Mindfulness and Mental Health: A Practical Guide to Getting Started

Struggles with mental health have become one of the most prominent issues in people's lives, especially for young adults. With the increase in mental health distress, there has also been an increase in holistic methodologies for helping improve mental health and wellness. One of those modalities is mindfulness. In this article, we'll explore what mindfulness is, how it can improve your mental health, and what you can do to get started today!

What Is Mindfulness?

When examining how mindfulness is defined, there is no single, shared definition. It is a concept that can be described, interpreted, and embodied differently by various people, cultures, and contexts. Mindfulness can be incorporated into any part of life. One can carry out anything mindfully—it simply means remaining conscious or aware while completing a task.

This seems to be a lost art for the current Western population. Since early schoolhouses were created to "contain" children, the development of learning behaviors to support industrialization, and the integration of technology as an essential part of our daily lives, we've become increasingly disconnected from the present moment. Mindfulness can be a useful tool because it is an ongoing practice, just as everything else is in life, especially the discovery and healing process one undergoes within the challenges of mental health.

Beyond Meditation: Practicing Mindfulness in Daily Life

Meditation is usually what comes to mind when people hear the word mindfulness. Meditation is absolutely a mindfulness practice, but it is not the only way to practice. You can do anything mindfully: wash dishes, walk, speak, eat, and more. Being mindful is practicing being completely in the present moment.

Mindfulness is simple, but it can be extremely difficult. Approaching mindfulness with non-judgment and curiosity can be very helpful. If you find your mind wandering to other things, as the mind will inevitably do, instead of judging yourself, gently refocus your mind and attention to your breathing or whichever task you are engaged in.

How Mindfulness Improves Mental Health

Mindfulness improves mental health in a variety of different ways. Some of those ways include building resilience, encouraging a non-judgmental attitude, reducing stress, improving emotional regulation, reducing anxiety and depression, increasing self-awareness, and improving concentration and attention.

Individuals who engage in mindfulness practices build resilience by learning to observe thoughts without judgment, which allows them to bounce back from challenging situations and improves their skill in regulating emotions. Within that non-judgmental observation, people learn that thoughts are just that—thoughts that cannot control or define them. This can lead to decreased anxiety and depression by becoming less attached to negative or anxiety-provoking thoughts and cycles.

People who practice mindfulness increase their self-awareness when they allow space for the observation of thoughts, and this will also improve their attention span and concentration.

Getting Started: Practical Mindfulness Techniques

I want to offer some tangible ways to start engaging in your own mindfulness practice.

Breathing is usually the anchor across mindfulness practices. When taking a deep breath, expand your diaphragm (stomach) with a breath in and let the stomach deflate as you breathe out, focusing your mind only on that breath. This is called diaphragmatic breathing, and it helps calm the nervous system, which decreases anxiety. Conscious breathing is an amazing way to engage in mindfulness.

Mindfulness practice does not have to be long to be effective. You could take three conscious breaths at the beginning of the day and have that be your practice. Consistency in these practices over time is one of the most important parts. This is why it is called a practice. You will notice how it might be really difficult and uncomfortable in the beginning and get easier and more enjoyable as time goes on. The more you practice, the more results you will feel from that practice seeping into your everyday life. Most people notice decreased levels of anxiety and more acceptance of what is in their lives.

Another mindfulness practice that most people have heard about is the 5-4-3-2-1 coping technique for anxiety. This involves noticing five things you can see, four things you can touch, three things you can hear, two things you can smell, and one thing you can taste.

Additionally, guided meditations or mindfulness practices are a great way to start. There are thousands of mindfulness videos online that you can choose from with differing lengths, voices, types, and more.

Conclusion

Overall, mindfulness is a great modality for improving mental health. There are an infinite number of ways to practice mindfulness, so pick one and get started today!