Mindfulness is a Psychology trend that doesn’t happen often enough and we’re delighted when it does. People engaging with their mental health is fantastic to see, but finding reliable information and resources isn’t always easy. Mindfulness has become a more popular topic of mental health discussions as of late but what is it?
Mindfulness is the practice of being fully present and non-judgemental of your life in any given moment. Put simply, it’s an essential skill in managing and maintaining your mental health. It shows up in a lot of different forms throughout one-to-one and group therapies. The reason for this is that once this skill is developed, it lays a foundation for many other supportive strategies and tools.
Developing skills in mindfulness is like practising any other new process. You start by learning the basics; What is it? What are the rules and how do you engage in it? Then, every single day presents an opportunity to stop and be mindful. This practice is not only useful when you are distressed and upset, but also when life feels pretty peaceful. The more often you practise and strengthen this skill, the less it feels like an effort.
Mindfulness plays an important role in therapies like Dialectical Behavioural Therapy (DBT) useful for a range of experiences, diagnosis and challenges. DBT uses mindfulness as a foundational step to learning to accept and change our thoughts, reactions and behaviours.