How a Twin Cities man used meditation to help manage his mental health
ST. ANTHONY, Minn. — Dave Johnson is on his way to ease his mind.
Inside his St. Anthony home is a special room, a calming space to meditate every day with his wife.
"Usually I start with three big breaths," he said before inhaling deeply. Whether it's five minutes or 15, the small time spent in the room makes a big difference.
"Normally I come out of it feeling pretty refreshed and relaxed," he said.
Johnson, a public health professional, lives with anxiety. During the COVID-19 pandemic, his anxiety intensified.
"It was really that sense of just being completely overwhelmed by work and family and just feeling like there wasn't any way out," he said.
Ultimately, his recipe to manage it included medication, changing therapists, and making meditation a more integral part of his life.
"[Meditating] every day has been helpful for me, but I don't think it needs to be that way for everyone," he said.
"Don't put pressure on yourself," said Molly Peterson, the director of adult programs for Minnesota's National Alliance on Mental Illness. "You get to set the rules as somebody who is setting a goal. And I don't think that enough people are saying 'I really want to improve my mental wellbeing in the new year'."
Peterson said people often make external resolutions, such as trying to land a promotion at work or exercising more often. As a side effect of excelling at your job or getting into shape, one might feel less stress or shame, which can improve mental health. But specifically focusing on mental health can be easy and attainable. Peterson feels mediation, and how it helps with mindfulness, is a good way to start.
"It's literally forcing you to just kind of sit in the present moment and not have racing thoughts and negative self-talk like we're all so prone to doing," she said.
That's how mediation helps Johnson. He said it gives him the option of choosing to listen to the anxiety-inducing thoughts or something else.
"What I find for me a lot of times is continuing to follow anxiety thoughts is not helpful. It just produces more anxiety," he said. By choosing other thoughts while meditating, Johnson calms his mind, relieves stress, and lowers is anxiety.
If lowering anxiety through meditation sounds appealing, here are some tips to help you get started in the new year:
- Use an app — like Calm or Headspace — as they can guide beginners on how to meditate.
- Create a space in your home or within a room to designate as the meditation area.
- Set an attainable goal for how often you'll do it.
- Find an accountability partner, someone to meditate with you or gently remind you to stay on track.
Johnson used those steps establish his routine. And while meditation hasn't cured his anxiety, it has helped him better cope with it. That's a small victory for his mental health he gets to experience every day.
To get help in crafting your resolution, no matter the goal, NAMI has some advice. Click here to learn more.
