Mindfulness - what is it?

Mindfulness is an ancient Budhist practice which is very relevant for life today. It refers to a psychological quality that involves bringing one's complete attention to the present experience on a moment to moment basis. It could also be described as kind of non-judgemental, present-centered awareness in which each thought, feeling, or sensation that arises in the attentional field is acknowledged and accepted as it is.

Mindfulness is actually very simple concept. It is simply a practical way to notice thoughts, physical sensations, sights, sounds, smells – anything we might not normally notice. The actual skills might be simple, but because it is so different to how our minds normally behave, it takes a lot of practice. Mindfulness can simply be noticing what we don't normally notice, because our heads are too busy in the future or in the past - thinking about what we need to do, or going over what we have done.

For example, Carol Vivyan, explains how we are simply often set on auto-pilot in many activities of our life. In a car, we can sometimes drive for miles on automatic pilot, without really being aware of what we are doing. In the same way, we may not be really 'present' moment-by-moment, for much of our lives: We can often be 'miles away' without knowing it.On automatic pilot, we are more likely to have our "buttons pressed”: Events around us and thoughts, feelings and sensations in the mind (of which we may be only dimly aware) can trigger old habits of thinking that are often unhelpful and may lead to worsening mood.

By becoming more aware of our thoughts, feelings, and body sensations, from moment to moment, we give ourselves the possibMility of greater freedom and choice; we do not have to go into the same old “mental ruts” that may have caused problems in the past.

Mindfulness training has at least 5 broad beneficial effects, according to Felicia Huppert, Professor of Psychology of the University of Cambridge's Well-Being Institute. Specifically, mindfulness promotes:

• increased sensory awareness
• greater cognitive control
• enhanced regulation of emotions
• acceptance of transient thoughts and feelings
• the capacity to regulate attention

Mindful breathing

The primary focus in Mindfulness Meditation is the breathing. However, the primary goal is a calm, non-judging awareness, allowing thoughts and feelings to come and go without getting caught up in them. This creates calmness and acceptance. The following link takes you to the Mindful Breathing Script/Handout created by Carol Vivyan to help you started.

Mindul Breathing Script

Emotion regulation

Many of our intrusive thoughts come with an emotional flavour. Often these are negative – we suddenly remember a recent argument, which makes us angry, or the time we embarrassed ourselves in front of others. It is all to easy to get caught up by these intrusive emotional thoughts and to ruminate on them at length. Again, mindfulness encourages a more de-centred perspective on these feelings: they should be noted, and let pass. "Simply recognising your feelings gives you a choice in how you are going to respond, rather than reacting automatically in ways that lead to trouble", says Professor Huppert.

Using mindfulness to cope with negative experiences

As we become more practised at using mindfulness for breathing, body sensations and routine daily activities, so we can then learn to be mindful of our thoughts and feelings, to become observers, and subsequently more accepting. This results in less distressing feelings, and increases our level of functioning and ability to enjoy our lives.

Jon Kabat-Zinn uses the example of waves to help explain mindfulness. Think of your mind as the surface of a lake or an ocean. There are always waves on the water, sometimes big, sometimes small, sometimes almost imperceptible. The water's waves are churned up by winds, which come and go and vary in direction and intensity, just as do the winds of stress and change in our lives, which stir up waves in our mind. It's possible to find shelter from much of the wind that agitates the mind. Whatever we might do to prevent them, the winds of life and of the mind will blow, do what we may

"You can't stop the waves, but you can learn to surf" (Kabat-Zinn 2004).

World Mental Health Day

Monday 10 October is World Mental Health Day and I would like to use it as an opportunity to urge the government to continue to invest in mental health services. 

Every year one in six of us will experience mental ill health, yet only a quarter will seek treatment. The social cost of mental ill health is over £100bn – more than the entire NHS budget – and half of all mental health problems begin before the age of 15.

The government’s recent mental health strategy “No Health without Mental Health” sets out how important mental well-being is to every one of us and how much still needs to be done to ensure that people affected by mental ill health enjoy the same chances in life as everyone else. 

People with mental health problems tell us they require services that meet both their mental health and social needs. Yet the current reductions in social care and support to the voluntary sector are having a significant impact on the lives of those who are already marginalised and living in poverty.

The British Psychological Society and a number of other professional organisations, including the Royal College of Nursing and the Royal College of Psychiatrists, have written an open letter to the health secretary to call for action to coincide with World Mental Health Day.

As well as continued investment in mental health services, they want to see an emphasis on recovery, job opportunities and fighting discrimination, and call for service users and carers to be involved at the outset in planning, delivering and evaluating mental health services

To read more about World Mental Health Day, click on the following links:

http://www.who.int/mental_health/publications/mentalhealthday_brochure_2011.pdf 

http://www.wfmh.org/00WorldMentalHealthDay.htm

The Power of Positivity by Dr Fred Von Gunten

Dear all,

I have just finished reading The Power of Positivity, an e-book written by Dr Fred Von Gunten who, I am really proud to say, was one of the first followers joining this blog. It is through his e-mails and the 'first-hand' account in his e-book that I have come to understand much better the life of a bipolar sufferer. Fred has lived with the bipolar for 50 years and was one of the first to receive Lithium when the FDA approved it in 1971. Fred's great belief in the 'power of positivity' is beautifully captured in the e-book, in which he focuses on the benefits of positivity over negativity.

I would like to recommend this e-book to all of you because, in my eyes, it is a 'must read' for anyone who either suffers from the disorder or has ever wondered what the bipolar might be about.  The following review offers a good introduction to the e-book, which can be yours within seconds for a tiny little fee of $1.99 USD. The access link is provided at the end of this post.

Review by: Linda Lee Rathbun on Sep. 05, 2011 :
Anyone who has struggled with mental health issues, and anyone who wonders how they can achieve positive thinking in their life, will no doubt benefit from this book. The author shares his lifelong struggle with bipolar disorder, and offers ways to manage the disorder with medication and with the Power of Positivity. In this book, Fred Von Gunten has opened up his heart and life for all to learn from. It is only when experience is passed on that it becomes a learning tool, and in this case, also a positive force for everyone's life. I highly commend this book to all. Linda Lee Rathbun
(reviewed the day of purchase)

I would love to hear your thoughts on this. Please follow the link below:

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/86502

Kindest Regards,

Denisa

Understanding Psychotic Experiences

Psychotic experiences, such as hearing voices, are surprisingly common, but can lead to diagnoses such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder.

WHAT ARE PSYCHOTIC EXPERIENCES?

Also referred to as psychosis – a psychiatric term that describes experiences such as hearing voices seeing things or holding unusual beliefs, which other people don't hear/see or share. The psychotic episodes that a person experiences usually consist of hallucinations (seeing, hearing or feeling things that aren't there) and delusions (holding unusual/unfounded beliefs such as paranoia or feelings of importance). Some delusional ideas can be extremely frightening; for example, someone might believe that other beings are placing thoughts in their head, or trying to control or kill them. These ideas are called paranoid delusions.

These symptoms can be very distressing for sufferers and can lead them to become withdrawn, depressed and suicidal so it is vital that sufferers of psychosis get help. Psychiatrists regard these types of experiences as symptoms, and, depending on other factors, they will base a diagnosis on them. The diagnosis could be severe depression, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, paranoia, psychotic illness, schizoaffective disorder, or puerperal psychosis (a very severe form of postnatal depression). These diagnoses are not clear-cut, and people may receive different diagnoses at different times.

Everyone’s experiences are unique. The majority hear voices, which may be recognizable or unfamiliar. There may be one or many of them talking to, or about, an individual. They might be present occasionally, or all the time, interfering with ordinary life, making concentration and conversation difficult. The voices may be benign and helpful, or hostile and nasty. Some people hear only positive voices, and may not regard them as a problem, others hear only negative ones, which causes great distress. The sufferers may feel the voices are in control of their body and can hurt them or punish them if they don’t do as they’re told. This may cause them to cut themselves or carry out other harmful types of behaviour.

Other psychotic experiences can take form of non-verbal thoughts, images and visions, tastes, smells and sensations, which have no apparent cause. For example, feeling as if insects were crawling under your skin, having a sensation like an electric shock, or smelling something that other people around you can’t. 

WHAT CAUSES PSYCHOTIC EXPERIENCES?

Almost anyone can have a brief psychotic episode resulting from a lack of sleep, through illnesses and high fevers, or abusing alcohol or drugs. There is considerable evidence that psychotic experiences are connected to using cannabis in some vulnerable people. Experiences of this kind can also be a result of damage to the brain or dementia, of lead and mercury poisoning, or changes in blood sugar levels. There are different ideas about why psychotic experiences develop. But it’s generally thought that some people are more vulnerable to them, and that very stressful or traumatic events make them more likely to occur. A person's own attitude to their experience, as well as the attitude of those around them, also plays a part.

The experiences may involve biological changes in brain structure or brain chemistry, but its not clear whether these are the cause or the effect of the psychotic experience. Research into whether there’s an inherited vulnerability is inconclusive. If one member of a family is diagnosed with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, then there seems to be more chance of another family member being similarly diagnosed, but no single gene has been found to be responsible. Early experiences in life may be important in helping to prevent, or contributing to, problems. One theory suggests that overcritical or over-protective families make people more vulnerable. 

TREATMENT

Psychosis can be treated in a number of ways once it has been diagnosed: anti-psychotic drugs, psychological therapies, hospitalisation and self-help.

LITERATURE

Voicing Psychotic Experiences

Recent Advances in Understanding Mental Illness and Psychotic Experiences 

Bipolar1: A Psychotic Experience

The First Episode of Psychosis: A Guide for Patients and Their Families

References:

http://www.mind.org.uk/

http://www.glasgowpsychology.co.uk/psychosis.htm