Mindfulness
Mindfulness is present moment, sustained awareness.
As human beings, we have an innate capacity to be mindful (for example, experienced when fully engaged in a sporting activity, or focused on a task) and we can grow and extend this capacity to daily life.
Daily life is stressful and together with the maladaptive ways with which we try to cope, we may find ourselves living mindlessly. In this state, we tend to function on autopilot, feeling disconnected from thoughts, feelings, bodies, and the enjoyment of life.
The practice of mindfulness ‘cultivates our ability to do things, knowing that we are doing them’ and ‘to see the world as it is, not as we expect it to be, how we want it to be, or what we fear it might become’ (Williams & Penman, 2011).
Formal and informal mindfulness practices together with particular attitudes like kindness, non-judgment, non-striving can nurture
and nourish mindfulness and help us to manage stress more effectively.
Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction
Designed by Jon Kabat-Zinn, the Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction program was introduced at the University of Massachusetts Medical Centre in 1979 to assist patients with chronic medical conditions, to manage mental and physical pain. Both the original MBSR program and its adaptation as mindfulness-based interventions (MBI), have been utilised worldwide and researched scientifically for inclusion in treatment with varied physical and mental conditions.
Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy
Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) is one such adaptation which was developed for people at risk from depressive relapse. Its mindful approach with core cognitive therapy principles includes an emphasis on holding thoughts in awareness instead of trying to change them.
Some of the MBCT practices have been adapted for nonclinical populations as a self-help resource & mindfulness programme: ‘Mindfulness: a practical guide to Finding Peace in a Frantic World’ (Williams & Penman, 2011). The eight-week programme has simple yet effective practices which can help to highlight how we react to stress, anxiety, and unhappiness, and with regular practice, help to increase happiness, joy, and resilience.
Following training at Oxford Mindfulness Centre with Chris Cullen and Ted Meissner, I offer this group-based mindfulness training programme in face-to-face or online format. See Courses/retreats for more information.
Mindfulness Research
During 2019-2021, for the fulfilment of an MPhil Mindfulness degree, I investigated the potential of a six-week mindfulness-based intervention to benefit a group of South African medical students to reduce stress and increase wellbeing comparative to a supportive counselling programme.
The mindfulness programme which I facilitated for
the MBChB students was adapted from Williams, Penman, & Cullen’s ‘Mindfulness: Finding Peace in a Frantic World’ programme (Boyd, N., Alexander, D.G. An online mindfulness intervention for medical students in South Africa: A
randomised controlled trial. S Afr J Psychiatry. 2022;28(0),a1840.https://doi.org/10.4102/sajpsychiatry.v28i0.1840).