It’s so easy to stop noticing the world around us, how we feel emotionally and physically which is not and unusual thing to do and most of the time, this can be helpful in that it helps us carry out daily tasks and deal with the stresses of our everyday lives.
Although living this way can be helpful, often when faced with experiences that remind us of the past, we can find ourselves experiencing the same thoughts, feelings and behaviours associated with that past experience resulting in the same reaction.
Mindfulness involves paying attention to what’s going on both on the inside and outside of ourselves in the present moment, allowing us to stop and become aware of our thoughts and feelings moment to moment. By doing this, we get to see our experiences as they are in the here and now, rather than allowing our experiences of the past to influence how we respond to the present.
Being mindful in this way, allows us to reconnect with our bodies and our minds, giving us the opportunity to pay attention to the sights, sounds, smells and tastes of the present moment. It also allows us to get to know ourselves in more detail, giving us the opportunity to break the habits of the past, build new habits, take care of our wellbeing and live life in the present moment.
What can Mindfulness help with?
Mindfulness can support an improved sense of mental health and wellbeing as it allows us to enjoy the world around us, allowing the opportunity for us to become aware of and understand our thoughts, feelings, and behaviours in a conscious way. It trains us to live in the present and relate to ourselves and our experiences with acceptance, compassion and without judgement.
By taking time to stop and be mindful, we can start to see patterns of thinking, feeling and behaving which can help us to see our thoughts in a different way and deal with issues more productively which may result in better outcomes. For instance, sometimes we can overly think about certain things, this can result in us getting tangled in our thoughts that have been unhelpful in the past which then can become difficult to break free from. By being mindful in the moment, we can begin to notice when this is happening and take steps to deal with this quicker and in a way that is less likely to cause us harm.
Mindfulness can help with depression, stress, and anxiety, but it also us to respond to situations with awareness, recognise we have choices in how we react and know that we have the power over those choices. Being mindful also allows us the opportunity to experience life as it is in the moment, offer compassion and kindness and support us to be calmer and less stressed.