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Is mindfulness a meaningless buzzword, a practice that only appeals to people who are into pseudoscience, or something actually worth looking into?
For something that, at first glance, sounds so out there, there's an awful lot of research proving mindfulness actually has tangible benefits. Research shows that mindfulness is beneficial for people with incredibly varied backgrounds, and could have physical as well as emotional advantages.
You may find mindfulness has a place in your life if you:
- Suffered from depression in the past. While many people overcome depression with antidepressant medication and therapy, the relapse rate is over half. Practicing mindfulness can serve as "routine self-care" that prevents relapsing into depression, and also helps people recognize the early warning signs that the depression is back.
- Have chronic pain. Chronic pain is notoriously tricky to manage. If you are one of those with chronic pain whose symptoms haven't improved with pain medication and medical care, a technique called mindfulness-based stress reduction may offer relief you didn't find elsewhere. Studies have shown that other people with chronic pain have benefited.
- Maintaining weight you've lost, or preventing weight gain. Remember the woman who told us she used mindfulness to become more aware of what she eats? Mindless eating is one of the reasons people who have lost weight put the pounds back on. Mindfulness can help prevent yo-yoing.
- PTSD. The US Veterans Department notes that "awareness and acceptance of trauma-related thoughts and feelings may serve as an indirect mechanism of cognitive-affective exposure", adding that PSTD sufferers who practice mindfulness may find it easier to break the cycle of re-experiencing traumatic events. Mindfulness can also be used to prepare people with PTSD for more formal tretament in therapy sessions.
Putting Mindfulness Into Practice
One way of describing mindfulness might be "paying attention to what you're doing without judging it". As the people I spoke to about mindfulness explained, that doesn't mean you have to live your whole life striving to only think about what you're currently doing. Even a few minutes of trying to be fully present in the moment every day can help. Want to try? Next time you speak to a friend or your spouse, focus on what they are saying and how it makes you feel. Tell yourself you won't get distracted by mulling bills, work projects, or that dirty kitchen sink, over in your mind. Next time you eat, or brush your teeth, or walk the dog, focus on the sensations that come with that activity. What do you see, physically feel (sun, rain, clothes pressing on your body), and experience?
Being fully present in the moment can prove to be surprisingly hard. It's nothing compared to the second bit, the bit about not judging the sitiuation but simply experiencing it, though. Trying it is a challenge. Can you do it? Try observing rather than judging the actions of people around you. Just as importantly, apply the same principle to your own thoughts and feelings.
Am I Convinced?
Yes, in so far as it seems polite and respectful to others to pay attention to them, rather than other random things rolling around your brain. Yes, in so far as it's all too true that people — me included — often go about life thinking about everything but the here and now, letting life go by while they're worrying about things that already happened and can no longer be changed, or things that may happen in the future... or not, perhaps. Shifting focus to the present seems like a sane thing to do.
The breathing and meditation aspects, though? They're not for me, right now, and they may not be for you either.
Mindfulness is, however, something that has more merits than you may think. It has scientifically proven benefits that are worth looking into, and it may just be something that could add value to your life, even if you're not into "woo".
- Photo courtesy of Simon Blackley via Flickr: www.flickr.com/photos/sblackley/3323759520
- Photo courtesy of crdotx via Flickr: www.flickr.com/photos/crdot/6903711925
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