Finding hope amid the gloom

Mindfulness can serve as a solid foundation for self-awareness and well-being but it won’t solve all your problems until it is cultivated, writes Dr Divyani Sharma

During these changing times, people seem to be moving towards what we call the new normal, looking at both facets of their well-being — emotional as well as physical health. When we think about emotional well-being, our psychological management is imperative. But there is also a dire need to increase higher awareness on accessing authentic healing methods that are often used as a support to greater emotional and physical well-being.

Mindfulness as we know is the practice of becoming fully aware of the present moment rather than dwelling in the past.

How does mindfulness work?

Some experts believe that mindfulness works in part, by helping people to accept their experiences — including painful emotions — rather than react to them with aversion and avoidance. It generally involves a heightened awareness of sensory stimuli such as our breathing and being “in the now”. Practicing mindfulness involves breathing methods, guided imagery, and other practices to relax the body and mind and help reduce stress.

A rare silver lining

A global pandemic is in full effect. With the averted risks around health and economic constraints, the chances of feeling overwhelmed, stressed, and afraid are heightened. The survival part of our brain (mainly the amygdala) kicks in when we perceive a threat and causes our focus to narrow. This is helpful when we face an immediate threat, but it also means our thinking can follow unproductive patterns. We are more likely to engage in worst-case scenario thinking or, alternatively, deny the threat; we have less access to the creative and analytical parts of our brain; and we are impaired in our ability to empathise, listen, and relate to others.

Unfortunately, those are the exact skills we need in times of crisis. We need the full capacity of our brain to weigh the best possible options, question our assumptions, come up with new and creative ways of doing things, and remain calm in order to reassure others while listening and taking their concerns seriously. Practicing mindfulness can be of tremendous help during times like this. It has been shown to reduce anxiety, calm the amygdala, increase our ability to think creatively and empathetically take other people’s perspectives.

Not just meditation

Mindfulness and meditation are not one and the same. Meditation is an activity, something you do. There are many forms of meditation — some involve focusing on our breath, some involve imagining a calming scene, some involving repeating a mantra.

Mindfulness, however, is more of a philosophy than an activity. It’s an idea: to simply be here and now, without judgement.

Mindfulness is not a cure-all

Mindfulness can serve as a solid foundation for self-awareness and well-
being. But it won’t solve all your problems and it’s a philosophy to be cultivated. When we boil it down to the basics, being mindful really just means paying attention to reality through our senses. It means watching the leaves and flowers when we run through the park instead of going on autopilot. It means letting yourself feel discomfort fully instead of trying to ignore it.

(The author is a clinical psychologist.)