Formulating A Mindfulness Activity Calendar

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As a therapist, I have the privilege to provide support to individuals navigating complex mental health presentations, grief and loss, and traumatic lived experiences.

I continue to learn and grow, and the sheer variety, and complexity, of psychology amazes me. However, despite this diverseness, ANXIETY is a symptom that is common.

Anxiety can have benefits:

• Enhancing focus & motivation.

• Fostering resilience.

• Enhancing preparedness & self-awareness.

• Protection from danger.

Anxiety also has a substantial impact on our cognition. Anxiety can be efficacious in promoting detection of harmful stimuli at multiple levels of human cognition (Robinson et al., 2013).

Despite anxiety’s benefits, an inability to effectively regulate one’s emotions can be a precursor to an anxiety disorder. In 2012, nearly 2.4 million Canadians, 15-years of age and older, reported experiencing symptoms affiliated with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) during their lifetime (Pelletier et al., 2017). Furthermore, an estimated 45.7% of individuals, with a major depressive disorder, had a history of 1 or more anxiety disorders (Kessler et al., 2015, as cited in Kalin, 2020).

I find that many clients feel dysregulated because their thoughts are deeply engrained in the past and/or future. Gradual, and consistent, implementation of mindfulness practices can assist in anxiety management. A meta-analysis conducted by Williams et al. (2023), comprising 4 studies and 334 participants with GAD, found that mindfulness training had a substantial impact on anxiety reduction. Another meta-analysis, comprising 23 studies and 1,815 adult participants with DSM-V anxiety disorders, found that mindfulness interventions led to short-term anxiety reduction (Haller et al., 2021).

Mindfulness practices include, but are not limited to:

• Mindful Counting

  • 5-4-3-2-1 activity.

  • Counting backwards from 50.

• Mindful Eating

  • Paying attention to emotions elicited when eating.

  • Recognizing hunger & fullness cues.

• Mindful Breathing

  • Square breathing.

  • Incorporating a mindfulness breathing script.

• Mindful Listening

  • Presently, empathically, & non-judgmentally engaging in dialogue.

• Body Scan

  • Progressive muscle relaxation.

  • Scanning one’s body from head-to-toe.

    • Being aware of physical sensations when doing so.

Regardless of clients’ challenges, I urge them to create a mindfulness activity calendar(MAC). Within this calendar, I ask clients to identify some strategies that they can realistically incorporate within their lives. I convey that consistency, and sustainability, is far more important than intensity, when implementing an MAC. Meaningful change is enacted when we commit, and remain steadfast, to our endeavours. Using an MAC is no different.

I also request that clients incorporate one physical activity of their choosing. Numerous studies and meta-analyses highlight the anxiolytic effects of exercise in a clinical setting (Anderson & Shivakumar, 2013). Additionally, physical activity impacts numerous biological mechanisms such as the enhancement of neurogenesis (Anderson & Shivakumar, 2013).

The benefits of physical activity extend beyond anxiety reduction. Singh et al. (2023) conducted a review of 97 meta-analyses, comprising 1,039 randomized controlled trials and 128,119 adult participants. They found that physical activity greatly improved symptoms of mood disorders, various mental health ailments, and chronic disease (Singh et al., 2023). Symptom reduction increased, as exercise intensity increased (Singh et al., 2023). Therefore, I persuade my clients to adopt an active lifestyle within their scope of function.

An example of a Mindfulness Activity Calendar (MAC).

Implementing an MAC can help us foster healthy practices and ensure that we stay accountable. I have included an example of an MAC (above). I encourage you to modify this template to your liking, and utilize it to enact meaningful change in anxiety reduction.

References (Sources)

Anderson, E., & Shivakumar, G. (2013). Effects of exercise and physical activity on anxiety. Frontiers in psychiatry, 4, 27.https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2013.00027

Haller, H., Breilmann, P., Schröter, M., Dobos, G., & Cramer, H. (2021). A systematic review and meta-analysis of acceptance- and mindfulness-based interventions for DSM-5 anxiety disorders. Scientific reports, 11(1), 20385. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-99882-w

Kalin, N.H. (2020). The critical relationship between anxiety and depression. American Journal of Psychiatry, 177(5), 365-367. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ajp.2020.20030305

Pelletier, L., O’Donnell, S., McRae, L., & Grenier, J. (2017). The burden of generalized anxiety disorder in Canada. Le fardeau du trouble d’anxiété généralisée au Canada. Health promotion and chronic disease prevention in Canada: research, policy and practice, 37(2), 54–62. https://doi.org/10.24095/hpcdp.37.2.04

Robinson, O. J., Vytal, K., Cornwell, B. R., & Grillon, C. (2013). The impact of anxiety upon cognition: perspectives from human threat of shock studies. Frontiers in human neuroscience, 7, 203. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2013.00203

Singh, B., Olds, T., Curtis, R., Dumuid, D., Virgara, R., Watson, A., Szeto, K., O’Connor, E., Ferguson, T., Eglitis, E., Miatke, A., Simpson, C. E., & Maher, C. (2023a, September 1). Effectiveness of physical activity interventions for improving depression, anxiety and distress: An overview of systematic reviews. British Journal of Sports Medicine. https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/57/18/1203

Williams, M., Honan, C., Skromanis, S., Sanderson, B., & Matthews, A. J. (2023). Psychological Outcomes and Mechanisms of Mindfulness-Based Training for Generalized Anxiety Disorder: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Current psychology (New Brunswick, N.J.), 1–23. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-023-04695-x