Mindfulness is a big buzzword these days. However, what does it really mean? Where does it come from? What does it have to do with our mental health and therapy? To discuss Mindfulness and Mindfulness Based Interventions, we first need to talk about Mindfulness in general.
Mindfulness originates from Eastern philosophies and spiritual/religious practices, such as Buddhism and Hinduism. It is also incorporated in the practice of Yoga. Mindfulness, essentially, is a cognitive practice. It is Mind Control. A person who is Mindful is just noticing their thoughts, emotions, urges, physical sensations, etc. These things are not in control of the person, the person is in control.
Mindfulness is also being in the present moment, being aware and intentional. It is noticing what is in any given moment, paying attention to that one thing in that one moment (One-mindfully). We can be mindful of 8 main categories: 3 internal (thoughts, emotions and physical sensations) and 5 external (information coming in through our 5 senses, if these senses are available and if things are stimulating them: sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch). To be mindful is to NOT avoid whatever is coming up or whatever we are noticing, while also not getting hooked and flooded by these things. It is the balance of the two areas.
Mindfulness is accepting these things as they are. It is accepting them as they come. Additionally, mindfulness is Observing, Describing, and Participating. The goal is to do all of these and to complete them Non-Judgmentally (without interpretation and labels, and just done factually instead). Being Effective is also part of mindfulness – doing what’s best from the wisest part of you, and then doing the next right step.
Numerous Mental and Physical Benefits of Mindfulness, per the research:
- Reduced stress and anxiety
- Lowers blood pressure
- Lowers heart rate
- Improves sleep
- Improves eating habits
- Reduces pain reception
- Improves emotion regulation – gaining a better understanding of your emotions and developing healthier ways to navigate, manage, feel, and express them
- Increased self-awareness
- Enhanced focus and concentration
- Reduces ruminating on negative distressing thoughts and it can help with coping better with difficult thoughts
- Improves other cognitive functions, such as memory and problem solving
- Increased self-compassion
- Betters relationships
- Heightens creativity
- Reduces dissociation
- Improves quality of life
- Mindfulness can even reduce suffering, and in turn Mindfulness can increase your over-all happiness with life.
*The positives of mindfulness may vary depending on the person and depending on the frequency and duration of their practice*
What are Mindfulness-Based Interventions in Therapy?
These are various therapeutic approaches that incorporate Mindfulness practices to improve one’s mental health and to assist in clients meeting their goals. Listed below are some of those. These practices can be done for any length of time. There are many ways that Mindfulness can show up in your therapy sessions and in your life.
What are Mindfulness Practices in General?
Mindfulness practices are practicing any of the core skills (Observe, Describe, Participate, Non-Judgmental, One-Mindful and Effective). It is working on noticing anything in any given moment. Mindfulness can be practiced and used anywhere, with anything, at any given time. An example of a mindfulness practice is doing a body scan and being aware of your body and to notice how different parts of the body feel i.e. rating how tense your shoulders are 0-10 (0 = no tension, 10 = worst tension). Another example includes journaling. Journaling allows you to be mindful of your thoughts and emotions in that moment and releasing them on paper is also a great way to practice these skills. Just doing a single task, with awareness and intention, is practicing mindfulness as well.
What is Mindful Movement?
Mindful movement is doing any type of movement, for example – moving one’s body with intention and awareness. Mindful movement is really focusing or noticing how it feels to move certain parts of the body. It is also honoring the body when it tells you what you need i.e. time to stop and rest, doing too much, and time for hydration. We aim for sensation, not pain, with our Mindful Movement. Examples of Mindful Movements include: mindful stretching, mindful walking, mindful biking, mindful swimming, mindful running, mindfully lifting weights, etc. All movement counts and all movement can be done Mindfully!
What is Mindful Eating?
Mindful Eating can be helpful when learning Intuitive Eating. This can also be helpful for the treatment of different Eating Disorders. To eat Mindfully is to eat slowly. We are practicing intentionally eating a particular food, while being very aware of all the information coming through the senses. It is noticing what the food looks and smells like. It is noticing bringing it up the mouth. It is noticing the sensation and sounds of chewing. Mindful eating is also noticing the texture, temperature, and all the flavors of the food. Observing the act of swallowing would be included too. One would be aware of all the thoughts, emotions, and physical sensations coming up with all of this as well – watching them come and go, without judgment. Mindful Eating is describing all of these items and noticing details about the food and experience while eating.
What is Grounding?
Grounding is using Mindfulness skills and practices specifically to calm the nervous system, to be in rest/digest (parasympathetic nervous system) and not in hyper-activated/above one’s window of tolerance or hypo-activated/below one’s window of tolerance (sympathetic nervous system). Deep breathing Mindfully is a way to ground oneself.
What is Meditation?
Meditation is a more formal practice that does use Mindfulness skills for a specific goal. This formal practice trains the mind to become more present, calm, and focused. Meditation is choosing to direct your attention to an exact focus. Meditation differs from Mindfulness because it typically includes a certain environment, visualizations, and/or mantras specifically.
Type of Mindfulness Therapy Options:
What is Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT)?
DBT is for clients that are emotionally under-regulated. This was created by Dr. Marsha Linehan. Mindfulness is the foundation of this therapy. Mindfulness is used for learning and using all the other skills in the Interpersonal Effectiveness Module, Emotion Regulation Module, and the Distress Tolerance Module. Please see our blog on DBT to learn more about this type of therapy. For mental health providers: if you want to learn more and be trained in DBT and earn CEUs, please see the virtual pre-recorded training that we have for sale.
What is Radically Open Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (RO-DBT)?
RO-DBT is for clients that are emotionally over-controlled, the opposite of standard DBT. This type of therapy was created by Dr. Thomas Lynch. This therapy also uses a lot of Mindfulness skills for teaching and using the other skills to help meet the goals of connecting, new experiences, expressing emotions, having flexibility, and openness to feedback.
What is Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)?
ACT offers Mindfulness as a central component in this type of therapy. ACT was created by Dr. Steven Hayes. ACT encourages people to accept their thoughts and feelings instead of fighting them, denying them, avoiding them, controlling them, or feeling bad about them. This is believed to lead to change of things that can be changed. ACT uses Mindfulness to be more present, flexible, and action-oriented. ACT also focuses on being mindful of your values and using these for the commitment of change.
What is Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR)?
MBSR basically utilizes specific techniques that use mindfulness to reduce stress.
What is Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT)?
MBCT is a type of therapy that helps clients identify, challenge, and change ineffective and unhealthy thinking patterns, by using some Mindfulness skills and practices.
If you or a loved one are in search of Mindfulness Therapy Options, please visit our provider directory or call our office for more information on providers offering Mindfulness types of therapy.
