Mindfullness: Buddhify (app)

Dec 18, 2016 | 3 comments

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Jeg forsøger altid, at være meget ærlig omkring det, at have angst. Ikke nødvendigvis fordi jeg gerne vil behandles anderledes, men bare fordi det i min optik er vigtigt, at kunne tale åbent om så man ikke føler, man er den eneste i verden der kan have det svært. Og ligeså meget fordi vi lever i en tid, hvor det bliver mere og mere almindeligt, at have angst i en eller anden grad. Der er heldigvis meget hjælp at hente i dag, og jeg har selv prøvet lidt af hvert efterhånden. Det vigtigste er, at man ikke kæmper imod angsten når den opstår (hvilket kan være lettere sagt end gjort), fordi på den måde slipper den ligeså stille sit tag i dig uden du egentlig tænker over det. Jeg går selv jævnligt til terapeut, men supplerer også med andre ting i det daglige – som fx en app som hedder Buddhify. Det er vigtigt for mig lige at understrege, at dette ikke er en reklame eller noget i den dur, det er helt og holdent et tip fra mig til jer.

Buddhify koster omkring 25 kr., og de penge er virkelig godt givet ud, hvis I spørger mig. Jeg bruger den stort set dagligt. Den indeholder et hav af små meditations sessions på alt lige fra 5 minutter til 30 minutter, alt efter hvad man har behov for. De er også inddelt i kategorier, så der er én til hvis du fx ikke kan sove, hvis du oplever svære følelser eller hvis du bare gerne vil meditere uden nogen speciel årsag. Man siger jo, at blot 10 minutters mindfulness meditation hver dag kan gøre en kæmpe forskel. Mindfulness er hjernegymnastik, så man må ikke give op eller holde op med at meditere, hvis man ikke mærker en kæmpe forskel lige med det samme. Lidt ligesom med fysisk træning så går der et stykke tid, før man virkelig kan mærke en forskel. På samme måde er det vigtigt, at blive ved med at meditere, selv i perioder hvor man synes man har det godt. Her kan man igen sammenligne det med fysisk aktivitet – hvis du holder for lange pauser, så mister du noget af alt den muskelmasse som du har brugt så meget energi på, at få opbygget.

[pullquote width=”300″ float=”left”]The most important thing is that you don’t try to fight the anxiety when it occurs (which may be easier said than done), because in that way it will release itself from you without you noticing it.[/pullquote]

/ I always try to be very honest about having anxiety. Not necessarily because I want to be treated differently, but just because it is important to talk openly about so you do not feel you are the only one in the world that may be experiencing difficult emotions. We live in a world where it is becoming more and more common to have anxiety to some degree. Fortunately, there is so much help you can get today, and I’ve even tried a little of everything my self. The most important thing is that you don’t try to fight the anxiety when it occurs (which may be easier said than done), because in that way it will release itself from you without you noticing it. I visit a therapist once in a while but I also try out other things in my everyday life – such as an app called Buddhify. It is important for me to emphasize that this is not an advertisement or something like that, it’s entirely a tip from me to you.

Buddhify costs around 5 USD, and the money is really well spent if you ask me. I use it almost daily. It contains a wealth of small meditation sessions on everything from 5 minutes to 30 minutes, depending on what you need. They are also divided into categories, so there’s one for example if you can’t sleep, if you are experiencing difficult emotions or if you just want to meditate without any special reason. They say that a 10-minute mindfulness meditation each day can make a huge difference. Mindfulness is a mental workout so you must not give up or stop meditating if you don’t notice a huge difference right away. Like with physical exercise so it takes some time before you can really notice a difference. Similarly, it is important to continue to meditate, even in periods where you think you are doing well. Again comparing it to a physical workout; if you have too long breaks you lose some of all the muscle mass that you have spent so much energy on getting built.

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Vi lever i en verden hvor alting går rigtig stærkt, og man kan ikke altid bare trække sig tilbage og gemme sig under dynen, selvom det ofte er dét man har allermest lyst til, når man har det svært. Tro mig, jeg kender følelsen! Din hjerne kan nogle gange bilde dig ind, at chokolade og en uge på sofaen er det eneste rigtige. Forstå mig ret, det skal vi også have lov til at gøre nogle gange, men for igen at sammenligne psyken med fysisk aktivitet, så har du det jo 100 gange bedre når du har fået slæbt dig afsted ud på den løbetur selvom du overhovedet ikke havde lyst. Igen handler det rigtig meget om, at man sætter sig selv i nogle situationer man normalt ville have undgået, og håndtere dem på en mindfull måde. At lære sig selv, at man ved ikke at skubbe ubehagelige følelser eller situationer væk, faktisk kan få lirket sig ud af angstens greb.

For at nævne en personlig succes oplevelse, så har jeg været rigtig angst for, at køre på motorvej, fordi vi engang var ude for et (mindre alvorligt) uheld, en dag da der lå rigtig meget sne på vejene. I lang tid efter kunne jeg slet ikke fordrage, at køre på motorvej og ville hellere bruge dobbelt så lang tid på landevejene, hvis bare jeg undgik den dumme motorvej. Men så fik jeg et job, der tvang mig ud på motorvejen hver eneste dag. I starten var jeg virkelig nervøs for, om jeg ville holde til det i længden. Men som tiden gik, og jeg vendte mig til situationen, fordi det var jeg ligesom nødt til – ja, så forsvandt angsten. Jeg pendler i dag ca. 50 minutter hver vej til og fra job, og min angst er helt forsvundet. Dén lille succeshistorie er mit holdepunkt, og selvom nogle situationer virker næsten umulige, at kunne vænne sig til, så prøver jeg på at minde mig selv om motorvejen. Man skal vælge sine kampe med omhu, og somme tider er det eneste rigtige, at give slip. Men somme tider må man også forsøge, at hænge i lige dér hvor det virker mest umuligt. Som hvis man skal op af en rigtig stejl bakketop, og man bare vil se hvad der er på den anden side.

/ We live in a world where everything goes by so fast and you can not always just retreat and hide under the covers, allthough this is often what you think you need. Believe me, I know the feeling! Your brain can sometimes delude you that chocolate and a week on the couch is the only right thing. Don’t get me wrong; we should also be allowed to do just that sometimes, but again to compare the psyche with physical activity, you feel a 100 times better when you’ve dragged yourself up from the couch and out for a run, even though you didn’t feel like it whatsoever. Once again it’s very much about putting yourself in situations you would normally have avoided, and handle them in a mindfull way. Learn yourself that without pushing away the unpleasant feelings, they will disappear all by themselves.

To name a personal successful experience, I have been really afraid of driving on the highway, because we were once involved i a (less serious) accident a day where there was a lot of snow on the roads. For a long time I couldn’t stand that the though of driving on the highway and would rather spend twice as much time on the alternative roads. But then I got a job that forced me out on the highway every day. In the beginning I was really worried that I wouldn’t be able to cope with it in the long run. But as time passed the fear disappeared. I commute about 50 minutes each way to and from work today, and my anxiety has completely disappeared. This small success-story is my point of reference, and although some situations seem almost impossible to get used to, I try to remind myself of the highway-story. We should choose our battles wisely, and sometimes it is only right to let go. But sometimes you must also try to hang in there exactly where it seems most impossible. As if going up a really steep hill, and you just want to see what’s on the other side.

3 Comments

  1. Tracey Shull

    Good for you for exposing yourself to your anxiety induing highway driving situation until you had overcome the anxiety. (Therapists call this desensitization.) It takes courage to do it, and the will to overcome the fear, and you did it! You can be proud of that! And exercise is, followed by adequate sleep and good nutrition, the most important natural “drug” for anxiety and depression there is. I have exercised regularly since I was 17, and I always say that, while I like what it does for my body, the reason I keep doing it is for my mind and spirit. The endorphins exercise releases calm anxiety, boost mood, and help sleep quality. As you say, I do it even when I may not feel like it—and invariably, I feel better afterwards! Thank you for sharing. Love, Tracey

    Reply
  2. Tracey Shull

    Meant “inducing.”

    Reply
  3. ada

    Nice post. Really like your blog, instagram and youtube channel. Keep up the good work 🙂

    Reply

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