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Writer's pictureMarleen Greenleaf

How Mindfulness Improves Your Mental Health

Mindfulness can improve your mental health and bring relief for anyone going through times of hardship, stress, and chaos.

 

As just one example, Positive Psychology reports, “Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) is a mindfulness-based program designed to assist people with pain and a range of conditions and life issues. These issues may also be issues that are difficult to treat in a hospital setting. The MBSR course has been proven to help alleviate stress, anxiety, depression, and chronic pain. It combines meditation techniques with cognitive behavioral skills and mindful movement and is taught in a way that is practical and relevant for everyday living” (https://positivepsychology.com/mindfulness-brain-research-neuroscience/).


What Is Mindfulness?

According to the Mayo Clinic, “Mindfulness is a type of meditation in which you focus on being intensely aware of what you're sensing and feeling in the moment, without interpretation or judgment. Practicing mindfulness involves breathing methods, guided imagery, and other practices to relax the body and mind and help reduce stress” (www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/consumer-health/in-depth/mindfulness-exercises/art-20046356#:~:text=Mindfulness%20is%20a%20type%20of,mind%20and%20help%20reduce%20stress).

 

Staying in the moment takes practice. Being mindful in the moment you are living in right now can help you feel less stressed out and be a huge mental health gain. Your mental health can improve from using mindfulness activities, taking part in self-care practices, as well as caring for your overall physical health.


Key Benefits Of Being Mindful

Many studies have been conducted on mindfulness and The Mayo Clinic reports that there is plenty of evidence as to the effectiveness of this practice on the following conditions.

 

  • Pain

  • Anxiety

  • Stress and anxiety

  • Insomnia and poor sleep

  • Hypertension

  • And others along with an improve life quality


How Mindfulness Improves Your Mental Health


Visualization Brings You Back To Your Center

Take time each day to practice visualization. Focus on what you want to accomplish, manifest, or create in your day. You are by default focusing the actual task you are doing. Many times, in life we stress out about the future. Being mindful pulls you back into the moment. Attending to what you have going on now in a positive way is a great way to improve mental health.


You Will Be More Tuned In To Your Body 

Being mindful helps you to tune in to the signals that your body sends you. Practice this in the morning. While sitting or lying down take slow deep breaths. Note the way your breath enters and exits your lungs. Feel the air intake into your lungs and feel your chest expand.

 

Do a mental scan from head to toe. Check-in with the physical sensations of your body. This is your chance to check in with yourself, your feelings, and the sensations that you feel.

 

Don’t worry if your mind wanders. Bring yourself back to focusing on your breathing. It is common that mindfulness, breathing, or meditative activities are a challenge because most of us live busy lives filled with multi-tasking.

 

This exercise is a good method for entering the mindful moment mentally. Being tuned in to the sensations in your body is great for your mental health as well.


Mindful Writing Can Help You Gain Clarity 

Journaling can help you clear worries, gain perspective, and focus on one thing at a time. You can use writing or journaling to start your day in a calm focused manner. Take a few minutes of intentional time that you plan in your schedule to write about whatever needs to be expressed on the page. Writing is a great activity to allow you to be mindful to moments in your life and it’s also a relaxing and therapeutic habit.

 

If a particular thing is stressing you out write about it when journaling. Ask yourself if this worry is reasonable or logical. Is it mindful based or future based? After that, leave any anxieties or concerns in the pages of your writing and start the day with a clear head.

 

Being mindful and mindful is a great way to make mental health gains! Knowing yourself and having control over your thoughts is one facet of a healthy mind.

 

Mindfulness takes work and practice to make it into a habit that you practice regularly. Using mindfulness helps you to feel calmer and have more peace. Start improving your mental health with mindfulness practices today.


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