The restless mind!

One of the things that happens as you grow older (or even when you are young if you’re unlucky enough!) is that you may start drifting out of the present moment. You may find yourself looking at old photos/videos or just thinking about the past or you may find yourself worrying about future events way too often. In fact, some people end up not living in the present at all and their life gets lived either in the past, in future events that have not happened or both! Psychologists call living in the past Depression and worrying about the future Anxiety. A combination of both is being in a Pendulum state.

This may sound ridiculous to a young person that does not have too much of a past or hasn’t experienced Anxiety yet but I am sure many people identify with exactly what I am talking about.

The solution they say, is to try and live in the moment! Really? Genius! Well, it’s easier said than done! You can try meditation, mindfulness or CBT tricks which do help but many people still find it hard to nail themselves down in the present.

In fact, a huge number of people are so used to not living in the present that they are no longer even aware of what is happening in their mind. It is only when they get diagnosed with Depression or Anxiety that they start looking for answers and trying to “fix” themselves.

At this point I am sure you are waiting for a cure-all answer from me lol I think the usual meditation, yoga etc IS a good start. You basically need things that take your mind off your mind, if that makes sense!!! You also need to keep busy.

My suggestions that you can try are: things like crossword puzzles and doing exercise. Crossword puzzles give your mind a break because they actively engage it. By exercise, I mean you need to do something that totally takes your mind off things and helps you concentrate in that present moment, so something like mountain biking in a challenging terrain that you are not used to.

You need to break the cycle because chances are, you will find it harder to live in the present as time goes on, so you need to get yourself back!