Mindfulness

What is mindfulness?

Mindfulness is a lifestyle that considers our mental health and psychological wellbeing. It is actively and consciously trying to better ourselves and resolve underlying issues that we may have struggled with. It is a way to improve and potentially cope with mental conditions (e.g. anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, etc.), however, it is not for everyone and some might not find it helpful.

Why should we consider it?

Unless you find it to be harmful to your mental health, it is always beneficial to try some coping techniques. Mindfulness is a way to better connect with yourself and understand the issues that may have caused discomfort before.

What are some techniques I might want to try as a beginner?

• Breathwork - breathing helps us calm down and ground ourselves a little bit! A great way to start is breathing in for 3 seconds, then holding the breath for another 3, and then reeling through your mouth for yet another 3 seconds. Counting and focusing on doing this right will not only physically calm your body through the subtle airflow, prevent hyperventilating and prevent future physical manifestations but also find a distraction to whatever your mind was previously focused on.

• Meditation - meditation is a great method to begin practicing mindfulness. It is a way to refocus and gain some perspective in hectic times. It helps you escape reality for a second and sometimes that is all we need! It can become a potential coping mechanism, with lots of proven benefits to both physical and mental health. We recommend trying guided meditations first and slowly increasing time spent on meditating (starting with the hour-long meditations might be discouraging, try 3 or 5 min long ones first.)

What are some more complicated things I could try later on?

• Journaling - journaling (writing your thoughts, feelings, affirmations, etc. down in a dedicated journal) is a great way to organize your emotions. Coming back and re-reading them later might help you better understand yourself and what your areas for growth are!

• Beginning your journey to self-growth - change starts from within, so when we are in a place in which we can safely (without pushing any boundaries) discover and analyze our behavior and try to identify areas to work on, doing so will release a lot of mental blocks you may haven’t even known about until now. Beginning your journey with self-growth might involve many elements such as exercise, reading, talking to a mental health professional, finding healthy coping mechanisms, asking for feedback, etc. All of those things are great but will work differently for everyone, and some might not be ready to take those steps or dive deeper into their own mental health just yet and that's perfectly fine!

It doesn’t work, what should I do?

Mindfulness may be an amazing mechanism for some, and completely useless for others. Everyone is different and if those techniques don’t work, you should not get discouraged. There is no “one size fits all” answer when it comes to mental health. You have to take the time and get to know yourself first. Remember to not be hard on yourself and keep seeking help! If mindfulness doesn’t work there are plenty of other things to try such as therapy, trying to find a new passion that might serve as a temporary distraction, becoming more health-conscious, and many others; that is not to say that mindfulness can’t mix with those other factors, simply that not everything will work for everyone and that is alright!