I'm going to ask my T to teach me...

Mindfulness. I've heard about it. I know 'of' it. But I never realized how involved it actually was until a read an article on it this evening. At my session tomorrow, I'm going to ask her to help me with it.

Has anyone ever gotten very deep into the mindfulness thing? Did it help with depression/anxiety? Because lately I've noticed that the days are just floating by, like I'm existing but just to the most minimal extent. I don't want to feel so disconnected from myself or my life. I believe it has become some sort of coping mechanism I've developed (just detaching from everything) but I don't like it, I want to enjoy my life. I feel life is too short , and too precious to waste your days away.

I've only just started, but I'm sure there are many here who have done it for years.

It's supposed to keep you grounded in the present.

Mindfulness is not meditation. It is just being in the present with no judgement. My ruminating thoughts and looping memories were so bad I had to start out with talking out loud what I was doing. "I am opening the car door, I am putting the keys in the ignition, I am opening the garage door, I am turning the car on............you get the idea. I could only handle this for 30 seconds at a time. Eventual I could do it for longer. It was enough to give my brain a chance to rest until I noticed there were more times I was naturally in the moment and had no flashing memories.

Sorry, but mindfulness is a classic meditation form, as you can see from wikipedia's initial description of it and its Pali and Sanskrit names:

Mindfulness - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Currently, mindfulness has been detached from its origin and used as a self-management too as well, so you're right that it isn't necessarily meditation.

You might enjoy the information on the To Do Institute's website: http://www.todoinstitute.org/mindfulness-attention.html

I have read many of David K. Reynolds' books and he was helpful to me in not only learning mindfulness but "why" I would want to and how it could be used in my day-to-day life.

Mindfulness, which i leanred about from first t years ago, has helped me tremendously.

Thank you all :-)

I'm going to ask T about it today!

There are also lots of books on amazon about it.

I have been practicing mindfulness for a few years now and it has really helped a lot. I hope you will find it helpful as well!

I had a therapist who tried to teach me mindfullness. It scared me so much... i found it very unsettling even though it was supposed to be calming. Just my experience tho....

Mindfulness has helped me a lot too. There are many books and tapes about it. I'm sure your T will have ideas. I highly recommend yoga also. It's not exercise, my yoga teacher always says. Its purpose is to still the mind.

hmmm. i kind of like that idea because i almost never live just in the present--except when i am at work. can't help but be mindful of hte present when you are working with toddlers
love your avatar and profile summary at the bottom of your post. I would love to be in a with Mariska.

Do you think mindfulness will help you become aware of what you are feeling in any given moment. I've gotten this as homework assignments, and fail miserably because I will stop and think "how am i feeling?" and then my mind is blank. I dont know. That used to happen all the time if people asked me my opinion on stuff that i cared about. i just went blank and said "i dont know."

It also happened all the time when my aunt asked me what i wanted to drink when i was over at her house, and EVERY SINGLE TIME i would shrug and say "i don't know," when i did have a preference! And she was not threatening about it and kept saying "well whatever you choose is fine," and meant it. i think i always stuck with either water or if they suggested soda, i'd take that.

I have really struggled with mindfulness. My T thought it wouldbe helpful so she really pushed it for awhile, but we've both backed off of it completely. I get too scared NOT being hypervigilent all the time so I just can't do it. In theory I like the idea though, so I'm glad it works for so many people.

Incidentally, doing housework, especially laundry, is mindful for me.

That's a good one to learn, you'll find it quite helpful.

Thanks to all the additional posters

I did ask T about it. She's a new T (phd candidate) and while she agreed that it sounds like something that would be really good for me, she doesn't have all the necessary "tools" to teach me completely, and recommended a seminar type thing that the university teaches in Mindfulness ( I believe she said there is also some meditation involved in this class) and is going to bring me the info next week

I appreciate the fact that she admitted to not knowing it thoroughly instead of trying to teach me anyway, and I hope this class works out well.

Mindfulness meditation can be scary, especially if you are in agitated or hyper vigilant or triggered state. But mindfulness can be pulled away from meditation and has by countless people in the health professions.

One way I use mindfulness practices is exactly what one poster pointed out: that everyday things, like chores, can be used for mindfulness practice. You just do the dishes and pay attention to everything. This trains you to notice and increases your awareness.

In the end it's kinda like training a muscle though what it is really doing is affecting the way your brain works. Different waves increase in the brain when you are being mindful. That can then help you in other areas.

You can also use mindfulness directly on your "issues" but I find that doing it on ordinary things is easier and works better. In some schools of Buddhism (where this comes from), that kind of mindfulness is called "work practice" and is considered a form of meditation.

wow...the seminar sounds like an excellent opportunity!