Managing Anxiety by Embracing Impermanence

When asked to contribute a post, I was excited to be able to focus on the mindfulness component of Impermanence. It is one we “talk around” in therapy often, meaning we often do not properly label the tool as such.  The term simply refers to the fact that moments come and go. Days pass, turning into weeks, then months, then years. You and your life and the lives of everything around you are constantly changing. Nothing is permanent. It is all impermanent.  The ancient Greek philosopher Heraclitus explained this in 500BC saying, “The only constant in life is change.”

This Mindfulness component is beneficial as a reminder when confronting adversity and as negative emotions become overwhelming. At some point, nearly all of us experience grief resulting from the loss of a loved one. Many of us will be in states of sadness, pain, and anguish over a breakup or a termination of a job. Still others will be victims of crimes, accidents or any number of other distressing events. Understanding that these events and the feelings associated with them, are not permanent states can provide great comfort and a launch pad to healing from traumatic situations.  Further, for those suffering with depression and anxiety, understanding that the feelings, and the situations that trigger them, are impermanent can boost their ability to recover more quickly from episodes and help avoid additional episodes in the future.

Dr, Christine James, PsyD, LPC

Garden Path Counseling

Considering these possible states of distress does not have to be morbid or morose. There is no denying that each of us will experience challenges to our well-being over which we have no control. If we can face these situations knowing that nothing is permanent, then we are more likely to appropriately handle and overcome them. This feeling, moment, pain, etc. will not last, cannot last.  It is literally impossible for things to remain exactly the same in the universe moment after moment after moment.  You may not have an awareness of all the changes, and most are subtle, but they are there, happening every moment. 

The Dalai Lama said “Awareness of Impermanence and appreciation of our human potential will give us a sense of urgency that we must use every precious moment.” I would add ~instead of the feeling of emergency that comes with anxiety.

Just as negative occurrences are not permanent, neither are positive ones. Realizing this is important to constructing a balanced perspective. Becoming aware of the Impermanence of all situations can fuel one’s passion for relishing and savoring the wonderful parts of life.  Embracing Impermanence can help a client in much the same way as keeping a gratitude journal helps to maintain focus on positives in their lives, even when things may seem bleak.  Awareness of Impermanence can make shifting focus from negative thoughts to positive ones make more sense for those who get stuck in anxious thought loops and become a tool to get themselves off those hamster wheels.

In fact, Impermanence when used as a tool to combat unhealthy thinking patterns is easy to integrate into whatever approach you use with clients.  Whether you follow a Cognitive, Humanistic, Psychoanalytic, or Constructionist approach with clients, Impermanence can fit into the context of those theoretical constructs quite nicely. 

A 2006 study examined how Buddhist traditions and modern Western ideologies could be combined to attain mental balance (Wallace & Shapiro, 2006). This desired mental balance is predicated on the idea of Impermanence. Living with balanced mental states that are founded in Impermanence counteracts the negative cycles of rumination that plague people who suffer with anxiety.

Research in the field of positive psychology suggests that external factors don’t determine one’s happiness. Certainly, positive external factors compound and complement one’s overall contentment, but internal factors are required to achieve an authentically joyous life. Genuine happiness comes from within, and it can be cultivated through Mindfulness practice.

In difficult times, people are often unhappy because they lost some of the external things to which they have attachments. In some cases, even the mere threat of losing an external element is enough to raise negative emotions. Embracing Impermanence allows people to cope more easily with trying times. If someone concludes that life is not permanent, and neither is anything in it (like one’s partner, children, job, physical capabilities, financial and social status), then one is likely to be less negatively reactive when something perceived as valuable is taken away (LaBier, 2012).  Similarly, there is no need to exert energy on anxious thoughts and ruminations, because they too are impermanent and are more easily viewed as unhelpful as such.

We each have the capacity to enjoy our lives completely as long as we understand that negative situations are unavoidable and none of our experiences last forever. Everything in your life, including yourself, has an expiration date. I will leave you with this quote from Paul T.P. Wong (2007), a positive psychologist specializing in Chinese traditions.  It beautifully sums up the concept of Impermanence and is excerpted from a paper he wrote outlining the differences between positive psychology in America and China:

Craving for happiness necessarily causes us to fear or reject anything that causes unhappiness or pain. Attachment to possession and achievement invariably leads to disappointment and disillusionment, because everything is impermanent. Thus, pursuing positive experiences and avoiding negative experiences is counterproductive, because the very focus on happiness alone contains the seed of unhappiness and suffering. Failure to embrace life’s experience in its entirety is at the root of suffering.

References

LaBier, D. (2012, March 17). Live with Impermanence… And discover your true self. Psychology Today. Retrieved from https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-new-resilience/201203/live-Impermanenceand-discover-your-true-selff

Wallace, B. A., & Shapiro, S. L. (2006). Mental balance and well-being: Building bridges between Buddhism and Western psychology. American Psychologist, 61(7), 690-701. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.61.7.690

Wong, P. T. P. (2007). Chinese positive psychology. International Network on Personal Meaning. Retrieved from http://www.meaning.ca/archives/archive/art_Chinese-PP_P_Wong.htm