“Men are disturbed not by the things that happen, but by their opinions of the things that happen.” – Epictetus, Greek Philosopher (55-135)
Mindfulness skills can help you deal with stressful events and overwhelming emotions by paying attention to the present moment. Many theorists agree that the root of anxiety, depression, and other negative states is that we are thinking about the past or the future. Think about this in your life, is this true for you? Are you worried about what the future holds for you, or your family? Are you thinking about events that happened to you in the past? Our minds and our evaluation of events in our lives impact our brains and behavior.
Mindfulness is a form of Eastern meditation but you do not need to be a Buddhist to practice mindfulness. It is independent of religion and has been used as a technique that has been substantiated by numerous research studies. For example, research has shown that mindfulness can help with mental health symptoms, it has been shown to improve overall well-being and reduce negative emotions that cause suffering.
The basic premise of mindfulness is to train yourself to pay full attention to the present moment using all of your senses.
It also includes observation of your thoughts and feelings without judgment or evaluating what is happening to you. Therefore, by changing your relationship with your thoughts and feelings your negative emotions may decrease. For example, mindfulness has been shown to increase positive emotions and well-being, empathy, and the ability to focus. Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) created by John Kabat Zinn has been shown to decrease symptoms in chronic pain patients, reduce stress, and promote psychological wellness.
In my practice, I use Dialectical Behavior therapy (DBT) created by Marsha Linehan (1993). Mindfulness techniques are a part of this theory and help reduce emotional distress. They also help you regulate emotions during stressful events. For example, one technique that is used is called radical acceptance which helps you accept situations that are very difficult to accept. By accepting things we cannot change, we end up releasing the struggle of fighting against them. Acceptance allows your feelings to change from negative to positive emotions.