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Mindfulness And Mental Health Improvement
Steve Gillman
What's going on in your head? Until you know, there can
be all sorts of problems. Uncorrectable problems. You can't
fix a problem that you don't see, right? That is where mindfulness
comes in. Mindfulness and mental health are intimately connected.
Your mind is busy in there right now, talking about all sorts
of things. It may be telling you that you are tired of your
job, or that you are a victim of circumstance. It may be running
through a list of all the things you need to be doing. It
may be saying all the wrong things, and yet you may hear none
of it. You may just feel a slight anxiety building as your
day goes on.
When I first learned how to do basic mindfulness exercises,
I was amazed. I found that whole conversations were going
on just below consciousness. Not only was it interesting to
see, but the most amazing part was that I could now often
end feelings of worry or anxiety. All I had to do was stop
and watch my mind until I found the cause.
Yes, it actually is often that simple. If you forgot to write
down an appointment, for example, it may be bothering you
for hours. As soon as you see that, you write it down and
you feel relaxed again. If an argument is playing and replaying
subconsciously in your mind and stressing you out, often just
bringing it to consciousness will make you laugh and dismiss
it.
Mindfulness And Long Term Mental Health
Don't underestimate the power of short term happiness and
good thoughts to influence the course of your mental health
over the longer term. Resolve anxieties and stresses now,
and regularly, and you'll be healthier, and you'll be developing
good habits. Good feelings now lead to good feelings in the
future, and habits are what we need for any long term results.
As for the big problems, mindfulness is a way to see them
more clearly for what they are. As you get better at tuning
into your own subconscious mind, you will start to see patterns.
I found, for example, that my mind was mulling over and worrying
about all the possible choices in decisions that weren't made.
It caused me endless stress.
Seeing this clearly, finally recognizing how destructive this
habit of indecisiveness was, lead me to change. I started
making decisions more quickly, just to try a new way. I immediately
experienced how stress diminishes once a decision is made.
My habits began to change, and I was getting more done with
less anxiety.
The most basic mindfulness exercise is to just sit quietly
and start paying attention to everything going on in your
body and mind. Of course this can be difficult if you've never
done it, and this article isn't a how-to. This is just to
make the case that it's worth learning. There is definitely
a connection between mindfulness and mental health.
Steve Gillman is a long-time backpacker, and advocate
of lightweight backpacking. He has also made over 200 hiking
sticks. His advice and stories can be found at http://www.TheUltralightBackpackingSite.com
Article Source: www.ArticlesBase.com
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