In a world where life is always in the fast lane and psychological problems are being solved by over prescription of antidepressants, Mindfulness is a perfect antidote and a natural remedy to the problems associated with this lifestyle.
Definitions of Mindfulness
To understand the importance of mindfulness in human life, a few definitions are reviewed first.
APA Concise Dictionary of Psychology defines Mindfulness as the “full awareness of one’s internal states and surroundings.” This definition covers two aspects of this concept; to be fully aware of what is going on internally and externally.
Internal awareness means, for instance, being aware of one’s thoughts, feelings and sensations. External awareness means being aware of what is happening in one’s immediate environment and the information being received by our senses.
By combining the two perspectives of our experience and paying full attention to them, we can fully appreciate the moment or as Coon & Mitterer (2014) write, it is to be “fully present, moment by moment”. By doing so, we can enjoy, appreciate and take benefit of everything the moment has to offer.
Langer (2009) defines mindfulness as an active mental state “which is achieved by simply noticing new things”. She explains that this practice then leads to feeling more involved and engaged with the present moment.
Mindfulness helps to get rid of habitual stressful reactions
Siegel et. al. (2007) add to the above definitions, by referring to mindfulness as the mental focus on present experience “without grasping on to judgments,” while Lazar (2005) explains it as the capacity of “non-judgmental awareness”. Both authors also explain the importance of acceptance when being mindful.
Acceptance here implies that we experience the moment, whether positive or negative, without judging or reacting to it. Since a significant part of our daily stress comes from events and situations and their related thoughts and reactions, cultivating mindfulness helps us to get rid of such habitual reactions.
Practising mindfulness helps to observe automatic negative thoughts and negative habits without judgment. The negative thoughts become less important and lose their grip on us. This leads to our minds becoming calmer and relaxed as a response.
Research on psychological benefits of Mindfulness
This has been shown in research studies as well. Hockenbury (2015) reports a meta-analyses conducted by Hoffman et al. where mindfulness resulted in effective management of depressive and anxiety disorders. Another study showed that mindfulness was as good at preventing relapse after depression as medication.
Other sources also quote improvements in eating disorders and substance abuse with the practice of mindfulness. The last two improvements may occur because the individual has the chance to sit back and reflect on the behaviour rather than mindlessly indulging in them.
Research on physical benefits of Mindfulness
Mindfulness has shown to impact physical health as well. Myers & Dwall (2016) quote a study by Witck-Janusek et al. where immune system functioning of women with early stage breast cancer improved as a result of mindfulness training. This is also helped these women to cope with their illness better than those women who did not practice mindfulness.
Other studies have linked mindfulness to better sleep, improved decision making and better control on refraining from addictive behaviours e.g. smoking and alcohol.
Coon & Mitterer have also presented studies which show benefits of mindfulness. These include mental health benefits of increased “clarity, concentration and calm” and “reduced aggression”. Physical benefits include lowering of physical signs of stress e.g. lowered blood pressure, heart rate and muscular tension. This could then potentially lead to lowering of chances of other stress related health problems to arise e.g. heart disease, gastrointestinal problems, etc.
Social benefits of mindfulness
Finally, by bringing mindfulness into our social life, we can foster improved relationships with others. When we do not engage in constant evaluation of ourselves, others or of the situations we find ourselves in, we can engage more fully, have higher self-esteem and less chance of conflict with others.
Mindlessness!
The opposite of being fully aware or mindfulness can be referred to as “absent-mindedness.” In today’s world, most people live the opposite of mindfulness, busy indulging in mindless activities and not stopping and appreciating one thing for too long.
The pressure of getting things done, impact of media and news, rigid routines and other stresses of life can have a negative impact on our mental and physical health.
Multitasking vs. Mindfulness
In today’s world a lot of people indulge in multitasking, e.g. driving while talking to someone on the mobile and listening to the music in the background all in one moment. This leads to lower efficiency and not enough attention given to any one task. Junco (2012) in her article on multitasking in classrooms presents the argument that multitasking can interfere with learning.
Conclusion
Being mindful of one activity at a time can help us live a more enjoyable experience. We can fully involve ourselves with the activity and get more out of it. The mental and physical benefits discussed above can also lead to improved feeling of well-being. By being more mindful, one can slow down and relish the magic that each moment has the potential to offer.
More mindful experiences can increase satisfaction one feels in life. Rather than getting caught up in rumination of the past and worry of the future, one can fully appreciate the present moment for what it is. This can then help us to be more resilient when negative situations arise and deal with stressors in a more efficient manner.
Hence, mindfulness has an important part to play and can improve all aspects of human life without the side effects of medicines.
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References
- VandenBos, G. R. (ed.) (2009). APA concise dictionary of psychotherapy., Washington: American Psychological Association.
- Coon D. & Mitterer J. O. (2014). Psychology a journey (5th edition). UK: Cengage Learning.
- Langer E. (2009) Mindfulness. In Lopez J. S (ed.) The encyclopedia of positive psychology. (pp. 618-622). Oxford: Blackwell Publishing.
- Myers D. G & Dewall, C. N. (2016) Exploring psychology in modules (10th edition). New York: Worth Publishers.
- Hockenbury, S. E, Nolan, S. A. & Hockenbury, D. H. (2015) Psychology: seventh edition. New York: Worth Publishers.
- Junco, R. (2012). In-class multitasking and academic performance. Computers in Human Behavior, 28(6), 2236–2243. doi:10.1016/j.chb.2012.06.031
- Siegel D. J. (2007). Mindfulness training and neural integration: differentiation of distinct streams of awareness and the cultivation of well-being. Social cognitive and affective neuroscience, 2(4), 259–263. https://doi.org/10.1093/scan/nsm034
- Lazar, S. W., Kerr, C. E., Wasserman, R. H., Gray, J. R., Greve, D. N., Treadway, M. T., McGarvey, M., Quinn, B. T., Dusek, J. A., Benson, H., Rauch, S. L., Moore, C. I., & Fischl, B. (2005). Meditation experience is associated with increased cortical thickness. Neuroreport, 16(17), 1893–1897. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.wnr.0000186598.66243.19
