Adding a Dose of Mindfulness to Your Life
Mindfulness is the new, buzzword of the day. A dictionary definition of mindfulness is “a metal state achieved by focusing ones awareness on the present moment, while calmly acknowledging and accepting ones feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations.”
The idea behind mindfulness is to live in the moment and to focus on your current experience. Those who practice mindfulness avoid regretfully dwelling on the past or anxiously anticipating the future. Instead, they focus on appreciation while working on putting judgments and worries aside.
There are so many benefits of being mindful, including better emotion regulation, improved empathy and compassion, and decreased stress and anxiety. People who are mindful can have better control over their emotions, worries, and fears. Mindfulness exercises don’t change someone overnight, but over time, they can improve someone’s mindset and his or her life.
You may be wondering, “How does one learn to be mindful?” In addition to DBT therapy and meditation, technology can provide you with tips and tools for practicing mindfulness. Here is a list of a few mindfulness apps that you can download (some are free, while some are not). You can use these apps as part of your routine to become more mindful, or on an “as needed” basis.
- Smiling Mind
- Headspace
- Calm
- Mindfulness Daily
- Breethe (yes, it is spelled this way) - Guided Meditation
Best practice is to schedule a few minutes (as much time as you can) of mindful exercises into your daily routine. Dedicating time to this practice, with the help of an app and DBT techniques, will support and encourage the integration of being mindful into the fabric of your life. Soon enough, mindfulness practice can become an important and beneficial part of your day!