Mindfulness
A helpful tool to cope with Anxiety and Depression
Mindfulness is a great technique to use and has a variety of different benefits to improve your mental and physical health.
What is mindfulness? According to the American Psychological Association (APA), mindfulness is defined as a moment-to-moment of one’s experience without judgment. Many activities such as yoga and tai chi promote mindfulness, but even taking short breaks during the day to close your eyes and focusing on your breathing can be an activity of mindfulness.
3 Benefits to Practicing Mindfulness:
Reduces Anxiety. Many studies have shown that practicing mindfulness—even for a few minutes throughout the day—have significantly greater reduction in anxiety. Mindfulness brings the mind into focusing on the here and now and helps to calm the racing thoughts.
May Prevent and Treat Depression. According to Willem Kuyken, PhD, at the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom, “People at risk for depression are dealing with a lot of negative thoughts about themselves and can easily slide into a depressive state.” He has conducted a study that this type of therapy helped to prevent depression recurrence as effectively as maintenance antidepressant medication did.
Helps Relationship Satisfaction. APA has stated that several studies have shown that regularly practicing mindfulness can help a person respond well to relationship stress and even communicate one’s emotions to a partner skillfully.
Apps like Calm and Headspace are wonderful tools to help walk us through mindfulness activities.
Need another tool to address your anxiety, depression, or relationship issues? Give us (TEAM) a call at 651-642-0182 and we will set you up with a counselor!
APA
Forbes
