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When it comes to conversations about mental health and wellbeing, chances are, you’ve heard the word “mindfulness” being thrown around a lot. Many mental health resources and guides constantly discuss mindfulness, how it can help improve your mental health, and how important it is when it comes to taking care of yourself and your mind.
If you’re curious about the connections between mindfulness and mental health, keep reading to find out about how and why the two are so connected!
What is mindfulness?
There’s a lot of information out there about mindfulness, and some of it can be confusing or just misleading. Mindfulness is the state of being fully present in the moment and aware of what’s going on inside you as well as around you. Mindfulness is an inherent characteristic that all human beings have, but it may be difficult to actually achieve and practice mindfulness on a regular basis.
Being mindful helps to reduce stress, improve engagement and performance, and gain a better understanding of the inner workings of your own mind. Mindfulness encourages us to be kind, patient, compassionate, and curious, working to enhance the positive traits that we as people already have.
There is no right or wrong way to practice mindfulness. A common method is meditation, which can help you to clear your mind, focus your thoughts, and really work on being mindful. You can also practice yoga or work on creating something, such as an artistic piece or a short story. Mindfulness doesn’t have to be something exotic or special that you have to put extra effort into receiving — you can incorporate it into different aspects of your life and find that it’ll naturally become a part of your routine!
Mindfulness is not a one-time thing, it’s a consistent mindset and a lifestyle. Although it can be hard to figure it out at first, when you practice it regularly, you’ll definitely see the benefits!
Mindfulness and Mental Health
When you’re struggling with symptoms of depression, anxiety, or other issues, you may find that your natural instinct is to retreat inwards and get trapped in your own head. The racing thoughts and spirals you find yourself stuck in are not only unproductive, they’re unhealthy. It can be incredibly difficult to get out of a rut, but there’s always hope. The first step is to identify and acknowledge that you are trapped in a cycle of unhealthy thought patterns.
Negative thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are all innately linked to one another, so if you’re trying to really change your life, you’ll have to find a way to tackle one of them. Starting off with your thoughts, it’s important to take a step back and realize that, as generic as it sounds, it is all in your head. Saying that to yourself can remind you that your thoughts do not determine your worth. Just because your mind is telling you that you’re useless, worthless, a failure, etc., does not make it true.
The next step in practicing mindfulness is to find a coping mechanism — an activity you can participate in and really focus on. Coping mechanisms can be self-soothing, relaxing, or distracting, and can range from doing physical exercise to listening to music. The main thing to note about coping mechanisms is that they are not a solution to a problem, but rather a way to cope and deal with it until you can find a solution.
Practicing mindfulness can look entirely different for different people. Some people find it easy to engross themselves in a task, such as cooking a meal, and then focus on engaging all of their senses in that activity. By engaging in your senses by tasting things, seeing, hearing, smelling, and touching, you can maximize your experiences and ensure that you’re truly present in the moment, which is what mindfulness is all about!
In our daily lives, we tend to attach commentary and remarks to the things that we do or see. This is entirely normal and natural, but it can also have a negative impact on our mental health and wellbeing, especially if our thoughts tend to also be negative. Instead of placing subjective labels onto the things that you’re experiencing, try to approach it from a neutral perspective. Simply take note of what you’re experiencing and don’t try to describe it in any way. What’s happening is happening, and your job is to fully experience it, rather than try to work your way through it or analyze it in some way.
Mindfulness Resources
In addition to being something you can practice and incorporate on your own, you can also work with other people, like mental health professionals, to really incorporate mindfulness into your lifestyle. Here are some forms of therapy that can help with mindfulness and mental health:
Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy
Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) is designed to help people with recurring depression and can help people break negative thought patterns. It takes a unique approach that combines aspects of mindfulness with cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT).
Mindfulness-based stress reduction
Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) blends mindfulness with meditation and yoga practices. It can help in dealing with stress, depression, anxiety, and pain. Both MBCT and MBSR tend to be done in group settings, so you don’t have to feel like you’re facing your problems alone.
There are so many options out there that can help you figure out how to best incorporate mindfulness practices into your life. You can access more resources regarding mindfulness practices and mental health and wellbeing to help you on your journey!
