Mindfulness is a word that you often hear people throw around but few can explain what it means.
To put it simply, mindfulness means that you pay attention to the present moment without paying attention to external thoughts that enter your mind. This might seem like it is hard to do but once you perfect the art of mindful thinking, you can health improve your mental health.
According to Sharon Hadley, CEO of the Oxford Mindfulness Centre, it is primarily about encouraging people to pay more attention to what is happening in their bodies and mind.
How does it work?
When you are trying to practice mindfulness, the idea is for you to focus on nothing except your body and your breathing. When you do this, you should be able to pick up on thoughts running through your head and let them go.
There are online tutorials for you to follow that can help you through this process.
Hadley has said, “This ability to pay attention, to notice what is happening in the present moment and increase our ability to make a choice how to indeed if to respond to our thoughts or feelings has proven beneficial to those suffering, both mentally and physically.”
There are several benefits to applying this way of thinking to your daily life from improving your relationship with food and alleviating Smartphone additions. It can help boost your self confidence as well as your body confidence.
Can it help treat mental health problems?
Research has found mindfulness to be beneficial in treating several mental health problems such as stress, anxiety and even depression.
The idea is once you can sit down with your thoughts for a few moments, you can notice your triggers better and from there, you can process the trigger, talk yourself down and let go of the issue that is causing you self harm.
People have also noticed that by adding mindfulness thinking to their daily lives, they feel more present in the moment at hand. You come home from work and enjoy your hello hugs and loves from your family members and or your furry friends.
The simple things in life will start to bring you joy and you can start to understand and listen to your body better. A person, who understands their body, can notice when something slight is off and you can address it before it turns into a bigger issue.
Life is great when you are content and love the moments that you are present in. Take a moment to practice mindful thinking once a day for a few minutes and you will start to see the positive changes in your life and your mental health.
