On the blog this month, we wanted to honor May as mental health awareness month, and touch on topics regarding mental health. We hope that these articles may be useful to our readers who are feeling the need to check in on their mental health needs during the coronavirus pandemic. It is important to note that these articles are for entertainment purposes only, and do not replace professional treatment.

There is increasing evidence these days about how mindfulness can benefit mental health. Many experts stress the importance of incorporating mindfulness practices into our daily lives. For those who aren’t familiar with the concept, it can seem too intimidating or difficult to try. However, mindfulness can have amazing health benefits, and may be useful to cope with mental health conditions.

What is mindfulness?

Mindfulness is the practice of directing our attention to the present moment, by allowing our bodies to just be. [1] When we let ourselves accept our thoughts and emotions without judgement, we can change our reaction patterns. When a thought or feeling does come up, we are able to acknowledge it without letting it consume us.

General health benefits of mindfulness

Practicing mindfulness is correlated with a variety of science-backed health benefits. Living more presently can help us to not only feel better mentally, but improve our physical health, as well! 

Improved focus: Research has reported that even brief amounts of meditation training- a common mindfulness practice- can improve an individual’s attention. [2] As little as one 10 minute session can improve focus and attention resources in our minds. 

Improved cardiovascular health: According to recent studies, both sitting meditation and yoga, can improve an individual’s risk of cardiovascular disease. [3]

Reduced blood pressure: Research has determined that living mindfully can lower blood pressure levels. [4] High blood pressure can lead to higher risk of brain, heart, and kidney health issues. [5]

Improved wellbeing: Studies have also reported that those who practice mindful living show decreased amounts of negative thoughts, and report overall higher moods. [6]

Mental health benefits of mindfulness

Mental health concerns should always be discussed with a professional to determine the best treatment for each specific case. Many professionals, however, recommend practicing mindfulness as one form of treatment for disorders like depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Mindfulness to treat depression: Mindfulness is a practice of accepting our negative thoughts, then letting them go and returning to the present moment. This teaches patients to accept their thoughts without judging them for being depressive. [7]

This can prevent negative thoughts from consuming the mind.  Often, people with depression get sucked into a cycle of feeding negative thoughts with more negative thoughts. Mindfulness can help the brain break that cycle, by recognizing that a negative thought is simply that; a thought. Recognizing thoughts for no more than they are disempowers them. 

Mindfulness to treat anxiety: Similarly to how it can help with depression, mindfulness is proven to help reduce anxiety. [8] Training the mind to detach emotions from thoughts can help an individual with anxiety to cope with stressful feelings when they arise. Instead of being overcome by the anxious feelings, mindfulness teaches you to accept the feeling, and let it run its course in your body without holding on to it.

 Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: mindfulness techniques have been shown to reduce the amount of post-traumatic stress symptoms in individuals who experience the disorder. [9] The practice encourages focus on the present moment, which can be beneficial to people who suffer from stress symptoms due to experienced trauma.

Conclusion

Thorough research has shown the effects mindfulness can have on our health. Whether you are looking to improve your mental or physical health, implementing this concept into your life may help you achieve your goals. Today’s societal values can leave many of us focused on the future, rather than enjoying the moment we are in. Learning to value the present moment can be life changing. 

Now that we have discussed what mindfulness is and how it can be beneficial, it’s time to try it! We dedicated a whole blog post to easy ways to incorporate mindfulness into your life.

Written by Grace Haass, blogger at Safe Harbor International Ministries. For more articles, check out our blog page: https://safeharborim.com/articles/.