasons for the anxiety many people are feeling.
The second is agency.
Agency will be about a consideration of what each of us can do for ourselves where we have power.
And the final section dealing with the mindfulness exercise itself is about amelioration.
What can we do to make ourselves feel better given the very real situation causing anxiety and given perhaps the limitations of our agency.
So I'd like to begin in a very traditional way.
I'd like us to be sitting upright comfortably with our feet on the floor with our back in an upright position that I like to describe as sitting with dignity.
You can also lie down or sit on bean bags or cushions if that's more comfortable for you.
And we'll begin by taking two or three deep centering breaths in through the nose and out through the mouth.
Repeat that a couple more times.
And on your last exhalation gently allow your eyes to close and simply observe as your breathing returns to its normal rhythm.
A common feature of any kind of anxiety is self-talk,
Doubting that the feelings we have are appropriate,
Being annoyed with oneself or getting trapped in a cycle of thoughts that we seem to be unable to stop.
And so it's important to acknowledge when the root cause of anxiety is real.
And in the case of the current COVID epidemic,
Of course,
There are some very real reasons that someone might feel anxiety.
We are living in exceptional times.
This epidemic is the worst global pandemic for a hundred years.
In many countries,
We're experiencing death rates that haven't been much since the second world war.
And this clearly has implications not only for physical health,
But also for mental wellbeing.
Let's consider for a moment the sorts of things that we're anxious about.
Perhaps contracting COVID ourselves.
Perhaps having vulnerable members of our family that we're concerned for.
Perhaps having friends or relatives working in the health services or as teachers who we're concerned for.
But anxiety can have more subtle causes as well.
Confinement,
Reconfinement,
Curfews.
These are things that nobody would have considered living through just over a year ago.
We watch and we hear a constant barrage of political infighting,
Of competing professional opinions about how best to combat COVID in any particular community or country.
We have some people advocating masks and some people actively demonstrating against their use.
We have people breaking confinement and acting irresponsibly.
We still have deniers who are saying COVID is nothing more than a flu and it should just run its course.
We have people who think vaccination will be a solution and others who think it's only part of a wider solution.
We have still others who believe vaccinations won't work.
We have others who will simply refuse to take vaccines because they don't trust them for a number of reasons.
And these very real differences are divisive within a community.
At a country level we see that reflected politically.
But at a smaller local level,
Perhaps your workplace,
Your village,
Your town.
These divided opinions set people up against one another and add to a sense of anxiety and stress.
Added to this for many people is the fact that confinement means they are parenting at home,
Homeschooling children for which they feel neither prepared nor qualified.
All of these things taken together are producing unprecedented levels of stress and anxiety in the general population.
So it's important to acknowledge that if you're feeling anxiety about the COVID pandemic,
It's very real and your anxiety is to a large extent justified.
Where anxiety becomes a problem and exceeds its evolutionary purpose is where it stops us from living a normal life inasmuch as one can live a normal life at the moment.
If anxiety extends to feeling frightened about leaving the house,
To being scared to go to work,
To constantly thinking about the safety of yourself and others,
Then it's impacting your daily life in an unhealthy way.
So it's important to draw down away from the bigger picture and focus on yourself and your own agency.
There are things that each of us can do to act responsibly,
To help reduce the spread of the virus and to keep ourselves safe.
If you are regularly washing your hands,
If you are wearing a mask when you're in the company of other people,
If you are avoiding going out when it's unnecessary and going to places where there are crowds,
And if you are consciously social distancing when you are out,
You are using your agency to protect yourself and others.
And if you know that you are doing these things,
You can take comfort in the fact that you are doing what you can,
That you are exercising the power that you have for your own well-being.
So we have considered acknowledging the source of stress and anxiety,
And we have considered your agency in protecting yourself.
And now we'll have a look at how mindfulness can be used as an amelioration to make things better for yourself.
So once again,
I'd like you to take another one or two centering breaths deeply in through the nose and out through the mouth.
And then I'd like you to focus on your breath.
One way of doing this is to count your in-breaths.
Observe each in-breath and give it a number.
One,
Two,
Three.
Until you get to ten.
And at ten,
Start again at one.
If you lose count during this process and find that your mind has wandered,
Simply acknowledge the fact that your mind has wandered and draw it back to counting your in-breaths,
Starting again at one.
I'm going to leave you some time in silence to do that.
And now I'd like you to picture in your mind a time in your life,
A specific instant where you felt happy and safe.
If you were fortunate enough to have a happy and safe childhood,
You might find a time when a parent was caring for you,
When you were with friends,
Playing with relatives.
Search for a time where you felt comfortable,
Happy,
Loved and safe.
It may be that you find a time as an older child or as a young adult.
Or it might be that you find a time recently,
Perhaps with a friend,
A partner or a learner,
Where you felt comfortable and safe.
And I'd like you to hold that image in your mind.
What colours do you see?
What do you recognise about the environment around you?
What sensations do you physically feel?
Where are you sitting or standing?
What are you touching?
What sounds can you hear?
Can you recognise a smell or an odour?
Paint this scene as vividly as you can and hold it in your head.
And holding on to that image,
Recognise that the feeling of safety,
The feeling of security and of comfort is a very real feeling.
Hero Science has shown us that memories can evoke feelings which are as strong and real as the original events evoked.
So you now have a key to that feeling of security and safety.
By going inside,
Finding this image and sitting quietly with it.
Now,
You can do this for 5 or 10 minutes as a mindfulness meditation.
But you can also do this during the day,
In times when you sense anxiety.
It suffices simply to stop.
Take a deep breath in,
Perhaps close your eyes if you are able to,
And draw to mind the image of safety and comfort that you have just found.
The feeling of safety and comfort that it brings you is real.
Sit for a few more moments with that comfortable and safe image and I will come back to you to end this meditation in a few moments.
And when you are ready,
Gently open your eyes.
You might want to stretch your neck from side to side,
Stretch your fingers and arms,
Wriggle your toes.
And in closing,
I would like to suggest that if indeed anxiety about Covid is something that you find yourself struggling with on a daily basis,
It is probably a very good idea to limit your access to social media,
To limit listening to the news on the radio or the television.
Perhaps pick a time in the morning or the afternoon where you will catch up with news and then don't allow yourself to be sucked in to the media circus surrounding this event.
Give yourself time away from screens and news and arguments and discussion.
Take some time for yourself and know that safety and comfort are just a thought away.
Thank you.
