Mindfulness helped calm my not drinking fears

So this week I pondered why is it that I am uncomfortable about the idea of going to this social get-together and what can I do to enable myself to grow as a person and allow me to accept and perhaps ease the fear.

Mindfulness actually helped calm my not drinking fears. I’ll share with you how.

Firstly, the whole idea of mindfulness, is the idea that we remain present in the moment, the here and now, rather than getting caught up in our thoughts about the past or future.

I’ve been practicing mindfulness and meditation for a few years now, and I have learnt it is a real waste of energy and headspace worrying about events in the future. Life is always in flux, much like the sun, wind and tides which are forever moving, so is life itself. Nothing remains the same and trying to predict the future can cause anxiety and worry by imagining how events will unfurl but in all honesty we have no clue how it will happen until it does.

Mindfulness has allowed me to take a step back when I get caught up worrying about things like going to a social event. Instead of stressing myself out, I am more open to the idea that whatever will be, will be and I’ll deal with it when it is happening.

This allows me to put a bit of space between me worrying and the days leading up to the event.

However yesterday, as we headed off and were in the car, I did feel a little nervous / apprehensive / anxious, or however you wish to label it up, but for me, those emotions ane caused by fear fo the unknown.

I caught myself starting to get a bit jittery and was able to calm myself down by staying present in the moment.

I was able to enjoy the changing scenery as we drove thorugh the countryside. It is autumn here and the colours of the leaves on the tree and even the autumnal glow of the sunlight itself were beautiful and wondrous. So much beauty to see.

I enjoyed listening to and participating in the conversations with the kids in the car. We even stopped en-route and grabbed a little snack from a boulangerie which was a lovely experience. Sitting outside in the sunshine eating a croissant and drinking a freshly brewed coffee.

I really relished being in the moment, taking in the ambience, the heat of the sun on my face, the sound of the traffic rolling by, and the birds chirping away in the trees. The warmth and taste of the coffee and the texture of the flaky buttery croissant. all of my senses were heightened to that moment.

By staying present I was unable to go off worrying about the unknown.

Eventually we got to our destination, we had the best time, I met some new people all of whom were funny, kind natured and a pleasure to be around.

It certainly not how I had started imagining it at the beginning of the week.

This discovery of using mindfulness when I feel fearful about not drinking in social experiences has a real game changer and I hope, if this subject resonates with you in some way it might just help you too.