4 Ways Mindfulness Meditation Benefits Me as an Introvert
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Want to lessen your anxiety? Try mindfulness meditation.
Originally published on IntrovertDear.com
I can say with absolute certainty that mindfulness meditation has changed me for the better. It’s all about observing your thoughts, emotions, and bodily sensations — and returning to the present moment when your mind wanders — without any judgment.
But this wasn’t always the case.
Being an introvert, I was already hyper-aware of everything, including myself — I do my best thinking alone and tend to live in my head. But it turned out that I wasn’t as self-aware as I thought, especially when it came to how much my overthinking was negatively affecting me.
You see, I’m a chronic overthinker. Aside from causing stress, overthinking can have a negative effect on your physical health, showing up as headaches and digestive problems. Consumed by anxious thoughts, I started to notice my breathing was more shallow than usual at certain points in the day. Not surprisingly, this occurred whenever I felt stressed or anxious.
Cognizant of this side effect of overthinking, I knew I had to find a way to quiet my anxious thoughts and take back control. I’d tried meditation in the past and remembered how peaceful it had made me feel. So I decided to give it another try and make it a consistent daily practice.
I did this by tracking my meditation sessions in the calendar feature of the Calm app, which gave me an overview of my progress. Keeping my meditation practice consistent helps, as well: I meditate alone every morning in my bedroom, before the day starts. Allowing some flexibility in the length of my sessions, usually anywhere from two to 10 minutes, has also made the practice easier to implement.
As I’ve improved my meditation practice, I’ve started to reap the benefits, such as inner peace, increased self-awareness, and more appreciation for the present moment. And it’s been shown that mindfulness meditation can help introverts gain confidence, regulate emotions, and release the past. Yes, please.
While mindfulness meditation can help anyone, introverts and extroverts alike, I think introverts can especially benefit by learning to live…
