Psych Adviser: A Mindfulness Over Matter
By Dr. Heike Kholooci
It traditionally was thought that mental health and physical health should be treated as two separate entities. Fortunately, most physicians and psychologists nowadays recognize that body and mind are inseparable, and in order to be healthy, attention has to be paid to both.
Along with an increased understanding of the mind-body connection came an interest in mindfulness. Since the 1980s, studies have confirmed multiple physical and mental health benefits with the practice of mindfulness in a variety of ailments, including depression, anxiety, chronic pain, eating disturbances and drug addiction. Mindfulness reduces stress and increases immune functioning as well as healing in all areas. The practice of mindfulness actually changes the brain itself — it can literally sever the link between negative thoughts and negative emotions.
Mindfulness is an awareness practice in which a person pays attention to things he or she ordinarily doesn’t give much attention. Did you ever drive someplace (sober) and had no idea how you got there? Instead of actually paying attention to the experience of driving and to our surroundings, we habitually engage in daydreaming, listening to the radio or speaking on the phone. In other words, we are not really present. I remember I drove to San Diego for almost two years before I actually noticed the prominent and imposing mountain range along the way. Other examples of not being mindful include spilling your coffee, forgetting things or losing your keys. For most of us, any given moment is filled with automatic thoughts, feelings and behaviors, and mindfulness practice can help us become aware of these experiences because living in unawareness can make us overlook the most beautiful and meaningful things.
Mindfulness is often viewed as something exotic or “New Age” because it originated in Eastern philosophy and is considered to be the heart of Buddhist meditation. In reality, mindfulness is a universal quality experienced by everyone at one time or another. This means that everybody is already mindful. Since practicing mindfulness has so many health benefits, I encourage you to find ways to increase the degree to which you are mindful and aware of your experiences. We all have the internal capacity for it and all it requires is practice, which takes many different forms, such as meditation or yoga.
Until recently, the word “meditation” frequently raised eyebrows because people did not understand that meditation is really only about paying attention. If you were to pay attention to where your mind is from moment to moment, chances are you would find a lot of time and energy spent in clinging to the past or fantasizing about the future (which is just a reflection of the past). You are likely to miss a lot of your present experiences or discount their value.
Because there are no magic pills to solve life’s problems, it takes conscious effort to move in a direction of healing and inner peace. Such a personal commitment is even more important if you suffer from a chronic disease or face persistent stress caused by outer issues, such as discrimination and inequality. The value in practicing mindfulness is that you get more out of your experiences. Unawareness, on the other hand, keeps you from being in touch with your own body.
Ultimately, mindfulness helps you develop control and wisdom in your life, based on your capacity for relaxation, awareness and insight, and by allowing yourself to experience the present moment. If you would like to know more about mindfulness, look up Jon Kabat-Zinn at the Center for Mindfulness at UMass.
Dr. Heike Kholooci is a clinical psychologist in private practice specializing in the treatment of LGBT and HIV- and AIDS-related concerns, eating disturbances and relationship difficulties. She can be contacted at (949) 290-2050.