Before we dive into the contents of this article, letโs do a quick exercise.
First, start by looking around you and make a mental note of 5 things that you can see. This could include anything, such as a book on the bookshelf, or a bird sitting on a tree.
Next, turn your attention towards 4 things that you can feel โ such as your hair touching your cheek, the feeling of your clothes, or the material of the chair you are sitting on.
After this, you are to think of 3 things that you can hear. There may be birds chirping outside, or traffic noises that can be heard from where you are.
Up next, 2 things that you are able to smell. Perhaps you are wearing some sort of perfume, or someone close to you is. Or possibly, you can smell some sort of food that is being prepared nearby.
Lastly, you are going to narrow down on 1 taste that you can experience. Maybe you have a piece of gum in your mouth, or there is fruit that you can take a bite of.
The above exercise is known as the โFive Senses Exerciseโ, and is known to be helpful in bringing individuals to a mindful state in a short amount of time. But what is a mindful state, exactly?
In order to understand mindfulness, we need to take a look at our day-to-day life, and the way in which we carry out our actions. Researchers have long debated the degree of self-consciousness we actually exhibit in our daily lives, as many individuals find themselves subject to the concept of living on โauto-pilotโ. This habitual processing of daily tasks is referred to as โautomaticityโ, and it is not always considered to be a negative phenomenon. Bargh and Chartrand (1999) referred to these automatic processes as โmental butlersโ, who are fuelled by our goals, motivation, as well as past experiences and work towards serving our best interests.
However, a potentially maladaptive component that may accompany automaticity can be mindlessness. Studies have shown that individuals may go out of their way to remain in mindless states, but remaining in the same can cause the mind to wander and may lead to the prediction of following unhappiness.
Contrasting this wandering state is the state of mindfulness. Being aware about the present state that one is in, including their internal subjective consciousness as well as their external environment, without being judgemental of it, is known as mindfulness. A state of mindfulness may be difficult to achieve, but has been linked to better psychological well-being, and is also considered to have positive effects on physical health.
The concept of mindfulness comes from Buddhism, and originally was a practice that inculcated awareness, attention, and remembering. In the fairly recent past, the practice of mindfulness has been studied by clinicians for its capacity to decrease maladaptive behaviors by facilitating awareness and a positive response.
Recognizing its use and efficacy in dealing with psychological morbidities, Bishop et al. proposed defining mindfulness through two of its salient features: self-regulation of attention, and orientation to experience. Their definition of the practice focuses on its ability to allow individuals to gain insight into their own mind in order to experience their own thoughts and emotions fully in the moment.
Processing emotional and physical changes becomes easier when paired with mindful practices
Talk to an expert for mroe mindfulness techniques
Mindfulness in interventions
Jon Kabat-Zinn pioneered the use of mindfulness as a means for stress-reduction by devising an approach known as Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR). The intervention was developed as a means to effectively deal with chronic pain, and consisted of an 8-week program of weekly group-based meditation, audio-guided practice for home, as well as a one-day retreat towards the end of the program. The focus was on enhancing mindfulness skills with the help of meditative practices, body scans (paying attention to each part of oneโs body individually and focusing on sensations from individual areas), stretching, and yoga. While the program initially intended to target chronic pain, it has also shown efficacy in reducing symptoms of anxiety and also shown promise as a means of stress management. The modality has been adapted into interventions for anxiety disorders, depression, relapse prevention in the context of substance use disorders, relationship enhancement as well as a way to inculcate healthy eating practices.
The practice of mindfulness has also been integrated with Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy primarily targets symptoms of depression, with mindfulness techniques facilitating the recognition of mood deterioration without an immediate reaction or judgement of the same. Mindfulness, along with standard Cognitive Behavioral Therapy methodology trains individuals to refrain from harmful ruminative patterns, curbing repetitive negative thoughts that can increase the severity of depressive symptoms. Studies have demonstrated the efficacy of Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy in reducing rate of relapse as well as reducing symptoms of acute depression. A trial conducted by Eisendrath and colleagues found that a modified version of Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy was effective in managing treatment-resistant depression.
Apart from the integration of mindfulness into formal interventions for psychological morbidities, its use is also widely recognized as a beneficial therapeutic practice. Meditation retreats are considered to be beneficial for overall psychosocial health. While the 8-week Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction program is a fairly long-term commitment to make, brief adaptations of the same have been formulated. 2 to 3-week Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction interventions are known to have positive effects on working memory and compassion.
With the value of mindfulness being demonstrated across studies, there have been attempts at making the practice more accessible, with internet-based modalities including smartphone apps, YouTube videos, webinars, and more being available as guides. A recent college-based study found that a 10-minute online mindfulness-based intervention over the course of 4 weeks showed significant stress reduction.
Short therapeutic interventions can be readily accessed and easy to follow. Regardless of psychological morbidity, mindfulness can be effective in alleviating the distress experienced by individuals on a day-to-day basis.
