[Wren_]

I've seen a few people mention this in connection with their therapists recommending it. My own experience has been very limited and I seem to totally rebel against the idea for some reason Curious about other peoples experiences with it?

[Chopin99]

It is very hard for me to be mindful. I perceive being mindful as paying attention to what you are doing in the moment as you are doing it. For instance, right now I am eating some watermelon. I should pay attention as I chew and notice the taste, the texture. That is boring to me. I'm also watching "Royal Pains" and answering your thread.

I think I would be better at it if I didn't bore so easily. However, I'll admit when I have been successful at being mindful, it was nice.

Yes.. My T wants me to try and practise mindfulness.. she described it as a form of meditation.. Stuff like really focusing on simple things like brushing my teeth or peeling a potato.. But I'm with you guys, I find it boring. I'm usually multitasking as well - TV/music, laptop, food, txting... I find it very hard to meditate in any form - the only thing I've had any luck with are guided CDs with someone talking and music to focus on.. Otherwise my mind is all over the place, flitting from thing to thing.. My T calls this 'monkeymind' :-/

I'm with you. I just don't get it. It just doesn't seem like me if that makes any sense. It all seems so hippy dippy, touch feely, abstract to me and that is just not me at all. My T and I have been discussing the whole concept a great deal lately. He is well aware I'm not sold on it and knows why. I'm still reading the stupid book he's asked me to read, and I still find myself going "Really?", "Lie on the floor and focus on my toes and that's supposed to do something for me?" I'm not getting it. I suspect there are people who totally get it and get something from it. I don't know why, but different strokes I guess.

Mindfulness is like focusing on one thing in the moment like Chopin described.
Example-
When I stressed I pace the floors. So I start counting my steps and eventually the pacing will stop because I focused on counting my steps and it helped relieve the tension-slightly.

I think mindfulness teaches you to be in the moment-but it takes alot of practice and patience. When my T first told me about mindfulness I called B.S until I went to DBT and learned how to use it.

[critterlady]

The thing I like about mindfulness is that you really don't have to sit on the floor and contemplate your toes. You can do it throughout the day. All it takes is to be fully present in the moment. Notice what's around you - the scents, the sounds, little details you normally overlook (and not how much dust there is on the shelf!).

I like to do it when I'm stuck in traffic. It's easy to get aggravated and just sit there seething. It's a lot more pleasant to notice the grass along the side of the road, a bird that just flew overhead, the music from the car ahead of you, the architectural details of the buildings around you, whatever's there to notice. Even on routes that I travel every single morning, I can find new details I never noticed before.

My T calls it "being present." Not missing the present by focusing on the past or worrying about the future all the time.

I'm the first to admit that I can't do it all the time (I am currently typing this, watching True Blood and eating dinner, for example). But when I can manage it, I feel so much calmer.

See, that all seems really hippy dippy to me. I'm not one to contemplate the grass on the side of the road or my teeth as I'm brushing them or whatever. Just seems odd to even consider doing such things to me. To me, I'm saying. If other people get something out of that, okay. I just don't get it for me.

[roads]

"Dippy," "touch-feely," "abstract"--all used to describe former somewhat-hippy-me. But Mindfulness is a technique that I use to counteract the effects of these sometimes negative characteristics.

There's nothing mysterious about it. I just pay attention to what's in front of me and dismiss everything that isn't--including my feelings (eg, disapproving of it it, being hungry), or things that enter my mind from outside (teen's stereo, remembering a dental appointment).

Another word with a loosely similar meaning is "focus."

[KazzaX]

I didn't find mindfulness to be any help whatsoever. It is just the fad at the moment within the psychology community. Sort of like Ritalin was the fad back in the 90s.

[rainboots87]

My T said it's been proven to change the way the brain works (lots of research showing this). And that by learning to focus on something (paying attention on purpose) you have more control of how you're experiencing different situations. Mindfulness can't just be turned on whenever you want, it needs to be a habit. If you're blocking out the negative and boring experiences, then you won't be able to fully experience the positive, fun, exciting ones. There are tons of exercises out there to practice and the simpler, the better to practice with. If you can't practice mindfulness while brushing your teeth, how can you do it while having an overwhelming emotional experience or anxiety attack? When learning, it's good to give things a try, but not everything is going to work. If something really doesn't work for you (like visualization never works for me), then do something else that does (focusing on regular, even breathing works wonders for me). it's about exploration and practicing. Being more mindful has helped me notice when my body sensations, thoughts, and emotions start to escalate towards an anxiety attack or even just a lot of sadness or something and it helps keep me from falling into the same negative coping patterns I have by catching it early. I also use it to help me stay grounded sometimes. Sometimes learning the practice can seem silly, but we've got to start with things that are simple to pick up the habit for tougher situations and to fully enjoy the positive situations. Also, when we multitask we do each thing less effectively (shown by research mentioned by my T); we are much more effective doing things one-mindfully and focusing our full attention on one thing at a given moment.

[rainboots87]

Originally Posted by Roadie

There's nothing mysterious about it. I just pay attention to what's in front of me and dismiss everything that isn't--including my feelings (eg, disapproving of it it, being hungry), or things that enter my mind from outside (teen's stereo, remembering a dental appointment).

Another word with a loosely similar meaning is "focus."

I don't know about that. My T said part of mindfulness is noticing those thoughts and feelings as well. Not to get attached to them, but they ARE there and we need to acknowledge them. Just providing another perspective on that point.

I did some mindfulness based relaxation techniques in therapy today. It was pretty useful, and I felt centered and still and less anxious for a while.

I have to do this twice a day apparently. That's 40 minutes a day, too much!

[rainbow_rose]

i find it helpful when trying not to attach to distressing or spirally thoughts.

and i think mindfulness as part of a meditation practice can have a positive cumulative effect.

[SoupDragon]

I did a week long retreat where we were doing meditation for 40 minutes 4 times a day. Without doubt this had a significant positive impact on me and I was then able to be more mindful generally when I was doing day to day stuff and my symptoms reduced and at times disappeared completely. So I would say it does work.

However away from that place, I find it very hard to be disciplined enough to practice this which is very frustrating. I know it is the answer for me, but I just can't seem to motivate myself to do it.

[SoupDragon]

Originally Posted by KazzaX

I didn't find mindfulness to be any help whatsoever. It is just the fad at the moment within the psychology community. Sort of like Ritalin was the fad back in the 90s.

I think there is some objective evidence from neural imaging, that it does create changes within the brain.

[SoupDragon]

Originally Posted by farmergirl

See, that all seems really hippy dippy to me. I'm not one to contemplate the grass on the side of the road or my teeth as I'm brushing them or whatever. Just seems odd to even consider doing such things to me. To me, I'm saying. If other people get something out of that, okay. I just don't get it for me.

But why shouldn't you focus on what you are doing when brushing your teeth? How do you know you have not missed a tooth or overlooked a bit of caught up food, unless you are paying attention to what you are doing?

[eskielover]

The whole purpose to mindfulness is to get to the point where you are aware of your emotions & you are able to acknowledge them before they cause problems. Acknowledge them....then let them go......all the other stuff is just a way of practicing to get your mind exercising on being aware & being able to focus on the things around you.

Yes, it's being in the moment & not time sharing your brain....obviously, when you have several things going on at one time, it's less likely you will be able to focus on any one of them other than just getting by & not recognizing anything that you are doing or thinking.

I'm not good at it.....but I have started being able to recognize emotions I never thought I was even feeling before.....it's interesting actually, but I think we avoid doing it because we don't want to know ourselves that well & it's easier to let everything slide into place & wonder how in the world did that happen without taking responsibility for allowing it to happen by being unaware.

My husband's favorite word......"WHATEVER".......is exactly the opposite of mindfulness.....it's all about paying attention to the world around us & knowing what is happening when, how, without placing any of our judgments on those things that are happening.

It's not easy.....but we all know that the best things in life are those things that aren't easy.....they are the most valuable.......we need to understand that in our own lives & want to practice if for our own good & our own well being.

It does take work but it's really worth it in the end.

[critterlady]

I really don't think mindfulness is a fad. I first learned it in the early 1980s. As a practice, it's been around for a very long time.

It may be one of those things that works better for some than others, but isn't it worth a try to just notice and not judge the things around and within us?

[SoupDragon]

Originally Posted by eskielover

The whole purpose to mindfulness is to get to the point where you are aware of your emotions & you are able to acknowledge them before they cause problems. Acknowledge them....then let them go......all the other stuff is just a way of practicing to get your mind exercising on being aware & being able to focus on the things around you.

Yes, it's being in the moment & not time sharing your brain....obviously, when you have several things going on at one time, it's less likely you will be able to focus on any one of them other than just getting by & not recognizing anything that you are doing or thinking.

I'm not good at it.....but I have started being able to recognize emotions I never thought I was even feeling before.....it's interesting actually, but I think we avoid doing it because we don't want to know ourselves that well & it's easier to let everything slide into place & wonder how in the world did that happen without taking responsibility for allowing it to happen by being unaware.

My husband's favorite word......"WHATEVER".......is exactly the opposite of mindfulness.....it's all about paying attention to the world around us & knowing what is happening when, how, without placing any of our judgments on those things that are happening.

It's not easy.....but we all know that the best things in life are those things that aren't easy.....they are the most valuable.......we need to understand that in our own lives & want to practice if for our own good & our own well being.

It does take work but it's really worth it in the end.

I think that is one part of mindfulness, but I think it is also so much more. I think there is much to learn to notice as well as our emotions.

[learning1]

I think mindfulness is like sitting with feelings.

Originally Posted by eskielover

...
...it's all about paying attention to the world around us & knowing what is happening when, how, without placing any of our judgments on those things that are happening.

It's not easy.....but we all know that the best things in life are those things that aren't easy.....they are the most valuable.......we need to understand that in our own lives & want to practice if for our own good & our own well being.

It does take work but it's really worth it in the end.

I wanted to add that I think the reason it's not easy is since some of the feelings are painful feelings (sometimes a little painful like boredom and sometimes very painful). It's hard to accept them and let yourself feel them-- they hurt. If you feel/accept them, sometimes you can think of a way to move on. I think?

[jordn0007]

The intro to meditation available in this forum is a good starting place. It is very simple to understand, and very practical also. You can use it to teach the children. In fact, it has been observed that children do extremely good with mindfulness exercises, albeit they can't sit for longer periods. A 5-10 minute session would be more than sufficient.