By Angela Gilles, LCSW, Healing Hearts Counseling
As the stress of the unknown continues, more and more of us are feeling discontent and distracted. When we are affected by chronic stress, we often feel like there are a million things going on in our head at once. We go through our days racing around trying to do everything or feeling so overwhelmed that we can’t do anything. This leads to just mindlessly trying to get through the day until we can hopefully relax again.
When we are acting mindlessly, it is easy to get distracted, forget what we are doing, or even detach from our thoughts and feelings. Have you ever spoken to a friend and realized that you have no idea what they just said to you because you were thinking about something else? Have you ever looked at your phone to check the time and have to immediately recheck it because you didn’t actually pay attention the first time you did it? If so, stress might be affecting your ability to be mindful.
Mindfulness is all about being fully present in the moment. Our minds can be so full of all of our worries and stress that there is no room for anything else. At least that is how it feels. Not to mention, it truly is worry and stress that fill up our minds. How often do you find your mind to be full of the things that make you feel happy? Have you ever found yourself thinking, “Today was awful, nothing went right, nothing good happened”? If you struggle to find the positives in your life, you are not alone. It is easy for the things that we perceive to be going wrong to take up more space in our mind.
When we are asked to think about something that makes us happy, we tend to focus on big events, like a party or a vacation. Or we have an idealized idea of what a “good” day looks like (the sun shining, birds chirping, music in the air, etc.). What if I told you that we don’t have to wait for those big events or perfect days to find contentment, that we just need to practice more mindfulness? You might say, “It’s not that easy, good things just don’t happen all the time.” You are right, it’s not easy, it takes time and practice (and sometimes a little help from your therapist), but I challenge you to find the small things that can bring joy each day.
An easy way to start bringing more mindfulness into your life is to practice paying attention. Pay attention to the things you have gotten used to or tend to overlook. Notice how it makes you feel and then give yourself a moment to really feel it. A child’s laugh, the dog’s excitement when you get home, the scent of your favorite shampoo, the feel of your first sip of coffee, the smell of dinner cooking, the way the sun hits the leaves on the trees.
By being mindful of the joys around us, even the small ones, we can keep our minds full of joy.
We are located at 6919 N Knoxville Ave, Suites 100, 201 and 202, Peoria, Illinois 61614. You can schedule an appointment by phone at 309.966.0068 or schedule online by going to www.therapyportal.com/p/healinghearts