Mindfullness – What’s it all about?

Mindfulness is a form of meditation. It is about being conscious or aware of what’s going on within ourselves and outside ourselves and paying more attention to the present moment. There are so many distractions and stresses in our daily lives that cause us to lose track of how we feel and we stop noticing all the wonderful things going on around us. We live in a sort of daydream, loosing track of the details of life.

Mindfulness is about reconnecting with our bodies and taking the time to appreciate the sensations we experience during our daily living (sounds, smells, tastes). It’s also about recognising our feelings and how they affect our behaviours. All of this can help to influence our perspectives on life. Gradually we learn to know when our thoughts are taking over and get control of our thoughts without letting them control us.

In fact, mindfulness is even recommended by the National institute for health and care excellence (NICE) as a way to prevent depression in individuals who have experienced 3 or more bouts of depression in the past.

So how can you be more mindful?

• Take mental note of your thoughts, feelings, sensations, and what is going on all around you
• Appreciate the small things.
• Stop to touch something you wouldn’t ordinarily even think to consider, whether it’s the surface of the table you’re sat at, the fork you’re eating with or the paper you’re writing on.
• How does it feel?
• How does it make you feel? Use this tool for all sensations – smell, touch, taste.
• Select an appropriate time to allocate to mindfulness that suits your activities of daily life
• Mix things up. Break routines in your daily life
• Recognise stressful thoughts or anxieties, but see them as ‘mental events’ and don’t let them get a hold of you

If you’ve like what you have read and are interested in mindfulness, then find out more by reading around the topic online, downloading a mindfulness app or attending a mindfulness class.

Sources

http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/stress-anxiety-depression/pages/mindfulness.aspx

https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/CG90/ifp/chapter/About-this-information