By Ashley Young-
Mindfulness is today proposed as a useful mechanism for combating pain and depression, yielding tremendous benefits to the physical and emotional well being of individuals who practise it.
Research has shown that an eight week mindfulness based Cogntive therapy significantly reduces depression. The notion of mindfulness remains widely unknown but there are many well informed people who are aware of the power of mindfulness and its proven gains.
Mindfulness involves being conscious, and patient in the way one deals with life. Meditating patiently on every step and action one takes, including the friends you keep, the food you eat, the way you react to various situations, is part of the valued benefits of mindfulness. Taking time to evaluate the consequences of your actions or silence about any and everything.
Examining the reason for an individual’s anxiety or depression, and devising practical solutions to problems that create a real problem in our lives, the practise of mindfulness exerts a powerful influence on one’s health, well being and happiness, according to authors on Mindfulness, Mark Williams and Danny Penman.
The Uk Government’s National Institute For Health And Clinical Excellence has recommended MBCT for those with a history of three or more episodes of Depression. Further research by Maura Kenny in Afelaide and Stuart Eisendrath in San Francisco suggest that MBCT may be an effective strategy for those who suffer from depression or are on antidepressant medication or cognisant therapy.
MEDITATION
Mindfulness generally comprises a series of daily meditations with a view to breaking bad habits of thinking and behaviour and seeking to attain higher levels of happiness. The World Health Organisation says that depression is likely to impose the second biggest health burden globally.
Neuroscientific experiments have found that participants in mindful experiments felt less physical pain as a result of practising mindfulness, and researchers have suggested that this may have positive implications for managing chronic pain. Further studies using brain scans have showed that mindfulness helps control emotions, which may help people overcome addiction or lower their stress levels.
Gary Hustwitt, 59 a covering alcoholic who has suffered from chronic depression, told The Eye Of Media.Com:
” Mindfulness is a very interesting phenomenon that is helping me battle anxiety and depression. Thanks to the Eye Of media.Com I have been watching lots of youtube videos about mindfulness and reading a brilliant book by Mark Williams and Danny Penman on mindfulness.
Discussing it with professionals has been very therapeutic”. Sharon Atkins,36, another recovering alcoholic who attends alcoholic anonymous said: ”mindfulness has turned out to be a very unique process of self discovery for me. I have taken advice in reading sections of a book on mindfulness and watching youtube videos.
I would definitely recommend the meditation element of mindfulness”.
Image: positive psychology.com