Mindfulness: Practices and Perspectives for Well-Being and Peace
March 2023
A growing body of evidence demonstrates that mindfulness meditation improves well-being and counteracts daily stress responses. In addition to a large body of research that demonstrates improvements in health and quality of life for patients, growing evidence suggests that mindfulness meditation is associated with improvements in burnout, stress, anxiety and depression among healthcare, law, business, and other professionals. This was a fantastic event with speaker, Meghan Slining, Ph.D., M.P.H., an Associate Professor of Health Sciences at Furman University. She shared current research on mindfulness and meditation and so much practical advice for our everyday lives.
Meghan Slining, Ph.D., M.P.H., an Associate Professor of Health Sciences at Furman University
“Mindfulness” Recap of the evening:
Mindfulness is becoming familiar with curiosity. It is a way of being. It is "paying attention to the now."
Mindfulness is a GPS to the present moment. (If you are feeling stressed/overwhelmed/running thoughts, pretend you have never been to your current surroundings, notice the place in a new way like you are traveling in a foreign land. Sights/sounds/smells will bring you to the present)
Mindfulness is moment by moment awareness of the present.
Mindfulness is knowing our own experience.
Think of the difference between mindfulness and meditation as the same as physical fitness and exercise. Mindfulness (like physical fitness) is the result of the hard work of meditation (and other practices) just like building muscles/lifting weights/cardio results in us being physically fit. There is a long build up to mindfulness. This does not happen overnight. Note that meditation is not always relaxing. It can be, but sometimes meditation is actually really hard.
“Hearts beat. Lungs breathe. Minds Think” (say that to yourself a few times) The point, of course, is you cannot stop your mind from thinking. And importantly, meditation is NOT about stopping thinking. It is NOT about getting rid of your thoughts and having a blank mind. And know that everyone’s mind races when they first start meditating.
Meditation can be more than just sitting still - it can be moving meditation like meditative walking/yoga.
Mindfulness is not about being smiley and happy and bumbling through life in some delirious happy state. Instead, mindfulness is about becoming familiar with the full experience of being human. It is about experiencing the full spectrum of emotions. It can enhance religious practice.
There is a “Window of Tolerance” we have- it's fluid and shifting based on our frame of mind/stress level/how many loads of laundry we have done in 24 hours (ha). Meghan’s great slide is attached -it gives a wonderful visual of this. Mindfulness can expand our window of tolerance. Stress and trauma shrink our window i.e. some days we are thrown off by the slightest annoyance because our window of tolerance is so small due to too much stress (or even me without enough sleep! I think my window of tolerance is a narrow slit on those days simply due to lack of sleep.)
Recommended book “Full Catastrophe Living” by Jon Kabat-Zinn. Coping with Stress there are 2 options - responding vs reacting. Fight/flight leads us to a hyperarousal state. I am paraphrasing here but when we were cave people we’d run from the threat/exercise vigorously to get away from danger. Now instead we internalize stress because we have to sit in boardrooms/be professional/simply survive in the modern world. Instead of being able to sprint across a field, scream and yell, fight like a cave person (again I am paraphrasing!) we must inhibit our own stress reaction which leads to chronic hyperarousal. This can lead to maladaptive coping/self-destructive behaviors like substance dependency → exhaustion/depression/genetic predispositions/illness.
Another book recommendation: “Altered Traits” by Coleman and Davidson. Compassion can be cultivated.
Think of a time when you were really stressed/revved up/upset. What are the responses in your body when you are in fight/flight/freeze? What behaviors/feelings/body sensations did you have? (Mindfulness practice helps you become aware of these sensations early in the game. For example if your throat closes/chest feels heavy/or stomach turns over, you can notice these tell-tale signs early on and do a quick mindful activity in the moment. When Meghan notices her throat closing she stops herself, focus on her hand rubbing her anterior thigh - it brings her to her breath/to the present/stops the stress response. Simply knowing what happens in your body when you are stressed and recognizing these sensations early can help you get through them - you can stop yourself, take a breath, turn to the present moment, etc. Often we do not even realize the physical manifestations of stress in our own bodies until it is too late - ie we are sick, completely wrecked with exhaustion, have a breakdown of some kind.
There is a freaking TON of science behind mindfulness (piles and piles of massive studies) that show mindfulness/meditation reduces anxiety/depression, strengthens attention and working memory, increases compassion, can help chronic pain, improves health and quality of life. This is not woo-woo hocus pocus. (ha that's my commentary!)
Major time commitment work: MBSR (Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction) Systematic, patient-centered educational approach which uses intensive training in mindfulness meditation as the core of a program to teach people how to take better care of themselves and live healthier and more adaptive lives (Interactive, group-based course, eight 2.5 hour weekly sessions and one 7-hour day of silence, daily meditation practice 45-60 minutes) As you can see this is a big undertaking.
Also a lot of “wide path” options that are daily apps and much less time. Bigger benefit seen with more time. Example - 45 min a day better than 30 min, better than 15 min which is better than 3 min a day, but do what you can do! I am again paraphrasing here but as the saying goes, “change your mind, change your life.”
Developing a Personal Practice: Recommended apps: Headspace, Healthyminds program, Waking Up, Ten Percent Happier, Insight timer. There are a lot of good ones. Some apps are free (Healthyminds program) and others have a fee (Waking up, Headspace)
Side note, Meghan recommends doing a "body scan" to help you go to sleep or back to sleep. Examples can be found on many of these apps.