Mindfulness

Mindfulness is the practice of being fully present in the moment and aware of what’s happening around us and within us. 

Mindfulness and mindfulness practices encourage you to be more aware of your thoughts without judging them. Instead of devoting brain power to worrying, planning, or considering random thoughts, you focus on your current thoughts and emotions. You may also give extra attention to the sensations you’re experiencing and think about how your senses are being stimulated.

You don’t have to schedule time out of your day to practice mindfulness or reap the benefits of mindfulness; instead, you can incorporate it into your day-to-day activities. For example, you can mindfully take a walk and pay attention to how your feet feel against different surfaces they hit and what sights you pass on your route. You may slow down and mindfully eat, noticing the flavor and texture of each bite and how your stomach feels throughout the meal. 

Mindfulness is about paying attention to what’s happening in the moment instead of mindlessly scrolling through social media or feeling trapped in a pattern of worry.

You can practice mindfulness meditation both formally and informally. 

Structured mindfulness exercises

Mindfulness exercises are often a part of meditation, which is a more formal way of practicing mindfulness. 

• Body scan meditation: Lie on your back with your legs extended and arms to your side. Slowly focus on each part of your body, working head to toe or toe to head. Be aware of sensations that arise from each body part.
• Sitting meditation: Sit with your back straight, feet flat on the floor, and hands in your lap. Breathe through your nose. As you do, focus on your breath and your body. 
• 4-7-8 breathing: Sit or lay down. Put the tip of your tongue against the roof of your mouth behind your teeth. Exhale. Breathe in through your nose as you count to four. Hold your breath as you count to seven. Exhale through your mouth with the tip of your tongue still on the roof of your mouth as you count to eight, making a whooshing sound. Repeat this three more times.
• 5-4-3-2-1 or five senses: This exercise encourages you to consider all of the sensations that your body is experiencing. Think about five things you feel, four things you hear, three things you see, two things you smell, and one thing you taste. 

Living mindfully

With intention, you can incorporate mindfulness into almost every aspect of your life in an informal manner. 

You can do this by trying to maintain awareness of the sensations your body is experiencing and the thoughts going through your head. For example, you can mindfully wash your hands by thinking about the temperature of the water and how the soap feels as you scrub, enjoying the smell of your hands afterward.

Mindful eating is another way to practice mindfulness in your life. With mindful eating, you consider the food you’re consuming: where it came from, how it was prepared, and who prepared it. You pay attention to how the food looks, tastes, smells, and feels in your body. You think about how your body feels before and after you eat. You may also incorporate deep breathing into your meal routine before or after eating. 

Research has identified several benefits of practicing mindfulness. Here are some examples: 

• Reduced anxiety:¹ A 2023 clinical trial demonstrated that mindfulness-based stress reduction helped treat anxiety as effectively as a popular anxiety medication while causing fewer side effects.
• Reduced stress: Some studies have shown that mindfulness can help decrease stress levels. One study suggests that mindfulness boosts a person’s ability to use emotional regulation and be more selective about what emotions they allow to occur. 
• Improved working memory: Mindfulness may improve your selective attention and reduce your distractibility. Research shows that a person’s mind wanders for nearly half the time we’re awake, but mindfulness can help control your attention so that you’re better able to remember things later on.
• More cognitive flexibility: Mindfulness may help you improve your self-observation so you’re better equipped to learn from present experience instead of relying on past experiences. It can also help you recover more quickly after a negative experience. 
• Increased focus: By intentionally turning your attention to the present moment, you may be able to increase your focus and be less distracted by other thoughts or things happening around you. 
• Increased body satisfaction: Women who participated in self-compassion meditation training for three weeks experienced a reduction in their body dissatisfaction and shame. They were also more self-compassionate. These changes remained three months after the end of the study.
• Decreased rumination:² Rumination is the act of dwelling on unhelpful thoughts. Mindfulness can help reduce rumination by encouraging you to focus on the present moment rather than negative thoughts you can’t control.

Several therapy models incorporate mindfulness, whether as the main focus of the treatment or as one aspect of the therapy. Mindfulness-based interventions have been proven to be effective in decreasing the severity of symptoms of depression and anxiety. These interventions produce results that are comparable to the results of cognitive behavioral therapy.

Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT)

Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy³ involves a combination of traditional cognitive behavioral therapy,⁴ meditation, and mindfulness. MBCT is often used to help patients with depression avoid a relapse in their symptoms. Patients often need to practice mindfulness and meditation outside their therapy sessions for it to be effective. 

Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR)

MBSR is a therapy technique that often takes place 2.5 hours a week for eight weeks, along with a one-day retreat. During the treatment, patients might learn mindfulness meditation techniques that include stretching. MBSR is a low-risk therapy model that can benefit people experiencing mental health struggles such as anxiety and depression, as well as those experiencing physical conditions such as sleep disorders, back pain, diabetes, and hypertension.

Mindfulness-based art therapy (MBAT)

Mindfulness-based art therapy is a relatively new therapy model that incorporates the principles of art therapy and mindfulness. MBSR is often also a component of this model. During MBAT, patients practice mindfulness while engaging in the creative process of making art.

Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT)

One of the components of DBT is mindfulness. In this therapy model, patients may learn to accept their emotional states without judgment. Patients learn to observe, describe, and participate and to do so nonjudgmentally and effectively so they can try to change how they respond in situations. 

Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT)

ACT⁵ places mindfulness skills into three categories:

1. Defusion: getting distance from unhelpful thoughts and then letting them go
2. Acceptance: allowing painful feelings to come and go without a struggle
3. Contact with the present moment: being open to what’s happening right now

Finding a therapist is often more manageable with online platforms like BetterHelp. With BetterHelp, users can connect with a diverse range of professionals and explore various therapeutic approaches to find the right fit for their needs from the comfort of their homes.

Online treatment eliminates the need to commute to an in-person provider and may be more time-efficient for those with busy schedules.