Turning Toward Anxiety: How Mindfulness Helps Us Stop Running From Ourselves
By Ryan Kruse, LAC | December 29, 2025
As I write this, I’m practicing noticing what is present.
Anxiety arises—along with a strong desire to stop writing and move on to the next task of the day. I notice the anxiety in my throat as a tightness, and I become aware of the impulse to distract myself in order to avoid the discomfort.
Rather than pushing this feeling away, I gently turn toward the experience with curiosity. I ask myself: What is this anxiety communicating?
The answer emerges clearly: I want to get this right because this topic matters to me, and I’m afraid I won’t express it well.
This moment captures something many of us experience daily. When anxiety shows up, our instinct is often to resist it—to label it as a problem that needs to be eliminated. The inner dialogue sounds familiar: You’re right, this feeling is bad. Let’s do something else.
But what happens when we respond to anxiety this way?
Why Avoiding Anxiety Keeps Us Stuck
When we avoid uncomfortable emotions, we may experience short-term relief, but the long-term cost is significant. Avoidance reinforces the belief that discomfort is intolerable and dangerous. Over time, this leads us to run not only from our emotions, but from ourselves.
From a mindfulness perspective, the struggle begins when we agree with the thought that anxiety is the problem—that it must be escaped or fixed. Yet no matter how hard we try, we can never truly run away from ourselves. Growth requires facing our inner experiences: our emotions, desires, fears, and unmet needs.
Mindfulness offers a different path.
Mindfulness as a Practice of Allowing
Mindfulness invites us to stay present with our experience as it is—without judgment or resistance. Instead of trying to eliminate anxiety, we allow the sensations, acknowledge the thoughts, and remain grounded in the moment.
In doing so, something powerful happens. We stop fighting ourselves. We create space for awareness, insight, and change. By meeting our experiences with curiosity rather than fear, we begin to relate to anxiety differently—not as an enemy, but as information.
As Wayne Dyer beautifully expressed:
“When we change the way we look at things, the things we look at change.”
This is the heart of mindfulness practice. We develop the ability to step back and observe our thoughts, emotions, past experiences, and future worries from a new perspective. With that shift comes greater freedom and choice.
How Mindfulness Deepens Our Relationship With Ourselves
This change in perspective allows us to:
Let go of habitual rumination about the past
Respond more intentionally rather than reactively
Navigate stress and anxiety with greater resilience
Deepen our relationships—with others and with ourselves
Mindfulness doesn’t remove life’s challenges, but it changes how we meet them.
A Simple Mindfulness Walking Practice
One of my favorite ways to practice mindfulness is through mindful walking. This practice gently anchors awareness in the body and the present moment.
Try it the next time you go for a walk:
Begin walking at a natural, comfortable pace.
Bring your attention to your breath without trying to control it. Simply notice that you are breathing. Are there any scents in the air?
Notice physical sensations. What does it feel like to be walking? How do your feet feel as they contact the ground? How do your clothes feel against your skin?
Gently notice what you see. Colors, light, movement—perhaps birds flying or wind moving through the trees.
Notice sounds. Birds chirping, wind blowing, distant voices, or traffic.
Throughout this practice, the intention is not to judge or change your experience. Instead, allow each moment to unfold just as it is. Mindfulness is about meeting the present moment with openness, curiosity, and compassion.
Learning to Surf the Waves
Life can feel overwhelming at times. Mindfulness doesn’t stop the waves—but it helps us learn how to ride them.
As Jon Kabat-Zinn reminds us:
“You can’t stop the waves, but you can learn to surf.”
Through mindfulness, we learn to stay present even when emotions feel intense. And in doing so, we discover that we are more capable, resilient, and whole than we may have believed.
