Celebrated by a 25th Anniversary Edition publication in 2014, Mindfulness by Ellen J. Langer explores the ideas of mindlessness and mindfulness and their implications on health and wellbeing. Langer is a very accomplished psychologist having received her BA from New York University and her PhD from Yale. She has been a Professor of Psychology at Harvard since 1977. A few of her achievements include the NYU Alumni Achievement Award, the Arthur Staats Award for Unifying Psychology, and the World Congress Award. Langer has authored 11 books and over 200 research articles on topics such as perceived control, successful aging, and decision-making. However, all of her research has a focus on mindfulness. Mindfulness, as described by Langer, is “the continual creation of new [categories]” (Langer, 2014). In other words, mindfulness is the use of critical think in which people engage in creative solutions for everyday stresses. Throughout the novel, she summaries the results of numerous experiments she has conducted over the years. Each one offers insight into how one can become more mindful and how mindlessness can …show more content…
If “teaching meditation or techniques of flexible, novel thinking…could be used to improve health and shorted illness earlier in life,” the lives of many individuals would drastically improve (Langer, 2014). Mindfulness encourages awareness and creative thought while providing the added benefits of improved health. For example, individuals who suffer from a great deal of stress on a daily basis may profit from the addition of meditation to their daily routine. Not only will this help them in the short term, but Langer also suggests that this strategy will improve health in the long term as well. People can use the mindfulness skill to help themselves cope with everyday stressors through meditation techniques and critical
This essay discusses the theories, research and practices related to Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) and Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT). Comparisons between these therapies are made throughout the essay, the various applications of each therapy and related practices are discussed, and the strengths and limitations of each strategy are compared to provide an insight into the effectiveness of these approaches. Based upon the findings of previous studies, ramifications for future investigations are discussed in the conclusion.
Scientists at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center recruited fifteen healthy volunteers with normal everyday levels of anxiety to partake in a study to see how mindfulness specifically affected anxiety. The volunteers of the study participated in four twenty-minute meditation classes where they learned about mindfulness and were taught how to focus one’s attention on the breath and body sensations, in attempt to non-judgmentally redirect thoughts and emotions. “In this study, we were able to see which areas of the brain were activated and which were deactivated during meditation-related anxiety relief.” (Zeidan)
Mindfulness is the alteration of an individuals’ mental state in which they become more aware of the experiences within present moment, environment, body and mind through creating a feeling of calm and tranquillity, examples of this being reflection and meditation. Many induvial claims that it helps treat symptoms associated with mental disorders, anxiety, ADHD, and pain. Mindfulness based therapy is believed counter the effects of stress related disorders because it is believed excessive orientation towards the past or future can be directly related to feelings of depression and anxiety.
According to Jon Kabat-Zinn “Mindfulness means paying attention in a particular way on purpose, in the present moment and non-judgmentally”.
To begin with, mindfulness is when someone can pay attention to the present moment “without being devoted to different points of view” (Martin, 1997). Along with staying focused on the present moment, mindfulness is when the particular person does not judge the current experience as the person tries to comprehend the present situation. Mindfulness makes a person reflect on one’s self by not only figuring out one’s thoughts, but also the feelings that go along with it. The complex nature of mindfulness demonstrates that it has multiple purposes that cultivates a person into realizing the potential of the brain (Davis & Hayes,
Mindfulness is a concept that over recent year has gained momentum within the field of psychology helping guide and create treatment options for those suffering from mental illness. Mindfulness-Based Therapy (MBT) over recent years has become a widespread form of treatment within the present-day psychotherapy (Hofmann et al, 2010) for addressing well-being in patients who suffer from mental disorders such as depression and anxiety. The therapy was derived from ancient eastern meditation, Buddhist and Yoga practices (Hofmann et al; Piet et al, 2011), which is characterized as a certain way of experiencing internal thoughts, feeling, bodily reactions and external stimulus. These traditions foster what is considered to be the mind, body and spirit bond helping practitioners find a sense of self and well-being.
The first grant proposal addressed the effects of meditation on life-span cognitional developmental processes. From my understanding, there is a strong connection to the mindset and self-awareness, as one chooses to mediate for their own reason. Based on the informed information, meditation is used to decrease stress and maintain a healthy lifestyle. The provided background information and predicted research study will help determine the pros and cons of the process, using the meditation techniques.
Commencing my journey of mindfulness on my walk to class revealed many key elements that decide my mood, energy, personality, and comfort on a daily basis. Taken for granted by many, the morning walk to class is riddled with discomforts, insights, sweat, and a large amount of time to think. I have determined that small actions like waking up earlier, making coffee every morning, hoping for good weather, and putting away my phone have improved my quality of life.
Mindfulness is key to having an adventurous, exciting life. Not only does it allow many alternative views to how one looks at an experience, it also allows one to go beyond the capabilities of someone who is mindless. Life without mindfulness is no life at all. Throughout this paper, I’ll explain a few of the major concepts Langer discusses in his book, use those concepts for application purposes, and incorporate “Mindfulness and Psychological Process.”
Mindfulness is not just about meditation it’s so much more. Mindfulness involves being fully present and aware of life. It’s about knowing where and what we’re doing. You could say it’s about taking time to smell the roses, living in the present. Author James Baraz stated that mindfulness is being aware what is happening right now without wishing it were different. Last week I had the pleasure of hearing Dr. Cindy March present on how simple it is to be more mindful and show compassion towards others and ourselves. Dr. Cindy March has been practicing mindfulness for over forty years. The concept of mindfulness is fairly new to me and Dr. March was able to not only enlighten me but open my eyes to simple and easy ways to be more present in life and my work.
Living in the present allows me to live and tend to my thoughts and emotions that I often suppress or ignore. Working as a school counselor, I think that I will use mindfulness to help students with anxiety, behavior problems, and depression. I hope to use mindfulness in the future as I teach students how to use mindfulness in their own lives so that they can exist in the present and connect their mind with their body. Through using mindfulness in sessions with students and possibly in the classroom setting, I will give them a tool to help manage and become more self-aware of the thoughts and emotions they experience so they can learn how to better tend, express and manage them. However, without practicing mindfulness myself I would not have understood its power in the work of my client’s
Mindfulness Meditation has been present in cultures, societies and spiritual teachings for thousands of years. Mindfulness is a form of meditation that focuses awareness on breathing and encourages positive attitudes to achieve a healthy balanced mental state. [Mosby’s medical dictionary] The benefits of meditation have mostly been anecdotal. However, in recent decades, meditation has been studied which has led to a better understanding of the effects on the mind. Meditation can have many positive results, such as helping treat depression and anxiety, reducing the need for medications associated with these troubling disorders, and improving daily life through practicing mindfulness mediation.
Mindfulness is a meditation treatment for people with psychological diseases. This newfound discovery is described by Berkeley Med in the article, Mindfulness Meditation helps to control emotions by Yvette Braizer as, a process in which one, “maintains a moment by moment awareness of our thoughts, feelings…surrounding environment.”(Braizer)
In response to human’s disconnectedness among individual’s body, mind and community (Aoki, 2004) due to “business as usual” (Macy, 2012), mindfulness is newly emerged as an antidote for people to deal with “emotional and psychological sufferings” (Dalai Lama, 1999). What is mindfulness? You can find 27,900,000 results on Google just in 0.75 seconds (recorded in December, 2017) if you type “mindfulness”. There are a huge number of research and explanations about “mindfulness”, but in this paper, I refer “mindfulness”, according to Cambridge dictionary, simply as “the practice of being aware of your body, mind, and feelings in the present moment.”
Through attention to one’s thoughts and feelings in this way, one can become more aware of them, and consequently, more able to manage them. People who are more mindful are less likely to experience psychological distress, including depression and anxiety. There are some researches that show mindfulness contributes to lower psychological distress, such as depression and anxiety (Baer2003; Brown & Ryan2003). According to Kabat-Zinn(2006), mindfulness is defined as “paying attention in a particular way, on purpose, at the present moment and non-judgmentally’