Dear LPG readers,

I am not the only pensioner who manages to get themselves into a bit of a state from time to time. When I say a state, I mean all those little thoughts that are always there but seem to come to the fore when we reach retirement, a stage in our lives when we are not in so much of a rush. 

This is one of the real disadvantages of not having to hurry. It is something I have spent a bit of time talking with my friends about, and one thing those chats have taught me is that I am not the only person who thinks they spend more time than is good for them worrying about all sorts of things that might happen in the future. 

Many pensioners spend too much time worrying about things that make them anxious. I know that anything can start me off, a new pain that I have just experienced, or how I am going to afford some relatively expensive item that I need. 

I live alone and keep things to myself, which I know is not a good thing. Though it might be good to share more of the things that really worry me, when I am out with my friends, I do not want to dampen the mood by getting them talking about all those negative subjects. The result is that I keep all these worries to myself, and they surface when I am alone and sometimes become too much for me to cope with. 

I have recently found that meditation helps me feel a little better and would like to recommend that more of us older people get involved, or at least give it a go. It can feel a bit silly to try to think beautiful thoughts when you are sitting at home all alone, but let's be honest, deliberately concentrating on the positive has got to be better for a worried mind than the alternative…

I started learning how it all works with a short 5-minute meditation tutorial I found online, and it was a bit challenging the first time I tried it, but a couple of months of daily practice has made quite a difference in how much I worry. I have reached the stage where I have a meditation routine that I practice each morning, after a bit of stretching and physical exercise. Even though no one else was watching, I felt pretty stupid when I first tried it. But if you stick to it and repeat the practice for a few days, although I understand it is not for everyone, you might be surprised by how it helps.

AK, Lewisham

AK offers a few of Google’s videos aimed at getting started with meditation…

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… and a few guided meditations as  a starting point before you choose your own…

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