How Does Mindfulness Help Individual Well-being?

Mindfulness is a critical ability and the concept of an individual being aware and concentrating on a particular activity at a time. An individual with mindfulness does not focus on other activities around them, but they pursue a thought at present. Mindfulness is defined as the concept of learning the method of fully concentrating in the present moment, being aware of their thoughts and feelings without distraction and judgement. Mindfulness is a state in which one experiences moment to moment awareness without pre-judgement. Mindfulness can be practised and increased by practising specific methods like meditation. Mindfulness activities may include breathing methods, guided imagery and many other practices to relax and develop holistic wellness, reducing stress.

Importance of Mindfulness for individual wellbeing:

Mindfulness has a considerable benefit for the individual, which are as follows:

1. Mindfulness meditation will enhance the working memory capacity

2. Mindfulness decreases the patterns of negative behaviour and increases meta-cognitive awareness. It also has a positive effect on helping and avoiding relapses in depression

3. The mindfulness helps to lower the level of anxiety among individual

4. The individual with the better practice of mindfulness meditation showed more focus on the task rather than involving in emotional response

5. The individual with good mindfulness skills showed greater attention, awareness and emotional intelligence

6. The stress level is lower with the individual pursuing mindfulness training

7. The mindfulness benefits an individual by reducing psychological distress, heightened focus

Case Study: Mindfulness Exercise

[Can be followed in everyday activities]

There was a person named X, married female at the age of 28. She was working in the IT sector. She usually has the habit of doing multiple works at a time. She usually has very little time to relax. Instead, she needs to do all the household chores and take care of her children than the office work. One day she got very frustrated as she had committed a massive mistake in her work. She felt shame as her manager scolded her very badly. She usually makes mistakes because of the mindlessness. She usually puts less concentration on her career. She usually does her job with less awareness. She is preoccupied with other activities or tasks that need to be done. Later she went for counselling, and the counsellor recommended her to do mindfulness exercise. The mindfulness exercise she thought was straightforward. The counsellor asked the client to think about only the activities pursued and not think about the rest. While watching the movie, the individual tends to relate to a character in the film. Individuals think about the movie alone rather than thinking about the others sitting next to them, the light, seating etc. The mindfulness is effortless. The individual should concentrate on only one particular thing at present and be fully aware of that specific thing. The individual should not even think of their environment.

Here are some ways you can practice mindfulness:

1. Pay attention to experience the environment using all the five senses

2. Try to live in the moment and try to enjoy even the simple pleasures at the present moment

3. Try to accept yourself with extreme happiness and contentment. Self-acceptance is crucial for an individual to develop mindfulness

4. The very simple of mindfulness practice is to sit simply and focus on breathing or even counting breathing

5. Meditation is a very effective method of practising mindfulness. The reflection is of three types in the mindfulness technique: Body scan meditation, sitting meditation and walking meditation.

6. The meditation can be practised using the following method: lie or sit or walk in a quiet and pleasant environment for 10 to 20 minutes. Concentrate on each and every movement or bodily reactions very carefully. Even the breathing and movement of hairs etc. consciously analyse the physical response without other thoughts and environmental changes. This improves mindfulness among individuals

Let us know if you have any ideas for practising mindfulness as part of your daily activities.