1. Mindfulness 101: Strategies to Manage Work and life stressors
Alyssa Rheingold, Ph.D.
National Crime Victims Research and Treatment Center
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science
Medical University of South Carolina
2016

2. Mindlessness (Langer)
Inactive state of mind characterized by reliance on distinctions, categories drawn in the past
Past over-determines present

3. Mindlessness (cont) (Langer)
Trapped in single perspective
Insensitive to context
Rule governed
Typically in error but rarely in doubt

4. “Few of us ever live in the present
“Few of us ever live in the present. We are forever anticipating what is to come or remembering what has gone.”

5. Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery but today is a gift that is why it is call “Present”

6. Mindfulness (Langer)
Active state of mind characterized by novel distinction – in the present, sensitive to context and perspective
Rule and routine guided
Experience of engagement
Noticing novelty reveals
uncertainty

7. Goal of Mindfulness
“Mindfulness training can be hypothesized to change an individuals relationship to his or her emotions so that they are not viewed as fundamental constituents of self, but rather as more fleeting phenomena that appear to the self”
Richard Davidson
Although, spoken in works from Toaism and Buddhism but also in works by Emerson, Thoreau, and Whitman. We see it in Native American wisdom as well Not about finding god, not about contemplative meditation for transcending reality.
attention and awareness –universal human qualities (we take these qualities for granted esp in our high tech multi-tasking world)
– appreciation for the present moment and cultivating a relationship with it through continual attending. Direct opposite of taking life for granted.
In simplest terms: Means being AWAKE

8. Steal this exercise from Segal: Exercise notice feet - let mind start thinking about feet, how feet carried you a distance today, where they have taken you today, walking driving, sitting. Maybe compare one foot to the other. Noticing any judgments or evaluations. Seeing whether you like one foot or the other, any worries about your feet, sensations. Any future oriented thoughts about feet – pedicure scheduled. Continue to think about feet and let anything come to mind. And stop direct attention.
Now pay attention to feet by just being aware of sensation of feet in your shoes, pressing against floor – notice sensation between toes, moisture, any heat, foot itself in shoes, throbbing, let any sensation come and notice them. stop and pause and look for moment at these 2 different ways of experiencing feet. Thinking about your feet and the sensations of your feet. Mindfulness takes all of this in account – focused on directly feeling what you are going through and noticing thoughts about the experience.
Purpose is to have a different relationship with experiences – feet mundane but what if this was about emotions.
Not pushing pain away, but creating more room to be present with it.

9. Acceptance
Direct moment-to-moment contact with events and taking experience as what it is and not what we think it should be
Encounter emotions such as grief, sadness, anxiety, anger and accept them for what they are – not trying to change it or get rid of it.
Also allows us to appreciate feelings such as joy, peacefulness, and happiness which often go by unacknowledged
Does not mean resigning to what is happening. Simply means acknowledging what is happening is happenings. Acceptance does not tell us what do to. What you choose to do comes out of understanding fully the moment not just reaction to the moment.

10. Willingness
“Willingness is accepting what is, together with responding to what is, in an effective and appropriate way.”
-Linehan
Skill to be learned, not a feeling
Open to who experience of anxiety and making a choice to fully experience it

11. Mindfulness is simply being aware of what is happening right now without wishing it were different; enjoying the pleasant without holding on when it changes (which it will); being with the unpleasant without fearing it will always be this way (which it won’t).”
-James Baraz”

12. Does it Help?

13. Mindfulness Research Psychological health (Keng et al. , 2011)
Stress in Students and Physicians (Regehr et al., 2013)
Anxiety, Depression, Stress ((Hoffman et al., 2010)
Khoury et al., 2013; Segal et al., 2010 ; Vollestad et al., 2012)
enhances peoples ability to experience reward and positive emotions in everyday life – capacity to reward and feel reward practicing mindfulness helps with the health benefits

15. Breathing Mindfully Exercise
Stillmind.com.au
PRACTICE BREATHING EXERCISE

16. Mindful Thinking
Getting in touch with your thoughts and feelings in a defused and accepting way
“You can’t stop the waves but you can learn to surf”
Possible by surfing or even watching the waves – wind my quiet down.

17. The Fly & Samurai

18. Eating Mindfully
PRACTICE EATING EXERCISE

19. How to incorporate mindfulness into daily life
Meditation, Yoga
Listening to music
Making a cup of tea
Exercise
Breathing exercises
Daily activities: Taking
shower, Doing dishes,
Walking to car

20. Take your Mind for a Walk Exercise
PRACTICE
“Walk as if you are kissing the Earth with your feet.”