Mindfulness For Stress

If stress seems like an insurmountable obstacle, why not consider mindfulness for stress? Many studies have shown that is a natural way to reduce levels of stress hormone, cortisol, as well as a powerful way to improve mood and vitality.

Do you feel like you cannot cope with the stress of daily life? Does your heart race wildly as you get changed to go to work and think of an upcoming meeting? Have you ever experienced a powerful panic attack and you thought something was seriously wrong? If so, you are certainly not alone. According to a Canadian Community Health Survey released by Statistics Canada, more than one in five Canadians say they feel stressed most of the time. The findings are worrisome because long-term stress is not only linked to worry and anxiety, but also to a higher risk of diseases such as heart disease and Type 2 diabetes. Mindfulness for stress can greatly help!

In pursuit of Mindfulness

Mindfulness Meditation isn’t the only way to experience mindfulness. Simply being aware of your breathing, or walking through a forest or natural landscape while opening your senses to the present moment can involve mindfulness. So can taking part in a yoga session, or performing Tai Chi in a park. To achieve a state of mindfulness, you don’t need to make huge changes to your life; simply try to change your state of mind. Breathing and relaxation exercises, including abdominal breathing, alternate nostril breathing, and progressive relaxation, can help clear your mental state so you can give yourself fully to ‘the now’. These are some methods for mindfulness for stress.

Mindfulness-based Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (MBCT)

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is a highly effective therapy for stress, but what happens if you throw mindfulness into the equation? It becomes effective mindfulness for stress. This is exactly what scientists sought to discover in a paper published by Walter Sipe and Stuart Eisendrath in the Canadian Journal of Psychiatry. The authors note that mindfulness-based therapy, which blends CBT with mindfulness-based stress reduction techniques, can improve our ability to regulate our emotions. They noted that mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) can help prevent relapse in patients with recurrent depression, with an efficiency that is comparable to that of antidepressants. In MBCT, patients learn that attempting to fight or repress difficult thoughts or emotions, they can actually intensify stress. By accepting and recognizing these thoughts and emotions without judgment, patients can ‘ride through’ them, keeping a healthy distance by realizing their impermanence.

Recent research on mindfulness

Many studies have been carried out over the past decade on mindfulness. Results are impressive when it comes to stress-related conditions. One study published this year showed that people with anxiety had reduced stress on their arteries just one session of mindfulness. Another found that mindfulness training reduces social stress. Other studies have shown that it reduces stress and burnout in teachers, as well as students. Many people are benefiting from the powerful effects of mindfulness. As a practice that has the ability to lower cortisol levels, lower blood pressure, and have powerful effects on brain structure, it is recommended for a variety of conditions in which stress is an issue. CBT can boost the effects of mindfulness for stress by encouraging behavioural changes which, no matter how small, can make a big difference to your health and well-being.

Additional Resources

Written by Lucy Wyndham for CBT Psychology for Personal Development

Lucy has been involved in the Health & Fitness industry for over 20 years, and now in her mid-forties, she has a wealth of experience in what works and how to get results. She has a YouTube Channel with over 823k subscribers and 91 Million views, as well as appearing frequently on TV channels such as Sky News, BBC1, Channel 4 and Channel 5.

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