What Is Mindfulness ?

What is‘Mindfulness’?

Mindfulnessis a usefulapproachfor dealingwith unpleasant thoughtsandfeelings.

Mostpeoplewhentheyarepresentedwithunpleasantthoughtsandfeelingsreactinoneoftwoways:

AvoidanceRumination

AttheoneendwetrytoAvoidunpleasantthoughtsandfeelings.Thiscanleadtotheuseofdistractiontechniquessuchas listeningtomusic, stayinginside,over-eating,oravoidingfearedsituations.Whilstthiscanprovetobeagoodstrategyintheshort-term,itoftenendsupleadingtous beingmore afraidofthoseunpleasantthoughtsand feelingsandthethings thattheyare linkedto.

AttheotherendweinvestalotofeffortinworryingorRuminatingaboutourthoughtsandfeelings.Wetry tothinkaboutthemasmuch aswecan,workingouthowbadthingsmightbeorwhatallouroptionsarefordoingsomethingaboutthem.Thisstrategyoftenleadstousfeeling completelyoverwhelmedbyour problems.It canseemlikethere is noescape ornothingwe can dotostopour unpleasantthoughtsandfeelings.

AvoidanceMindfulnessRumination

ThestrategyofMindfulnesssuggeststhatanothertacticmightbemorebeneficial.Thistactic lies inthemiddleofthe tactics ofAvoidanceandRumination.

Howdo Ido ‘Mindfulness’?

Inmindfulnessthepersondoesnotavoidthesituation,norgetoverwhelmedbyit.Theytackletheirunpleasantthoughtsandfeelingsbynoticingwhattheyarefeelingtothemselvesandacceptingthatthisisthecaseatthatmomentintime(e.g.thinking“atthismomentintimeIamfeelingupset”).Nextratherthanruminatingovertheirunpleasantthoughtsandfeelings,theythenletgoofthem.Thismeansthattheydonotholdontotheirunpleasantthoughtsandfeelingsoncetheyhavenoticedandacceptedthem,theysimplylet them‘washover’.

NoticeAcceptLet Go

What if it doesn’twork?

Inpracticewhenpeoplefirsttryusingmindfulness,assoonastheyhavenoticed,acceptedandletgoofonesetofunpleasantthoughtsandfeelings,thesearereplacedbyanothersetofunpleasantthoughtsandfeelings,sometimesimmediatelyafter.Mindfulnessacceptsthattherewillbetimeswhenthishappens.Howeverthestrategyremainsthesame.Eachtimeapersonnoticestheyareexperiencingunpleasantthoughts

andfeelings theycontinue to simplyaccept themand let themgo (like ariverwashing overyou,oraconveyorbelt). Whenusingmindfulnesspeoplenoticethateventuallythefrequencyandintensityofunpleasantthoughtsandfeelingsreducesandeventuallythepersonno longernoticesthattheyarefeelingunpleasant.

Do I need to practice?

Mindfulnessisnotaseasyasitsounds.Inordertobecomeanexpertatusingityouwillneedtopracticeit.Mindfulnessdoesn’thavetobeusedonlywhenexperiencingunpleasantthoughtsandfeelings,itcanbeusefultopracticeitasoftenaspossible,bysimplynoticingwhatyouarethinkingandfeeling,acceptingtheseexperiences,andlettingthemgo.Tryusingmindfulnessbeforeyougotosleep.Concentrateonyourbreathandusemindfulnesswiththethoughtsthatpopintoyourhead.Eachtimeyounoticeathoughtdistractingyoufromyourbreath,noticeit,acceptit,andletitgo.Thenfocusonyourbreath onceagain.Continue thisprocessuntilyouhavefallenasleep…

What Mindfulnessisand isNot

A simple way ofrelating toour experience,which canhave a profoundimpact onpainful,negativeexperiencesthatweencounter

Mindfulnessisausefulskillforusall.Itisnotabouttryingtogetsomewhere–buttobe

somewhere,righthere,rightnow.

Characteristics of mindfulness

• Payingattentioninaparticularway,onpurpose,inthepresentmoment.JonKabat-Zinn
• Takingcontrolofyourmind,ratherthanallowingyourmindtobeincontrolofyou.

Marcia Linehan

• Theknackofnoticing…whateverishappeninginyourpresentexperience.GuyClaxton
• Itisanacceptanceprocess,notachangeprocess.MaggieStantonChristineDunkley

It involves:

• ‘Stopping’
• Noticing
• Accepting
• Not judging
• Keepingthingssimple
• Letting go
• Not living lifeonautopilot

Mindfulness isnot meantto:

• Relaxyou
• Stop yourmindfromwandering
• Turnnegativeexperiences into positiveones
• Enableyou toavoid difficulty

What mindfulnesscanprovide:

• It steadiesandgrounds us
• It gives us asafeplatformfromwhich toobserve
• Itbringsusclosertodifficultiesbutwithoutgettingcaughtupinourreactionstothem
• It is a meansofbeingpresenttoourexperience,howeverupsettingit might be
• It allows us to slowlyand gentlycome togripswithwhowe are

MindfulnessPracticeDiary