The Benefits of Practicing Mindfulness

Have you ever had the experience of driving your car, and then all of the sudden you think, "What just happened the last few minutes?!". Or sitting on the couch eating a bag of chips, and then all of the sudden hit the bottom of the bag, and realise you barely tasted a chip? Or having a conversation with your partner, and then all of the sudden realising you have no idea what they were just saying? 

We live a lot of our lives on auto-pilot, lost in thought. 

On the one hand, the fact that we can do complicated tasks like driving a car automatically, is pretty amazing. However, on the other hand, if we spend a lot of our lives in auto-pilot or being mindless, not only can it be dangerous in certain instances, but it means that we are actually missing out on a lot of our every day lives.

For people struggling with their mental health, autopilot can mean spending a lot of time being caught up in very painful and uncomfortable thoughts and feelings. This can make it very hard to connect with the parts of life that are meaningful and important to them. 

Mindfulness is a skill we can learn to help us to intentionally turn off that auto-pilot, and instead bring our full awareness and attention back to the here and now. 

What is Mindfulness? 

"Paying attention in a particular way, on purpose, in the present moment, and nonjudgmentally” (Kabat-Zinn, 1994).

Mindfulness means paying attention to both internal experiences (e.g., bodily sensations, thoughts, emotions, and urges) as well as environmental stimuli (e.g., sights, sounds and scents). 

What are the Benefits of Mindfulness? 

Mindfulness is not practiced purely for its own sake, but because mindfulness skills often have beneficial effects on mental health and wellbeing.

Research shows mindfulness-based interventions are effective for improving symptoms of:

• depression
• anxiety
• stress
• insomnia
• addiction
• psychosis
• pain
• hypertension and cardiovascular disease
• weight control and obesity
• cancer-related symptoms (e.g., cancer-related fatigue; reduced sleep disturbance and pain, and reduced fear of cancer recurrence) 
• prosocial behaviours (e.g., increased compassion and reduced prejudice, violence and aggression)

Within the work context, research shows that being more mindful is related to increased job satisfaction, peformance and better interpersonal relations, and reduced burnout and work withdrawal. 

Many individuals benefit from mindfulness as it helps them to be fully present in the here and now. This allows them to connect more with others, be more self-aware, and have more control over how they act. For some people, they practice mindfulness to learn to become less reactive, or more compassionate, or to simply find more calm and peace. 

What Mindfulness Isn't

Mindfulness is not.... 

• A relaxation technique. Although relaxation often occurs during mindfulness practice, that is simply an added bonus. Mindfulness is about opening yourself up to your current experience - not about creating feelings of relaxation.
• A way to "feel better". Although uncomfortable emotions often shift during mindfulness exercises, there is no guarantee this will happen. Mindfulness is about  accepting how you feel in that present moment - not about trying to change how you feel or get rid of those feelings. 
• About disregarding the future! Mindfulness means being present, but it does not mean we give up planning for the future, or stopping to remember the past. What it means is that we know consciously that we are planning. And when we are remembering, we know consciously that we are remembering. 

How Do I Learn Mindfulness?

“Mindfulness isn’t difficult, we just need to remember to do it.” — Sharon Salzberg

Mindfulness is both a state-like and trait-like quality that all individuals possess to varying levels. This means that some people are just more naturally mindful than others. But at the same time, mindfulness is a skill that can be learnt, but it requires practice. 

Mindfulness Meditation Exercises

One way to learn mindfulness is through mindfulness meditation exercises. Try apps such as Headspace, Smiling Mind, Insight Timer, Calm. 

You can also try a 5-minute mindful breathing exercise here. 

As an ARV member, you can also access free mindfulness sessions for you and your team from ARV's Mental Health Clinician/Consultant. Find out more here. 

Informal Mindfulness Practice

Another way to practice mindfulness is through informal mindfulness practice. To do this, choose an activity in your morning routine or one of your daily chores and try to do it mindfully. The instructions are below. 

Mindfulness in Your Morning Routine

Pick an activity that is part of your daily morning routine, such as brushing your teeth, shaving, or having a shower. When you do it, totally focus on what you are doing: the body movements, the touch, the sight, the sound, the smell, the taste etc.

For example, when you’re in the shower, notice the sounds of the water as it sprays out of the nozzle, and as it hits your body as it gurgles down the hole. Notice the temperature of the water, and the feel of it in your hair, and on your shoulders, and running down your legs. Notice the smell of the soap and shampoo, and the feel of them against your skin. Notice the sight of the water droplets on the walls or shower screen, the water dripping down your body and the steam rising upwards. Notice the movements of your arms as wash or scrub or shampoo.

When thoughts arise, acknowledge them, let them be, and bring your attention back to the shower.

Again and again, your attention will wander.  As soon as you realise this has happened, gently acknowledge it, note what distracted you, and bring your attention back to the shower.

Mindfulness of Domestic Chores

Pick an activity, such as ironing clothes, washing dishes, vaccuuming floors, and do it mindfully.

For example, when ironing clothes: notice the colour and shape of the clothing, and the pattern made by the creases, and the new pattern as the creases disappear.  Notice the hiss of steam, the creak of the ironing board, the faint sound of the iron moving over the material.  Notice the grip of your hand on the iron, and the movement of your arm and shoulder.

If boredom or frustration arises, simply acknowledge it, and bring your attention back to the task at hand. When thoughts arise, acknowledge them, let them be, and bring your attention back to what you are doing.

Again and again, your attention will wander.  As soon as you realise this has happened, gently acknowledge it, note what distracted you, and bring your attention back to your current activity.

A Tip For Practicing Mindfulness

Often people say that they have "done a bad job" at practicing mindfulness because they have been distracted by their thoughts during a mindfulness exercise.

The fact is, no matter how much we practice mindfulness, the nature of being human is that, again and again we will get caught up in our thoughts. That is just what minds do. 

It is not bad or even undesirable to think during mindfulness practice. What is most important is that - when you get distracted - you notice what distracted you and bring yourself back to the exercise.

Again and again we will get caught up in our minds, and again and again we must notice this happened, and compassionately bring ourselves back to the present moment. The more you practice this skill of noticing when you get distracted, and then coming back to the exercise, you will learn to catch yourself quicker. 

For some people, it can be helpful to note or describe the thoughts that distracted you. For example, "anxious thought; "sad thought"; "work thought"; "future thought". However, you don't want to get caught up in thinking about labels, so what may be most helpful is to just silently say to yourself "there's a thought", and bring yourself back to the present moment. 

Want to Learn More?

If you would like to learn more about mindfulness and how it can benefit you, reach out to ARV's Mental Health Clinician, psychologist, Adele Bergin, for a free, confidential, one-on-one session here.