To be mindful is to be aware of the current moment, particularly of your current actions, surroundings and bodily sensations, e.g. breathing.
Many people find mindfulness useful to focus on the moment, to stop your mind wandering to the past or to the future. With all of us leading busy lives, whether that’s through work, home-life, etc. We often forget to take pleasure in the smaller moments, for example - do you remember what you had for breakfast two days ago? What the weather was like yesterday? Sometimes it’s better to concentrate on the seemly smaller and less important moments to appreciate life a little more.
There are different ways that people practice mindfulness. Yet, in essence, you need only focus on the moment and your actions. Say right now, while reading this post – notice how warm or cold your phone/laptop is, are your feet positioned comfortably, is your jaw clenched, etc. To practice mindfulness, you can sit still and focus on your breathing. Or, take more notice of what you’re doing at all times. There are plenty of methods and techniques online if you’re interested in becoming more mindful.
Mindfulness is especially useful for helping with your mental health. Such as in the case of anxiety, where we spend too much time worrying about ‘what if’s and the future, mindfulness could help in focusing on the present and stop our minds from wandering. Of late, I’ve been attempting mindfulness in an attempt to help my mental health. I’ve been doing this only in small ways for now, such as short meditation sessions at night and through focusing 100% on one task at a time. For example, when I’ve been reading – I try to focus all of my attention on the words on the page, the characterisation and story line. Yet, I often find my mind wandering to how my day went or tomorrow’s worries. When this occurs, I always try to bring myself to the present and focus on the book. However, I’ve often find it useful (and quite relaxing!) to listen to some natural sounds online when reading too – to help myself focus completely on the story and setting. Such as, if the characters are inside a building I may play the sound of a crackling fire, or if they’re outside I would play the sound of birds and nature.
Have you tried mindfulness? Do you feel that it has benefited your mental health? Thank you for reading, and feel free to let me know your thoughts below.
Take care, Sophie x
As always, please bear in mind that I am not a mental health professional or any other type of professional, this is a hobby for me and is for informational purposes only and shouldn’t be seen as any kind of advice. I am not liable for any consequences as a result of this information and if readers rely on any of the information on my blog, it is at their own risk. I cannot confirm that all information is correct, accurate or reliable. The information is true to the best of my knowledge, yet there may be omissions, errors or mistakes. This information isn’t intended as a substitute for professional advice, diagnosis or treatment. If you have, or believe to have, a mental illness, please contact a mental health professional.
Note: This is not a picture of me. This picture belongs to Wix.
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