What Is Mindfulness? Does It Really Help?
Perhaps you’ve heard the word, but you have wondered for awhile now, what is mindfulness? Does it really help people like me who are struggling with a past trauma?…or maybe anxiety, depression, boundaries and other struggles? When I ask clients whether they have heard of it, often the response is yes. Yet, clients often don’t really know what it is or how to engage in it. I get it!
What is mindfulness?
Mindfulness may almost seem counterintuitive to what you know and how you live or experience your days. Your to-do list is a mile long every day and you never get it all checked off. How on earth are you going to pause your day to be…mindful?! So, does mindfulness really help? Mindfulness is not a magic cure-all pill. Though, I do believe it can be healing! Being mindful can deepen your ability to experience better sleep, reduce depressive or anxious struggles, increase self-compassion.
Essentially, mindfulness can portray a sense of a gentle, quiet, almost seemingly too simplistic practice that can be healing. It can bring calm, relief, contemplation, and awareness. More importantly, it ushers in an acceptance of the here and now. No dwelling on the past. No anticipation of the future. Of those few descriptors, mindfulness’ greatest components are awareness and acceptance.
Anxiety lives in the past and in the future. However, it doesn’t live in the here and now. So, when you can spend time in this space, you begin to heal your body, mind and your emotional being.
As you become aware of the present moment, you remove the focus from the external and enter into this experience of internal curiosity. I wholeheartedly believe curiosity to be a space many of us can begin to find a sense of calm, peace and again, healing. Remaining in the present moment (which can be oh-so-hard) reduces your body’s tendency to become overwhelmed. You may have become so others- or outward-focused that you know something is not right but have not had the time to grow curious about it.
Possibly, being curious about your body is a foreign concept. Mindfulness can awaken awareness not just to the physical goings-on but your emotional and mental processes, too.
Here are some physical signs that some of my clients have paid attention to:
- What is your experience with physical pain?
- Do you notice sensations in your body that are uncomfortable?
- Perhaps there is an ache you have noticed but dismiss it, for all the other things that seem to be coming at you daily.
- Your heart might race or you feel like you want to cry.
You think it’s no big deal…you’ve experienced this before. But it is persistent.
The next step in mindfulness is to accept what is happening (being curious about it) – judgement free, where you can begin to allow yourself to truly and simply, be. This is a hard thing to do – it’s important to notice that! Yet, judgement disappears in the presence of curiosity. Gentle self-kindness. No right or wrong. You don’t need to relive or harbour the past. You can release yourself from anticipating the future. Releasing yourself from the stress of external factors means you start to notice the external factors and explore what it would be like to accept them, such as:
- Feeling overwhelmed at work.
- Your kids’ ongoing needs are causing a lot of stress.
- You notice a lot of negative thoughts and you wonder if depression is creeping in.
You may be thinking this is one more thing on your to-do list. And yes, it does take some intentional time initially – but eventually, you can become mindful without effort. The Headspace App (while it does have a small fee) is one I suggest to clients. You might find it helpful to quickly access some mindful practices using it!
Scientific research shows that mindfulness can actually alter some of the ways your brain works (specifically in the frontal and prefrontal areas) and processes things…in a good way! Mindfulness helps decrease uncomfortable emotions like anxiety and it can also help with emotional regulation, as part of your healing. Being mindful and aware of what you are feeling allows you to observe and label your thoughts, feelings or physical sensations – without judgement. Practicing mindfulness is a lot more than a passive experience. It’s an active practice that is as much healing as it is restorative. If you’re curious about what mindfulness is and if it really can help, please reach out! I would love to connect with you!
