An obvious, but important statement: being aware of what’s happening in your mind is a necessary first step to doing anything about it. Without that awareness in the moment, it’ll be incredibly hard for anything we discuss in our hour together to translate to real life.

Perhaps another obvious statement: sometimes our mind wants to be anywhere besides the here and now, whether it’s worrying about what’s to come or ruminating about things far back in the past. When that happens, we miss out on what’s going on around us, whether it’s savoring a moment with our loved ones, putting all of your focus into work, or actually paying attention to how someone is reacting to what you say. Lots can pull our attention away from the here and now, whether it’s coming from your mind (like anxiety) or your body (like physical pain). It’s absolutely understandable - and sometimes not all that helpful.

Mindfulness work is designed to address both of those challenges by actively helping you to practice bringing your attention to the present moment, on purpose and without judgment. What this will often look like are a series of practices where you’re asked to pay attention to something (i.e., your breathing, a piece of food, or a painful memory). Usually this is first done as practice separate from your stressful circumstances (think: running on the treadmill to train for a marathon), and then eventually brought out into the real world (running that marathon).

While mindfulness practice certainly has its roots in Buddhism, the practice itself has been studied separately from its spiritual tradition and has a large body of scientific support for its uses. Regular mindfulness practice is associated with everything from better immune response, reduced pain severity, and lower anxiety. Mindfulness practices are something that I often weave into our work together, either as the main intervention or a supplemental part of your treatment.