The scientific evidence of Mindfulness: why and how it benefits us

Mindfulness, or Full Attention, is one of the concepts that have gained more popularity in the world of meditation. But not only has it become known in that context, but today it is a practice widely used by psychologists, either in psychotherapy sessions or workshops for educational centers or companies, in emotional management training programs for professionals etc

In other words, Mindfulness is not only meditation as we usually understand it; it is also a mental health tool with a wide variety of fields of application, since it provides objective benefits at various levels. Therefore, in this article we will talk about the evidence that exists about the usefulness of Mindfulness.

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What does the practice of Mindfulness consist of?

The term “Mindfulness” can be understood in two different (although complementary) ways. On the one hand, it is a certain state of consciousness based on the management of the attentional focus, which is directed towards the experiences of the present. On the other hand, it is a series of

exercises and techniques to achieve that state of consciousness, and which are the procedures used by psychologists to help patients and clients (although they can also be learned to apply to oneself).

And what exactly does this state of attention favored by Mindfulness consist of? As we have anticipated, its reason for being can be expressed through the phrase “being in the here and now”, with all that this entails. The person who practices Mindfulness adopts a series of strategies to focus her attention in the moment present, without judging it or morally valuing it, from an attitude of acceptance and simple observation of what what's up.

It is not about putting your mind blank or trying not to think about anything (something that we will never achieve no matter how hard we try), but to see the sensations, stimuli and thoughts arrive, contemplate them, and see how they go just as they came to us, without trying to hold on to those mental contents or sensory.

In this way, mindfulness allows us to break the vicious circle of anticipatory anxiety and psychological rumination, making, so to speak, our state of consciousness "start from scratch", directing a new way of seeing things by analyzing our present situation and without having to drag certain obsessive thoughts and mental routes that we travel over and over again without realizing it and prevent us from progress.

Thus, although in practice the experience of Mindfulness is associated with calm and well-being, the Mindfulness practice should not be understood as a resource within the scope of mindfulness techniques. relaxation. The fact of being in Full Attention tends to relax us, yes, but that is one of the consequences of this type of activity, not its main objective.

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What is mindfulness for?

As we have said, Mindfulness is not just meditation, nor is it something whose main objective is to “make us feel good” in the moment or calm us down. Its therapeutic implications are more profound than that, and there is currently scientific evidence about its versatility in promoting mental health and emotional balance. Let's see what its most important benefits are.

1. Helps fight anxiety and stress

Mindfulness not only means that in a matter of minutes we mitigate stress and anxiety levels. In addition, as it makes us go through a mental "reset", it allows us to face our problems without letting anguish paralyze us, so that More solutions come to mind about how to overcome the problems behind every worry, since we don't try to avoid thinking about that.

Besides, this is one of the benefits of mindfulness with more ramifications, since the dysfunctional management of anxiety is one of the most common causes of many psychological disorders, such as addictions.

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2. It is very helpful in coping with pain.

Mindfulness is also used in the treatment of chronic pain, since A good part of the discomfort produced by this class of affectations is psychological in origin. and it has to do with how we manage our attentional focus.

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3. Helps prevent relapses in depression

People who are more likely to experience depressive symptoms can practice mindfulness to avoid falling back into depressive episodes. This is possible thanks to the ease with which after getting used to practicing Mindfulness we can invest our efforts and attention to what motivates us or gives us hope in life.

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4. Induces a state of acceptance useful to manage frustration and avoid arguments

Mindfulness facilitates that we don't get obsessed with the "should be" and we focus on the "is", something that helps us not to suffer for what is out of our control.

Are you looking for psychological assistance and intervention services in Mindfulness?

If you are interested in learning how to use Mindfulness in your daily life or want to start a psychotherapy process, get in touch with us.

In psychotools We serve patients of all ages and we also carry out training programs in Mindfulness. You can count on our services in person at our consultation in Barcelona, ​​or online by video call.