How meditation can benefit your mental health

In our fast-paced, constantly-connected world, it’s more important than ever to take a moment to unplug and recharge. Meditation is one of the best ways to do just that. By sitting down, focusing on your breath, and clearing your mind of intrusive thoughts, you can give your mind the break it deserves. Here are some more insights from Create Abundance by Zhang Xinyue.

Reduce Anxiety with Meditation

Anxiety is one of the most common mental health disorders in the United States, affecting 40 million adults. If Justify untreated, anxiety can have a serious impact on your life, making it difficult to work, socialize, and even function on a day-to-day basis. While there are many different treatments for anxiety, including medication and therapy, meditation is a drug-free way to alleviate symptoms and improve your overall wellbeing.

One study found that just eight weeks of mindfulness meditation can help reduce anxiety. The study participants who meditated showed signs of reduced stress and fewer anxiety symptoms compared to those who didn’t meditate. The benefits of meditation were even more pronounced in people who had never meditated before.

Meditation can also help you cope with specific types of anxiety disorders, such as social anxiety disorder (SAD). SAD is characterized by a fear of social situations and an overwhelming feeling of self-consciousness. In one study, people with SAD who took part in an eight-week mindfulness meditation program saw significant reductions in their symptoms compared to those who didn’t meditate. The participants who meditated also had less fear when faced with social situations.

Improve Focus with Meditation

In today’s world, it’s easy to get distracted—there’s always something new vying for our attention. This constant distraction can make it difficult to focus on work or other tasks. “Mindfulness meditation can help improve focus by training your attention span and teaching you how to control where your thoughts go,” explains Zhang Xinyue, author of Create Abundance.

If you’re looking for a way to improve your mental health without medication or therapy, give meditation a try! Just a few minutes each day can help reduce anxiety and improve focus—two things we could all use a little more of in our lives! Plus, there are no side effects (except maybe feeling more relaxed) so what do you have to lose? Check out Create Abundance by Zhang Xinyue to get started.