Mindfulness is often misunderstood:
It’s not about having no thoughts, far from it, in fact a well-known author of therapeutic mindfulness practice, Dr Jon Kabat-Zinn, describes the process as ‘Paying attention in a particular kind of way, on purpose, in the present moment and non-judgementally’. But how can you do that? One straightforward way to start doing that is by labelling.
Mindfulness tips from a counsellor
In order to help people manage stress, clients of mine learn to label their thoughts as an active process. Noticing the thoughts, sensations and feelings that arise. One way you can do this is to approach this is to say, for example, “heavy, worry, cool, siren, kitchen”. The idea is to recognise what happens and not to entertain a judgement or get caught up in a story or detail that may lead to unhelpful feelings. Identifying the temporary nature of the senses, thoughts and sensations as a means of training the mind. It is worth initially setting a few minutes aside to give this a go.
Doing this won’t stop thoughts. It will help you see thoughts for what they are and that we are not our thoughts. They don’t need to control us. This is just part of the process for integrating mindfulness in everyday life. I offer supportive therapy to manage anxiety and stress related issues.
Do get in touch if you want to know more and if you are interested in applying this skill as part of therapy.
~ Angie Giles
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