Mindfulness to Reduce Anxiety, Stress and Depression.
Posted on March 16th, 2016
Mindfulness is the act of actively paying attention to the present moment.
It’s the opposite of auto-pilot, which is when we are caught up in our thoughts and are thinking and acting without really paying attention to what we are doing.
The problem with being on auto-pilot is that our minds are having a ‘free-for-all’ by thinking all kinds of unhelpful thoughts, which can lead to feelings such as anxiety, sadness and anger.
Why practise Mindfulness?
The three main benefits of mindfulness are:
- By ‘getting out of our head’ into the present moment, we will neutralise our feelings very quickly. Which means less anxiety, stress, depression and anger.
- It enhances our experience. Things we are doing become more enjoyable.
- Because we are paying detailed attention to what we are doing, our ability to recall these details later is improved. So it improves our memory for those experiences.
Too much of our lives are wasted on auto pilot. As we learn how to ‘get out of our heads’ and into the present moment, we will learn how to manage our emotions more effectively.
If you are interested in Mindfulness as a tool to manage your emotions more effectively, this is something that a psychologist can help you with.
Keep an eye on our blog as I will be posting some mindfulness exercises in the near future.
by Judy Travis
Please take time to watch the attached video introducing Mindfulness.