Mindfulness Meditation For Mental Health

Mindfulness means a state non-judgemental attention to the present moment. Focused on the here and now. You are not ruminating on the past or anxiously planning the future, instead you are completely present.

Mindfulness is a skill. Like any skill it can be developed with consistent practice. Think of daily meditation like a gym session. Train once, and you won’t notice any gains. Train for a year and you certainly will. Mindful meditation is the same. Therefore you will need to establish it as an ongoing practice - more on this later.

At it’s core, Mindfulness Meditation is deceptively simple. You set a timer, take a seat, close your eyes and focus on the sensation of the breath leaving the nose. If your mind wanders, return it to the sensation of the breath leaving the nose.

Start with a 5 minute session and increase from there, just make sure to take it slowly!

20 minute sessions are a good goal to aim towards, but you can always go longer!

Thoughts, emotions, feelings, memories, boredom, sleepiness and even physical pain can all be treated the same way. When you notice them, or when you notice that you have become distracted by them, simply return your focus back to the breath. Just acknowledge it and return your focus back to the breath.

Meditation is not about ‘blissing out,’ rather it is about returning your focus back to the breath. So if you find yourself getting frustrated or discouraged because you keep losing focus, realise that noticing the distraction is actually what meditation is all about. Noticing and gently returning your focus to the breath should actually be celebrated!

Counting is one way that people use (myself included) to stay focused on the breath. Using my inner voice, I will count 1 with the in breath and 1 with the out breath, then 2 with the in breath and 2 with the out breath and so on. I will do this all the way up to 10, then I will start again.

Initially even getting to 10 will be a struggle, but over time you will get better at it - your meditation practice is working. I now use counting to 10 at the start of my sessions, as well as if I find my mind very agitated.

Complete a short mindfulness meditation session

Panic attacks get worse when you freak out and fear them, thus if you acknowledge and accept them, they reduce in power and duration (compared to fighting/fearing). Inner monologue training ‘This is a panic attack. I recognise these symptoms. IT will pass. I know it will pass, because every panic attack I have ever had ended.

Focus on what is coming in to the senses. What can you see, hear, feel, taste and smell right now?

A short guided meditation.

Use present state awareness in response to an anxiety attack, or as a long term daily meditation practice.

A guided present state awareness meditation

The mind and body are completely interconnected, with the mind taking cues about the environment from the posture and breathing patterns of the body. Change the body, change the mind.

In the resources you will see the seven day meditation journal project. It is a fairly simple project to complete, for the next week you will track your mediation progress.

You will note down the time and duration of the sit, what went well and what you struggled with. That’s it.

Keeping a meditation journal is a great way to keep yourself motivated and accountable as well as to track your progress, I encourage you to keep this up well beyond this course.

A collection of further resources for you to dive into! Click the resources to read.

Mindfulness Mediation is the act of returning your focus back to the breath. Whenever you notice your attention wandering, gently acknowledge it and return your focus back to the sensation of the breath entering and leaving the nose.

Do this for any mental phenomena that arises.

Also, as with everything consistency is key. A daily practice is essential to see the benefits. Start with five minutes and slowly increase to 20 minutes.