Mindfulness and Mental Health
Many people struggle with persistent negative thinking, tunnel vision, compulsive thoughts,
mistaking fantasy for reality, and impulsiveness. They become victims of their own thought
processes and reactions and are powerless to get away from them. These thoughts and
urges are controlling, boxing them in to limited possibilities.
“Mindfulness” is an approach to working with one’s mind that enables the individual to
relate objectively and non-judgmentally to thoughts, sensations, feelings, emotions, and
impulses. Based on the ancient Buddhist meditation practice of “shamatha” (“calm abiding”),
Mindfulness is currently being applied in a variety of non-religious and non-sectarian contexts
to assist individuals who are dealing with chronic pain and a variety of distressing mental
health issues.
Mindfulness practice trains us to allow thoughts, emotions, and sensations to simply occur, and to recognize them for what they are without becoming involved in their content. Rather than becoming mesmerized by the storylines in our head about the past or future, through the practice of mindfulness, one is better able to remain here and now. It’s a refreshingly different way of relating with the mental chatter, judgments, self-criticism, self-doubt, fixed views, and impulsiveness that can otherwise dominate one’s thinking and one’s life.
Practice with “No Gaining Idea”
Nowadays, mindfulness is being applied in many different contexts to help people who are dealing with a variety of physical, psychological, and emotional difficulties. Links to selected research are presented below.
But there’s a Catch-22. When we link the practice of mindfulness to chasing after a goal or trying to make something happen, we miss the heart of what it’s about. Our tendency to think the grass is greener on the other side, or to try to make ourselves better, purer, or more spiritual is a trap because it puts the focus on there and then, taking us away from here and now, which is what we actually have to work with. The Zen master Shunryu Suzuki, Roshi instructed his students not to practice with a “gaining idea”, and Chogyam Trungpa, Rinpoche warned against the tendency to strengthen egocentricity through spiritual techniques, which he referred to as “spiritual materialism”. So when we begin to make the transition from being an observer of mindfulness to a practitioner, it is best to check our ideals, goals, and ambitions at the door, and just practice according to the instructions, suspending, as best we can, our ideas about personal benefit and results.
At the same time, we do need to be motivated to expend the effort that’s required.
Following is a sampling of some of the research that’s been carried out on the application of mindfulness in a variety of mental health contexts and articles of interest.
Selected Research–General
“Meditation and Psychiatry” by Michael McGee, MD
“Mindful Relating: Exploring Mindfulness and Emotion Repertoires in Intimate Relationships”
“New frosh week focus: mental wellness”, Globe and Mail, September 10 2011
Mindfulness and Depression / Anxiety
“Prevention of Relapse/Recurrence in Major Depression by Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy”
Mindfulness and Borderline Personality Disorder
“Are Deficits in Mindfulness Core Features of Borderline Personality Disorder?”
“Expert on Mental Illness Reveals Her Own Fight”
Mindfulness and Eating Disorders
“Exploratory Study of a Meditation-Based Intervention for Binge Eating Disorder”
