Do you need to clear your mind? Do you find it difficult to focus on one thing? If so, you might benefit from learning about mindfulness.
Mindfulness is our ability as humans to be fully aware and present of our current situations. When we are aware of where we are and what we are doing, it helps us not overreact or be overwhelmed by external circumstances. Regardless of your location or state of mind, mindfulness can help you center yourself and bring you back to a state of calmness. Everyone has access to mindfulness; you just need to know how to cultivate it.
Anchor Therapy is a counseling center in Hoboken, NJ with psychotherapists specialized in helping children, teens, adults, and couples with anxiety, depression, relationship issues, trauma, and life transitions. Anchor Therapy is accepting new clients and is now providing in-person sessions and telehealth (video/phone) sessions to residents of New Jersey and New York.
Mindfulness can be practiced in the following ways:
1. Meditation:
Meditative practices help you train your awareness and attention to achieve tranquility. There are several forms of meditation, including:
Focused attention
Open-monitoring
Kindness or compassion
Mantra meditation
To learn more about the various forms of meditation, check out our last blog about How Meditation Can Lead To Stress Reduction.
2. Short pauses in our daily lives:
You can take a few minutes each day to pause and pay attention to one activity. For instance, if you find yourself continuously reaching for food despite not being hungry, take a few minutes to check in with yourself and ask why you are over-eating.
3. Merging meditation with physical activities:
Exercises that incorporate meditation simultaneously work the physical body and mind. Yoga and Pilates are workouts that highlight the mind-body connection.
Mindfulness gives you time to pause judgement and free your true self, encouraging acceptance and curiosity.
There are many benefits of mindfulness, including:
1. Mindfulness Helps You Develop Emotional Intelligence:
Mindfulness is critical in understanding yourself, from your thoughts and feelings to your priorities. Mindfulness allows you to develop self-awareness which assists in crafting emotional intelligence. It can help you comprehend your emotional triggers, including your strengths and weaknesses. Instead of being reactive, you can learn to become more thoughtful and intentional by practicing mindfulness tactics.
Those who mindfully engage with their lives are more attentive, less anxious, have a better ability to manage their impulses, and perform better academically. The boost in performance that you may receive from mindfulness is linked to lower burnout levels.
Some symptoms of burnout include:
Sense of self-doubt
Detachment
Feeling defeated
Loss of motivation
Having a negative outlook
If you are experiencing burnout, practicing mindfulness can help.
2. Mindfulness and Self-Efficacy Positively Influences Cognition and Satisfaction
Mindfulness can increase your self-efficacy. Self-efficacy is the belief in your capacity to behave in a way that encourages the attainment of your goals. This ability positively influences your cognition and perception of satisfaction. When stress is high, mindfulness is an important mediator that can build self-efficacy. To enhance self-efficacy through mindfulness, focused breathing techniques tend to work the best.
Try the following breathing exercise to curate self-efficacy:
Sit in a relaxed and comfortable position
Inhale through your nose to a count of four
Hold your breath for a count of seven
Exhale through your mouth to a count of eight
Repeat the process for a total of four complete breaths
3. Mindfulness Contributes to the Perception of One’s Health
Your ability to analyze and maintain your health can be viewed as your “health assets.” A particularly important component of your “health assets” is mindfulness. Mindfulness is crucial in the judgment of your physical and mental health. Not only does mindfulness increase your self-compassion, it helps you easily manage stress. This psychological resource improves awareness and allows you to appropriately respond to emotional stress.
Contrary to popular belief, mindfulness is not a personality trait or skill, it is a cognitive style. Everyone has the ability to be mindful since it is a trainable skill. Mindfulness can be employed as a treatment for various dimensions of health, including mental and physical disorders.
There are five primary facets of mindfulness:
Observation
Description
Act aware
Not judging internal experiences
Not acting on internal experiences
Those who regularly practice mindfulness have better perceptions of their health.
Want to try a mindfulness technique?
If you want to curate a mindfulness practice, try to do the following:
Name five things you see
Four things you feel
Three things you hear
Two things you smell
One thing you taste
For example, let’s say you were at a park and wanted to pursue this activity there. You see children playing, dogs digging in the dirt, a bird flying, people running, and someone reading. Next, you may feel the grass against your skin, the blanket underneath your body, the wind blowing in your hair, and the tree behind you. You can hear the sounds of children laughing, someone talking on the phone, and the bell on someone’s bike being rang. Then, you smell the fresh flowers and food of the person sitting next to you. Lastly, you taste your coffee.
Mindfulness is an evidence-based approach that anyone can do to reach a state of serenity. If you would like to learn how to become more mindful of your daily habits, talking to a licensed professional counselor may be beneficial.
For additional information, please view the following sources:
Asensio-Martinez, Angela, Olivan-Blazquez, Barbara, Montero-Marin, Jesus, Masluk, Barbara, Fueyo-Diaz, Ricardo, Gascon-Santos, Santiago, et al. (2019). Relation of the psychological constructs of resilience, mindfulness, and self-compassion on the perception of physical and mental health. Psychology Research and Behavior Management, 12.
Bragg, Emily. (2021). The relationship between emotional intelligence and mindfulness. Dissertation Abstracts International: Section B: The Sciences and Engineering, 82(6-B), No Pagination Specified.
Firth, Andrea Margaret, Cavallini, Ingvild, Sutterlin, Stefan & Lugo, Ricardo G. (2019). Mindfulness and self-efficacy in pain perception, stress and academic performance. The influence of mindfulness on cognitive processes. Psychology Research and Behavior Management, 12.
Victoria Scala
is an intern at Anchor Therapy in Hoboken, New Jersey. She is currently an undergraduate student at the Honors College of Rutgers University-Newark, looking to study Clinical Mental Health Counseling at the graduate level. As an intern at Anchor Therapy, Victoria is committed to producing content for and managing the office’s social media presence and blog.
