FORTITUDE
Mindfulness
Mindfulness can be an incredibly useful tool in all mental health difficulties and also as a means of keeping yourself psychologically healthy even when you don’t have a mental health problem. There is a lot of research examining the benefits of mindfulness practice, and this research suggests that some of the benefits include improved memory, concentration and reduced stress levels.
We often go through our day-to-day life in a mindless way, busily rushing around, juggling multiple tasks and often thinking about what we have already done or what we are still to do. People often adopt a similar approach through their whole life, constantly chasing material goals and adopting a ‘what next’ type of attitude. This causes us to feel stressed, overwhelmed and lack fulfilment. The more we lack fulfilment the more we look for something that we can do to fill that gap.
Mindfulness is the practice of a basic but underused human skill of being wholly present in any given moment, not overwhelmed or distracted but bringing your attention and focus to what you are experiencing. It involves paying attention in the present moment, purposefully and without judgement.
Mindfulness can be exercised in our daily life by engaging ourselves fully with the moment, we can learn to live mindfully. It can also be exercised in a purposeful way by making time to meditate or practice mindfulness breathing or exercises.
Using mindfulness in therapy or coaching begins with the introduction of mindfulness practice including breathing exercises, guided imagery and learning to observe your thoughts and feelings without judgement. Once mastered these practices can inform a mindful way of living life.
The beauty of mindfulness is that it can be adapted and tailored to suit each individual’s needs, depending on your type of personality and how much time you have to spend on this practice.
Mindfulness is ‘dose dependent’, the more you practice it the more benefit you will take from it and the more easily you will be able to engage in it.