Today, I’d like to demystify the topic of how mindfulness helps us and hopefully make it a bit easier to understand
First off, we suffer more in our imagination and thoughts rather than in reality itself. For example, when we think about any upcoming challenge(s) it almost (without a doubt) feels way worse than actually dealing with them in the present.
Mindfulness hopes for us to just be present with whatever comes in life (which can be good or bad), not be judgmental, and just be present (which simply means being there and allowing everything else to be there) . When we are mindful, we experience the world directly, as we snap out of our heads and get back into living and experiencing what is right in front of us. And, this presents us with (more) opportunities to make better choices and adapt to life’s challenges more skilfully (hone our ability to respond rather than to react to circumstances).
Lemme know what y’all think about this. Perhaps you can share your own thoughts about mindfulness, and feel free to ask any questions if you have any! And in the next post, I’ll be sharing simple tips to practice being mindful.
Thanks for sharing this and I totally agree that we suffer more in our imagination and thoughts than in reality and being mindful of our thoughts is step 1 to make ourselves feel slightly better!
Just curious, when one experiences a traumatic event or is having anxiety after a trigger, are mindfulness activities effective immediately? Are there other ways or solutions to calm down effectively maybe in the next 1 hour or so?
Thanks for responding to this post. Regarding your query, I think if the mindfulness attempt (whether immediately or delayed after the trigger/event) is prescriptive or done for the sake of it, it might do more harm than good.
What’s more helpful could be applying the activities (whether it’s guided imagery, movement-based like stretching, or sensory-based: smelling, seeing, touching) flexibly at the pace that works for the person (by listening to their body) or adjusted to be more trauma-sensitive. All this to take into account their comfort level and willingness to participate.
And, it will still be best to carry this out with a trained professional to provide the necessary space and resources to manage, so do consider reaching out to, if necessary:
Samaritans of Singapore (1-767)
Family Service Centres
James Cook University Clinic
NIE Wellness Centre
NUS Clinical & Health Psychology Centre
@BKT Wow thanks for this! It’s very interesting to me that if the mindfulness attempt is prescriptive or done for the sake of it, it would do more harm than good. Can you elaborate more like in what ways it will cause more harm (because I would just think of it as an ineffective attempt)?
@BKT I think it will just not help with the situation and the emotions. For example, it will be so overwhelming to the point that it is hard to focus and be mindful, be at peace with the thoughts.
. When we are mindful, we experience the world directly, as we snap out of our heads and get back into living and experiencing what is right in front of us. And, this presents us with (more) opportunities to make better choices and adapt to life’s challenges more skilfully (hone our ability to respond rather than to react to circumstances).
And in the next post, I’ll be sharing simple tips to practice being mindful.