Why Is Mindfulness Always the Answer?
By Hannah Busing via Unsplash
You’ve probably heard the advice everywhere: mindful meditation, mindful eating, mindful parenting, mindful meetings… It’s almost become a cliche! “Have a problem? Try mindfulness.”
It’s enough that I notice people often tuning out the idea of mindfulness as a tool to manage stress, emotions, and anxiety. So, why is there so much hesitation around mindfulness? Maybe we don't understand it fully. Maybe we’re irritated when it’s brought up because it seems simple to do yet so difficult to accomplish. Or maybe we’ve tried it and believe it just doesn't work for us.
As a therapist, I’ve heard this from many of my clients. But I also know that my clients who actively practice mindfulness describe feeling grounded in once-anxious environments and an increase in their ability to self-regulate emotions and distress. Here are some things to keep in mind when deciding whether to give it a try:
Mindfulness Does Not Mean Meditation
People often confuse mindfulness for meditation, which is part of the reason I think it can feel cumbersome. Mindfulness is simply a state of psychological awareness, and while yes, meditation is one way to achieve that by actively quieting the mind, there are many other ways to practice mindfulness simply and conveniently.
We achieve mindfulness by drawing awareness to our thoughts and our body’s reaction to a situation. We can be mindful of the things we see and hear in the park during a brisk walk, and we can be mindful of the way our hearts sink into our stomachs as a reaction to a certain stimulus. I like to call this psychological state of awareness “thinking about your thinking.”
Meditation on the other hand is a skill developed using mindfulness to clear the mind. A meditation practice can take years to develop and takes a lot more concentration and tuning out than mindfulness, which is why I often recommend mindfulness over meditation. Mindfulness tends to be more accessible, especially during busy days.
Mindfulness is backed by tons of research.
Mindfulness is more than just feel-good advice; science shows real-world benefits to both your physical and emotional health. Here are just a few examples of research on mindfulness:
Reduced anxiety and rumination: One study looked into the impact of mindfulness on rumination habits, the process of continuously thinking about the same thoughts, after a 10-day mindfulness meditation retreat. Even those new to mindfulness reported a decrease in rumination and a decrease in feelings of emotional distress, known as negative affect.
Improved working memory: A 2010 study explored the role of mindfulness in working memory capacity. Think of working memory capacity like holding a person's address in mind while listening to instructions about how to get there; it’s the ability to manage multiple cognitive demands at once. Researchers found that a meditating military group that participated in an eight-week mindfulness training experienced increased working memory capacity. The non-meditating military group actually experienced decreased working memory capacity.
Better focus and cognitive flexibility: Mindfulness has been shown to focus attention and improve cognitive flexibility (the mental ability to adapt to new environments). Cognitive flexibility allows us to learn faster, solve problems creatively, and communicate more succinctly. When comparing meditators and non-meditators, psychologists found that meditators scored significantly higher on all measures of attention. They also found a direct connection between self-reported mindfulness and cognitive flexibility.
Better heart health: In a 2013 study, patients with high blood pressure were asked to add either a course in mindfulness or a course in muscle relaxation to their treatment regimen. After the 8-week program, patients who learned mindfulness had greater reductions in blood pressure when compared to those who learned muscle relaxation.
Stronger immune response: Mindfulness-based stress reduction therapy has been shown to increase immune cell (or T-cell) activity in patients with breast cancer. In one study, elderly patients who engaged in a mindfulness course, rather than an exercise program, had nasal wash that suggested an improvement in immune function.
While a lot of this research focuses on meditation, meditation is just one form of mindfulness.
It can be practiced by anyone, anywhere.
Part of the reason mindfulness is so widely endorsed by therapists is because it’s simple, it’s free, and it doesn’t require a significant time or energy investment. It doesn't require anything from us, besides our attention. Mindfulness does not require complete quietness or hours of solitude; it can be incorporated into all facets of our day. Here are a few ways to easily cultivate mindfulness throughout your day:
Focus on one task at a time
Creating the habit of doing one thing at a time gives your highly valued, limited attention span space to focus on what exactly you’re doing. By doing only one thing, you can create awareness in the effort you put into the task, how you truly feel about the task, if you enjoy it (or not), and even identify ways to adjust it if you don’t.
Being mindful of a specific task can even lead to what some psychologists refer to as the flow state. The flow state is a state of effortless attention and is often associated with athletes and artists, but can be accomplished in more mundane tasks, as well. Have you ever been reading a book and spent hours without looking up from the book? You may not even notice the sun has set or that you’re hungry. That’s the flow state – it results in a sense of accomplishment, meaningfulness, and a positive mood state.
Breath with intention.
Taking just a few minutes to breathe with intention can also achieve a state of mindfulness. Take a deep breath in through your nose while counting to 3 in your mind, hold the breath for another 3 seconds, and exhale through your mouth for 3 seconds. Repeat this 3 times and then allow yourself to switch to your natural breathing state. Bring your focus back to the present and ask yourself: How do I feel? What do I notice about myself now? These thoughts should be non-judgemental and neutral.
Breathing exercises have immediate benefits like reducing anxiety, anger, and arousal. Over the long term, breathing exercises like this can train your nervous system to be more resilient.
Mindfulness can help in bringing maladaptive behaviors to light and promote the space needed to adjust these behaviors. Our brains know “one way” of processing stress and anxiety because they have always functioned this way. Often we don't even recognize it because it has become so natural to us.
The good news is the more we practice mindfulness, the more we are able to unlearn our old ways and relearn healthier ways to manage stressors, emotions, and behaviors. It takes time, practice, and trust in ourselves.
So, what do you have to lose? Next time you hear that mindfulness can help with a problem, try to look past the buzzword and consider the potential benefits of this free tool that’s always available to you.