Mindfulness Based Interventions
Mindfulness-based interventions are designed to focus a person’s attention on the present experience in a way that is non-judgmental.
Mindfulness practices help people better control their thoughts and emotions, rather than be controlled by them. Mindfulness is often incorporated into other therapeutic modalities as part of an integrated approach to treatment. These widely popular techniques are also employed in schools, businesses, and the military to reduce stress, anxiety, depression and improve focus, clarity, productivity and life-satisfaction, and much more.
What is Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy?
Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) is a type of psychotherapy that involves a combination of cognitive therapy, meditation, and the cultivation of a present-oriented, non-judgmental attitude called “mindfulness.”
Mindfulness therapeutic techniques.
Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy builds upon cognitive therapies by incorporating techniques such as mindfulness meditation to teach people to bring conscious attention to their thoughts and feelings without judging them. Some of the mindfulness techniques and
exercises used in MBCT include:
✔ Meditation: People may practice guided or self-directed meditation that helps them gain a greater awareness of their body, thoughts, and breathing.
✔ Body scan: This involves bringing awareness to different areas of the body. People usually begin at their toes and move up through the body until they reach the top of the head, releasing tension that may be held in the body.
✔ Mindfulness practices: Mindfulness involves become more aware of the present moment. It’s something that can be practiced during meditation, but people can also incorporate these activities into the things they do every day.
✔ Mindfulness stretching: This activity involves stretching mindfully to help bring awareness to both the body and mind.
✔ Yoga: MBCT also invites people to practice various yoga poses that can help facilitate mindful stretching of the body.
✔ Other MBCT techniques: include walking meditations, sitting with thoughts, and listening sounds.
✔ Breathing techniques: People might be taught what’s known as the “three minute breathing space technique,” which focuses on three steps, each one minute in duration:
➀ Observing your experience (How are you doing right now?)
➁ Focusing on your breath.
➂ Attending to your body and physical sensations.
MBCT can help with many challenges.
Research suggests that MBCT can be effective for helping individuals who experience the
following:
✔ Anxiety disorders
✔ Bipolar disorder
✔ Stress
✔ Depression
✔ Low mood
✔ Eating and body image issues
✔ Low self-worth
Benefits of Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy:
MBCT utilizes elements of cognitive therapy to help you recognize and reassess your patterns of negative thoughts and replace them with positive thoughts that more closely reflect reality.
This approach helps people review their thoughts without getting caught up in them. MBCT encourages clarity of thought and provides you the tools needed to more easily let go of negative thinking.
The combination of mindfulness and cognitive therapy is what makes MBCT so effective. Mindfulness helps you observe and identify your feelings while cognitive therapy teaches you to interrupt automatic thought processes and work through feelings in a healthy way.
You can bring Mindfulness to your daily activities.
People are encouraged to bring mindful awareness to daily activities, such as brushing your teeth, showering, washing the dishes, exercising, or making your bed, by applying mindfulness skills you will learn:
✔ Do what works rather than second-guessing yourself.
✔ Focus on the moment without distraction.
✔ Participate without being self-conscious.
✔ Pay close attention to what is going on around you.
✔ Taking a non-judgmental stance.
Mindfulness has become increasingly popular for its ability to promote health and well-being, so even mental health professionals who are not specifically trained in MBCT may incorporate some aspects of mindfulness practices in their therapy sessions.
What is Mindful Eating?
Mindfulness is the capacity to bring full attention and awareness to one’s experience, in the moment, without judgment. Mindful Eating brings mindfulness to food choice and the experience of eating.
Mindfulness can be incorporated into everyday life through many different methods. One of these is doing something that we as humans engage in multiple times a day — eating!
Mindful eating helps us become aware of our thoughts, feelings, and physical sensations related to eating, reconnecting us with our innate inner wisdom about hunger and satiety. The result is wiser and healthier choices.
Applied to eating, mindfulness is becoming more aware of our thoughts, feelings, and physical sensations related to food consumption, giving us insights about hunger and satiety. Mindful eating brings mindfulness to food choice and the experience of eating. When you eat mindfully, you learn to pay attention to things such as why you feel like eating and what emotions prompted the eating. On the other hand, mindless eating can be defined as eating without conscious awareness to what and how much is being eaten.
Some or the benefits of Mindful Eating
MB-EAT is a structured mindful eating program created by Dr. Jean Kristeller. The MB-EAT program has been well-researched, yielding significant improvements in many areas. Mindful eating has been shown to provide benefits including weight loss, mental health improvements, increased self-worth and disease management.
One study found that the number of binge-eating occurrences among participants decreased from four per week to one and a half, and that many patients no longer met the diagnostic criteria for binge eating. Another study that examined participants who used MB-EAT techniques found that participants experienced significant reductions in binge-eating episodes and improvements in depression.
Tips to Eat More Mindfully
Practicing mindful eating can help us to cultivate a healthier relationship with food. By committing to eating more slowly and intentionally, we can make a positive change in our diets and health, and as a result, more fully enjoy the practice of eating. Here are a few simple tips:
❋Set aside time to eat. Find a calm eating environment to help limit interruptions.
❋Reflect. Before you take that first bite, take a minute to reflect and notice how you feel. Then decide if you want to eat, what you want to eat, and how you want to eat.
❋Don’t eat on the go if possible. It’s physically less satisfying and it’s harder to keep track of how much you have eaten, potentially leading to overeating.
❋Avoid eating straight from the box or bag and measure out your portions ahead of time.
❋Make a conscious effort to take small bites, chew slowly, and concentrate on the flavors and textures of your food.
❋Don’t multitask, watch TV, talk on the phone, or check social media. Focus on the meal in front of you.
❋Finish chewing and swallowing each bite before putting more food on your fork or spoon.
❋Take sips of water after every few bites to help increase satiety and to slow down.