Mindfulness
Most people have had the experience of arriving at a destination and not being quite aware of how they mapped their route to get there. We somehow drive/walk/ travel through much of our lives on auto- pilot, somewhat ‘mindlessly’.
Mindfulness is a word used to describe many things, but in the therapeutic sense, it represents a mind-state of openness, awareness, connectedness to the moment. In a mindful state, difficult thoughts and feelings tend to have less power or control over us, allowing for curiosity and flexibility in our approach to the world.
Mindful strategies can help us:
*Take distance from and let go of unhelpful thoughts and feelings
*Accept painful feelings and make room to experience them rather
than avoid them
By allowing ourselves to be fully present, we are more able to become aware of those feelings/experiences we are trying to avoid. We invite less judgement into our lives, and learn to allow our feelings and experiences to come and go like the tides. Without struggling against our emotional world, we can free ourselves up to be more connected to ourselves and our environments and work towards being more compassionate, especially towards ourselves.
Although mindfulness is a relatively new addition to modern psychology, mindfulness training has become as a powerful, evidence-based tool for enhancing psychological health. Research is emerging to support mindfulness as being an effective intervention for a wide range of clinical difficulties, including anxiety, depression, trauma, eating difficulties and others.
Mindfulness is a word used to describe many things, but in the therapeutic sense, it represents a mind-state of openness, awareness, connectedness to the moment. In a mindful state, difficult thoughts and feelings tend to have less power or control over us, allowing for curiosity and flexibility in our approach to the world.
Mindful strategies can help us:
*Take distance from and let go of unhelpful thoughts and feelings
*Accept painful feelings and make room to experience them rather
than avoid them
By allowing ourselves to be fully present, we are more able to become aware of those feelings/experiences we are trying to avoid. We invite less judgement into our lives, and learn to allow our feelings and experiences to come and go like the tides. Without struggling against our emotional world, we can free ourselves up to be more connected to ourselves and our environments and work towards being more compassionate, especially towards ourselves.
Although mindfulness is a relatively new addition to modern psychology, mindfulness training has become as a powerful, evidence-based tool for enhancing psychological health. Research is emerging to support mindfulness as being an effective intervention for a wide range of clinical difficulties, including anxiety, depression, trauma, eating difficulties and others.