This past year has been tumultuous for everybody worldwide. With the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic looming over our heads on top of facing regular day to day struggles with relationships, work, stress management and everything in between, it can be easy to feel completely devoid of control. Regaining that can be difficult, but mindfulness can be a powerful tool in managing our emotions and our responses to the stressors around us.
What is mindfulness?
Mindfulness is described as the ability to be fully present in a situation – completely aware of where we are, what we are doing and what our situation is. It describes the power to be in control of how reactive we are to situations and our ability to prevent ourselves from becoming overwhelmed or consumed by environmental stressors. Mindfulness incorporates meditation as well as assessing our relationships with ourselves and with others.
How can I practise this?
Mindfulness requires no setup. All you need is just to give yourself the time to practise. The second step is observing the moment you are in – look at your situation as it is and do your best to avoid judgemental thoughts. Judgements will come; acknowledge their existence and let them float out of your mind. Pull yourself back into the moment and ground yourself in your surroundings. Be kind to yourself. It can be easier to release criticisms of your surroundings than it is to release internal judgements.
What are the benefits?
Many studies have noted the positive impacts mindfulness can have. The American Psychological Association cites that through mindfulness, ruminations, or deep thoughts, can be reduced. Through quashing deep thoughts and over-analysis, it has been proven to reduce stress significantly. Limiting these stressors keeps the mind sharp, evident in increased memory, focus and decreased emotional reactivity. It can also give higher relationship satisfaction through controlling responses to sometimes triggering events as well as enhancing insight into one’s self. Mindfulness can also improve physical health, increasing immune function and reducing the effects of psychological stress, therefore increasing overall well-being. Most importantly, it can make us outwardly kinder to others but also inwardly kinder to ourselves.
