Mindfulness is a powerful tool to help you manage anxiety or depression.  Whilst treatment with medication can form part of the treatment plan, at Acumen Psychiatry we like to use a variety of methods to treat illnesses in a more holistic way.

There has been a great deal of evidence that mindfulness can form a valuable part of treatment of anxiety and mood disorders. Patients often ask, “how do we do mindfulness?”.

Mindfulness is difficult to explain and sometimes reading books can make it sound more difficult than what it is.

What we would like to propose is that mindfulness is actually very simple. It is simply – noticing.

For instance, on my walk today, I looked around and tried to just observe what I saw, with curiosity and wonder. I tried to be enchanted by my surroundings. As I found my mind wandering to the various things I had to do today, I  reminded myself to remain present and just notice what I saw. By practice mindfulness, I felt more grounded and less distracted.

This picture was taken on my daily walk today. I loved the vivid greens of the tree, a beautiful tree that was coming back to life in spring. The tree was solid, sure of itself, steady and strong. Yet at the same time, the leaves appeared sort of fragile and vulnerable. I reflected on how strength and vulnerability can often co-exist. By harnessing the power of mindfulness, I am able to see the beauty in everyday things.

Mindfulness is simple. You don’t need to do it somewhere in the mountains, when there is quiet around you. You can practice it, even in the very chaos of life. In fact, that is the best time to practice, to notice and acknowledge the chaos and be curious about it. It helps to be curious about your own thoughts and responses in these situations. Why am I starting to feel stressed? My thoughts seems busy today. I can feel the air on my skin. I can smell the grass today.

Mindfulness is also a powerful way of learning to be kind to yourself. Being mindful of your self-critical thoughts, without judgement, can paradoxically help to reduce them.

Try to make these reflections without judgement.

There is no right and wrong way to do this.

In terms of further resources, we have always enjoyed the books by Thich Nhat Hanh