MENTAL HEALTH
Mindfulness
At Tranquil Lotus Collaborative, the development of mindfulness is often encouraged, especially in our DBT (Dialectical Behavior Therapy) groups. This is not only because the other DBT skills taught are based on a foundation of mindfulness but also because of the physical and emotional benefits that mindfulness can provide. Not only can it help you reduce stress-related symptoms, but it can also help you get more in touch with your Wise Mind (that key balance between your emotional and rational states of mind).
Learn more about Mindfulness
Mindfulness does not have to just be passive meditation, although that form of practice can be very important. Being alone with your thoughts may sound scary, but meditating mindfully can help you gain power over those thoughts. Practicing, observing, and noticing our thoughts and then being purposefully nonjudgmental about the thoughts (and the rest of our situation) during our mindfulness practice can help us proceed more mindfully as we go through life and encounter challenging situations. It can not only help us achieve Wise Mind, but also make us more aware of when we have achieved it. Sometimes, it can be hard to trust our minds, especially if we are getting messages we should not. Learning to find and trust our own inner wisdom can make us much less subject to manipulation.
While meditation can be a very important part of your mindfulness practice, there are many other ways to practice mindfulness. One way is to vary your routine by, for example, changing your regular route. This would require you to pay attention to your surroundings and be in the moment. Another opportunity for mindfulness is mealtime. Try setting the phone to the side and leaving the television off. Pay attention instead to the food you are eating. How does it taste? What is the texture? Even housework can provide mindfulness practice opportunities.
Mindfulness is not only one of the DBT skills taught but also the foundation for the other skills of Distress Tolerance, Emotional Regulation, and Interpersonal Effectiveness. Mindfulness can also help parents and their children in Walking the Middle Path, which is covered in the adolescent DBT groups at TLC. Parents and children practicing mindfulness can improve their self-awareness, their ability to manage their emotions, and their ability to meet in the middle.
You can learn more about mindfulness from your individual therapist, as well as your DBT group facilitator. There are a number of self-help books available (see select list below), as well as apps for your phone. Some highly rated applications that are either entirely free or at least have a lot of free content include: