If you struggle with anxiety and/or depression, you are probably finding it difficult to get out of your head. You analyse relationships, replay the events of the day and beat yourself up about what you could have or should have done differently, you worry about the future and endlessly churn over various scenarios…Sound familiar?
Maybe at some level you know that all this thinking is a futile activity, but you just don’t know how to stop! Mindfulness meditation helps you to find the “off” switch and get some relief from the endless inner dialogue.
Mindfulness is not about shutting off thoughts and feelings, but is rather about being present with them in a nonjudgmental way, so that you can see them for what they are, rather than getting caught up in them and adding all sorts of judgments and interpretations into the mix.
Find out more about the practice and supporting research findings here:
If you’d like to try it for yourself, here’s a 3-minute meditation led by Professor Mark Williams, Professor of Clinical Psychology at the University of Oxford.
Trauma: when the body feels unsafe