Question: Research shows that millions of children, adolescents and adults are stressed out and developing anxiety disorders each year at an alarming rate. As therapists we see this played out daily in our practices. Please tell us what you think are the reasons behind this phenomena?

 

EG: There are a few reasons I believe anxiety has been on the rise.

Question: Your therapy is a combination of traditional psychotherapy and mindfulness. Why did you integrate the two and what are the therapeutic benefits?

EG: The truth is, traditional psychotherapy already incorporates mindfulness, it's just not as explicit or structured with it. Mindfulness is the ability to intentionally pay attention the present moment while setting aside our automatic lenses of judgment. It's about learning to be in the here and now and live less in our heads which are often swimming with worries about the future of wishing for a different past. 

In my own life, I have found a mindfulness practice to be extraordinarily beneficial. And the little secret that many therapists don't explicitly tell is that most of us get into this business partly to explore our own lives and also to support others in doing the same. So, I have found in my own life that mindfulness is integral to my psychological health. A formal practice involves me setting some time aside for 5, 15, or 30 minutes (or more sometimes), to do a particular meditation practice. The informal practice is about how to weave this into the activities I'm already doing during the day (e.g., taking a shower, walking, listening to friends, eating, etc...).

The benefits are shown in the feedback from people I work with and also in a growing amount of research that has show the practice to significantly help with stress, anxiety, depressive relapse, bipolar mood symptoms, pain management, relationships, and much much more. It's amazing what can happen when we learn to be more present to our lives. Brain research has been showing us that what and how we pay attention has affects on the growth of our brains. Yes, our brains continue to grow, so if we practice anxiousness, that is the pathways our brain lays down, if we practice being present and compassionate, those are the qualities we cultivate.We learn how to relate to ourselves in a new way, with greater compassion and less judgment which often exacerbates our symptoms. 

 

Question: Please give us an example of how you begin to help an anxious child? How do you help adults?

EG: With an anxious you can help them learn how to regulate their breathing. Put a favorite small stuffed animal on their bellies and ask them to make it go up and down. Or call it "balloon breath." It's the parents who can model this to their children the most. If the parents are on their blackberries, computers, televisions or worrying a lot out loud when the kids are home, the kids will learn to be distracted and worry. When out on a walk, ask the kids what they see, hear, taste, smell, and touch. Get them to observe and describe these things one by one, helping them to become more aware and present. The instructions are simple, but not always easy.

With adults, I help them integrate both formal and informal practices into daily life. In one on one work, we work on becoming aware of the parts of the self that have been cast out or that are avoided. Through this work, people learn how to relate to these parts of themselves differently and cultivate greater self acceptance, calm and effectiveness in daily life. I have multiple Mindfulness-Based CDs for Stress, Anxiety, and Depression or Addiction and Relapse Prevention or Success and Stress Reduction at Work. I also have an upcoming CD that I produced called Mindful Solutions for Adult ADD/ADHD with Psychiatrist Lidia Zylowska, M.D.. I also co-authored A Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Workbook and this is coming out in February, 2010. These are wonderful resources to get adults started on cultivate a practice in daily life.