MINDFULNESS (MBCT) Mindfulness –based cognitive therapy
TAMING OF THE MIND – NOTHING TO LOSE APART FROM YOUR STRESS
Mindfulness is a technique that clears your head of information overload and allows you to focus on the present. It is a brain training technique based on using your breathing to achieve mental clarity, close out the buzz and focus on the present while regulating your mind to enhance mental equilibrium. Thoughts are not who you are and nor are they facts, plus knowing what gear your mind is in will assist in sharpening focus and allows us to separate the relevant from non relevant thoughts.
Mindfulness is a word that simply means awareness. It is a direct, intuitive knowing of what you are doing while you are doing it. Most of the time our attention is not where we intend it to be as our attention is hijacked by our thoughts and emotions, by our concerns, worries for the future and regrets and memories of the past. Mindfulness is acknowledging what’s going on inside your mind and body and at the same time as paying attention to the present moment. It is like training a muscle to co-operate, reduce our tendency to work on autopilot, allowing us to choose how we respond and react. It is not about zoning out but zooming in and paying attention, decluttering the brain and making room for creativity.
MBCT is recommended by the National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE) and recommended by organisations as diverse at Google and the Home Office as an antidote to the relentless pressure and information overload common in many work places and in personal life.
· Recurrent depression
· Anxiety disorders
· Addictive behaviour
· Stress
· Chronic pain and many more mental and physical problems.
The technique draws on anchoring and the breathing exercises commonly used in meditation and yoga but are not spiritually based and the aim is to become more aware of thoughts and feelings in a non judgemental way so that we are not overwhelmed by them. The US military offers marines mindfulness training before they are deployed, in recognition that it is an effective form of mental discipline.
Advances in neuroscience and psychology in relation to depression over the last 15 years have coincided with the current economic situation, which has made the condition more prevalent and mindfulness is a solution that is emerging at just the right time. Neuroscience relates to changes in the brain and many conditions treated by hypnosis therapies such as PTSD are based on the same events taking place in the brain. When people feel stressed the part of the brain associated with ‘flight or flight the amygdale fires up, reducing the brains an ability to cope. The practice of mindfulness has been shown to calm the body down, reduce levels of the stress hormone cortisol in similar way to hypnotic deep state relaxation.
You can change you mind and how your brain works and this is called neuroplasiticy. Neurons or brain cells can be rewired and patterns of thought and long held habits laid down by your experiences can affect the physiology or your brain and the psychology affects your thoughts. If your mind changes then so does your brain and outcomes will be different, you will know where your mind is and learned new positive routes to negotiate your life.
Mindfulness is a word that simply means awareness. It is a direct, intuitive knowing of what you are doing while you are doing it. Most of the time our attention is not where we intend it to be as our attention is hijacked by our thoughts and emotions, by our concerns, worries for the future and regrets and memories of the past. Mindfulness is acknowledging what’s going on inside your mind and body and at the same time as paying attention to the present moment. It is like training a muscle to co-operate, reduce our tendency to work on autopilot, allowing us to choose how we respond and react. It is not about zoning out but zooming in and paying attention, decluttering the brain and making room for creativity.
MBCT is recommended by the National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE) and recommended by organisations as diverse at Google and the Home Office as an antidote to the relentless pressure and information overload common in many work places and in personal life.
· Recurrent depression
· Anxiety disorders
· Addictive behaviour
· Stress
· Chronic pain and many more mental and physical problems.
The technique draws on anchoring and the breathing exercises commonly used in meditation and yoga but are not spiritually based and the aim is to become more aware of thoughts and feelings in a non judgemental way so that we are not overwhelmed by them. The US military offers marines mindfulness training before they are deployed, in recognition that it is an effective form of mental discipline.
Advances in neuroscience and psychology in relation to depression over the last 15 years have coincided with the current economic situation, which has made the condition more prevalent and mindfulness is a solution that is emerging at just the right time. Neuroscience relates to changes in the brain and many conditions treated by hypnosis therapies such as PTSD are based on the same events taking place in the brain. When people feel stressed the part of the brain associated with ‘flight or flight the amygdale fires up, reducing the brains an ability to cope. The practice of mindfulness has been shown to calm the body down, reduce levels of the stress hormone cortisol in similar way to hypnotic deep state relaxation.
You can change you mind and how your brain works and this is called neuroplasiticy. Neurons or brain cells can be rewired and patterns of thought and long held habits laid down by your experiences can affect the physiology or your brain and the psychology affects your thoughts. If your mind changes then so does your brain and outcomes will be different, you will know where your mind is and learned new positive routes to negotiate your life.