Javier García Campayo: Mindfulness is here to stay

Much is said in our days of Mindfulness or mindfulness, a practice of oriental origin that is being applied successfully in the field of Psychology. Scientific studies affirm that it provides many benefits for the mental and physical health of people, and for We wanted to know what exactly it is about and how it can help us live better and enjoy a greater wellness.

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Interview with Javier García Campayo

Today we speak with Javier García Campayo, psychiatrist at the Miguel Servet University Hospital (Zaragoza), accredited Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Zaragoza and author of numerous books on Mindfulness such as Mindfulness and science, Mindfulness Manual Y Mindfulness and compassion, so that you can tell us more about this practice and give us some tips to start us in the experience of mindfulness.

Jonathan García-Allen: Good morning, Javier! Mindfulness has been gaining popularity in recent years; however, there are still people who do not know the meaning of this practice. How would you define Mindfulness?

Javier Garcia Campayo: Mindfulness defines two aspects.

On the one hand, it is a state of mind consisting of being aware of the present moment with acceptance, without wishing that what is happening is otherwise. It is a state that we all have to a greater or lesser degree, but that can be trained. This state is associated with great psychological and physical well-being, which is why its practice is spreading so much internationally.

On the other hand, Mindfulness is also the set of psychological techniques that allow to develop this state

When did you come into contact with the Mindfulness practice?

Around the age of 18, I became deeply interested in meditation, especially how it is practiced in Tibetan Buddhist tradition and zen. However, I have been trained in different schools from Christian contemplation to Hindu advaita or pre-Columbian contemplative practices.

And on a professional level, when do you start to apply Mindfulness?

I did a postdoctoral stay at McGill University in Montreal, Canada, in 1997 and then received my first training in Mindfulness. I always say that when I finished, I didn't bother to pick up the title. At that time, if a psychologist or psychiatrist used meditation as therapy, his professional prestige was at stake.

About 10 years ago, when Mindfulness began to make its appearance in Spain, I felt that the time had come to combine my professional practice with my deepest spiritual beliefs.

What benefits does it have in the field of mental health?

Mindfulness is helpful in treating mental illness. It is considered the psychotherapy of choice in recurrent depression, but it is also very effective in anxiety, addictions, chronic pain, insomnia and diseases stress related. Also very effective in people who do not have a mental disorder because it reduces stress, prevents professional burnout and increases psychological well-being.

In what other areas can Mindfulness be applied? The main ones are health, education, work, sports, the judiciary. There is controversy about whether it is ethical to apply it to the security forces and the army, but it is also being done.

You speak of Mindfulness in education. Can Mindfulness be taught to children and in schools? Does it also have benefits for teachers?

Children can practice Mindfulness from the age of 6. It is easy to establish it in schools at that age, because the students experience it as one more activity and normalize it and even demand it when it is not given to them. In the educational field, teachers should be trained, first so that they practice them and when they take a while so that they apply mindfulness to their students. And the circuit is completed by offering mindfulness to the parents of the students.

Is meditation the same as mindfulness?

Not quite. Mindfulness is a state of mind as we have said and it is also the technique used to reach that state of mind. Usually what we use is meditation. But not all meditations increase Mindfulness levels, only attentional meditations.

There are many other meditations that do not necessarily increase mindfulness but are used with other functions. On the other hand, Mindfulness is closely related to acceptance, so developing acceptance through psychoeducational means, for example, increases mindfulness without the need to meditate.

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You take Mindfulness courses in different cities in Spain such as Zaragoza, Madrid or Barcelona. Is it easy to learn to practice it?

It's simple, yes. Mindfulness courses are usually structured in 7 or 8 sessions of about two hours duration. With that one learns the fundamentals of mindfulness practice and theory, and from there it can function on its own. A course of these allows modifying psychological parameters (stress for example) but even modifying brain structures when the brain is studied with functional magnetic resonance imaging.

To notice the benefits of this practice, do you have to practice it daily? How much time should be dedicated to each session?

Ideally, practice daily, or at least 4-5 days a week. The effective daily dose is about 20 minutes, which can be divided into two 10-minute sessions, for example, it being highly recommended that one of them be in the morning, as soon as you get up. With this level of practice in a few weeks the benefits are very evident.

You have written many books on Mindfulness, one of them called "Mindfulness eating: the taste of attention." What is mindful eating?

It is the part of Mindfulness that is dedicated to observing the sensations, emotions and thoughts related to the process of eating. More than 70% of the time we do not eat out of hunger but to calm our negative emotions, what we call “emotional hunger”.

When we are sad, worried, tired, we have found that eating foods (especially hypercaloric or fatty) relieves us. It is one of the reasons that 50% of the western population is overweight. Mindfulness reconciles us with food and makes us enjoy it thoroughly, we eat only what we need and it is not necessary to do any diet to maintain an adequate weight.

Nowadays there is a lot of talk about Mindfulness. Do you think it is dangerous that it becomes a fleeting fad or is used to cure all ills?

Objectively, Mindfulness is now in vogue and therefore overrated. In about 5 years the "boom" will have diminished and will be in its true dimension, But mindfulness has come to stay, because it has a huge scientific evidence (that or had other similar movements) and is effective in many environments.

Of course, it is not the panacea for all diseases but it has very precise indications and it is not always the most effective technique.

We have already talked about the benefits of Mindfulness. But what would you say to someone skeptical about this practice?

The only thing we can tell you is to try the Mindfulness experience. Any description of its benefits or to explain what it consists of is a pale attempt to put into words a sublime experience. It's like trying to explain the taste of watermelon to someone who has never tasted it.

We can spend hours describing the flavor, but eating a piece solves all doubts. Having a bit of Mindfulness experience is more helpful than any lesson on the subject.