Mindfulness involves actively paying attention to the present moment, being aware of and attending to what is happening in the here and now. Mindfulness helps to train our brains to notice thoughts, feelings, sensations, sounds, sights and smells that are occurring in the present.
We spend a great deal of our lives on ‘auto-pilot’, where we are not aware of the different thoughts going through our heads, or how we are feeling as we haven’t ‘checked in’ with ourselves or spent time observing our inner state.
Mindfulness can help us to break out of this ‘auto-pilot’ mode and become more aware of the things we are experiencing in the here and now – from a sensory point of view, as well as increasing awareness of our internal thoughts and feelings.
Mindfulness encourages us to notice the things we don’t normally do as our minds are too busy thinking about the future or the past.
At times we can feel as though our minds are stuck ruminating and going over things that have already happened. We may also spend a lot of time worrying about things that may or may not happen in the future. Being mindful helps us to train our attention to the present moment and gain more control over what we focus on.
Many different types of therapy include mindfulness as one of their core therapeutic techniques. Mindfulness is front and centre within the toolkit of techniques that Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) teaches clients, and it can be successfully combined with Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) to help people recognise and reassess their thought patterns.
This is sometimes referred to as Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT). Mindfulness can be included within any model of therapy that requires an awareness of our thoughts and feelings.
Many people find mindfulness very relaxing but it is important to note that this is not the aim of mindfulness. The aim is to train our minds to pay attention to the here and now and be more focused and engaged with the present moment.
This ‘attention training’ is achieved through techniques such as mindful breathing and body scanning. In these practices, participants are asked to spend some time focusing on their breathing or on the sensations that they are experiencing within their bodies. They are encouraged to observe and acknowledge any thoughts or emotions that come into their heads.
Mindfulness can help manage several different mental health difficulties. Most commonly it is used as part of treating depression, anxiety and stress. Research into using mindfulness suggests it can lead to significant improvements.
There is a huge variety of mindfulness techniques and exercises, and your therapist will choose techniques that are most likely to be relevant and helpful to the particular difficulties you are experiencing.
For example, when people are struggling with anxiety, they may feel like their thoughts are racing and it feels difficult to ‘get hold’ of them. Your therapist might try a mindfulness exercise with you where you take time to just slow down and notice your thoughts.
Alternatively, for somebody who is avoidant of their emotions, their therapist might encourage them to use mindfulness techniques to become more aware of how they are feeling and to sit with those feelings rather than avoiding them.
If you haven’t tried any mindfulness exercises before, your therapist will likely start you off with something fairly straightforward to give you a chance to practice the technique. Two of the most common mindfulness techniques that you might be taught to get you started are mindful breathing and body scanning.
Mindful breathing is a very simple but powerful technique that can introduce you to the idea of focusing your attention on the present. It allows you to notice an internal experience or sensation that you don’t normally pay attention to.
Your therapist will talk you through exactly how to do this and will provide recordings to allow you to continue practising in your own time. Techniques such as mindful breathing can be taught both in face-to-face sessions or through online therapy.
The idea is to bring your attention to your breathing – to notice the rhythm of your breath and any bodily sensations you are aware of as you breathe in and out. This technique can be used for just a few seconds, by taking a few mindful breaths, or you can spend several minutes just noticing your breathing and bringing awareness to it.
As with all mindfulness practices, if you find yourself getting distracted or your attention being taken away by something else, just notice that you have been distracted and bring your attention back to your breathing.
A mindful body scan involves bringing attention to any physical sensations present within your body. The idea is that you ‘scan’ your body from head to toe, and as you scan each different part of your body, you notice any physical sensations that are present. This could be a sensation of warmth, or cold, a sensation of pain or tension, or simply just the sensation of your arm touching the arm of a chair. Your therapist will guide you through this process, using prompts to guide your attention as they go through the exercise.
This practice aims to connect to your body and train your mind to be more aware of your sensory experiences. We are often so busy thinking about other things that we are oblivious to these types of sensory experiences.
Opening up to how our bodies feel can not only help us to become more present and help train our focus of attention, but it can also give us an insight into our emotional state.
For example, we often carry a lot of tension in our bodies when we feel stressed. ‘Checking in’ with your body can help you to identify this so you can then take action.
There are several different benefits to mindfulness and many clients find it helpful to use mindful practices between sessions.
Our clinical psychologist, Dr Gayle Watts said:
‘One of the most important benefits of mindfulness is helping clients to put a bit of distance between themselves and their thoughts. Instead of getting caught up in their thoughts, or allowing their thoughts to dictate their behaviour, they can learn to simply observe what they’re thinking without judgement.’
– Awareness and understanding of your thoughts and emotions
– Feeling able to cope with difficult thoughts and emotions
– Feeling calmer, and clearer
– Helping you to have more control over what you focus on and pay attention to
At Turning Tides, our team of Psychologists are highly trained and have many years of experience using mindfulness techniques to help with a range of different mental health difficulties.
Therapy aims to provide you with the tools you need to be able to manage your mental health independently.
We offer regular face-to-face appointments at our modern and comfortable clinic in Hoult’s Yard, Newcastle or we can offer online therapy via Zoom if you live further afield or have a preference for online sessions.
A psychologist will then be in touch to arrange a free 15-minute no-obligation call, where we can discuss your requirements in more detail and you can get a feel for whether Turning Tides is the right psychology practice for you.
If we’re not right for you, we’ll try and signpost you to somewhere that is.
Please note – Turning Tides is not a crisis service, and if you feel you need urgent support or are experiencing a mental health crisis then it is important that you contact your GP if they are available, or attend A&E.