Preparing to Get the Most Out of Mindfulness
Although it is not required, it is recommended that you seek out others who wish to practice mindfulness. Not only can this make it more fun, it can help you normalize the struggles that everyone faces as they learn this new skill. You will hear stories of others getting distracted, losing motivation, feeling bored, and many other challenges. Additionally, you might feel emboldened by others’ stories of success: increased well-being, better focus, relational improvements…etc. It is truly amazing how helpful it can be to commit to being in the group and following through with the suggested mindfulness practice that your fellow group members are doing. Also, it can be much more engaging to learn in person from professional mindfulness teachers than from a written document.
You can join any number of groups that will help you strengthen your mindfulness skills, including Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (upon which these lessons are based), Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, a general mindfulness group, or a mindfulness group specifically focused on the chronic illness you have (if this applies to you). There are also numerous CDs and audio tracks that can guide you through mindfulness practices. Additionally, a therapist or psychologist with training in MBCT could provide support and guidance to you as you develop these skills. They could help you with accountability and motivation as well. You do not, however, need to be in therapy to continue practicing mindfulness. You may even consider calling upon a friend who may want to practice mindfulness with you or just check in with you to see if you are following through with your commitment. A simple text, phone call, or verbal check-in can be very helpful.
Ask yourself what works best for you: a group, a therapist, a buddy, or practicing alone? Do you concentrate best when you are alone or in a group of people focused on a task? Do you learn better in a group? Do you learn better from face-to-face teaching? Be open to experimenting with these methods and adapting your plan as needed. Whichever way you choose to move forward, consider telling your friends and family that you intend to practice mindfulness. This can help with your commitment and follow-through.
Challenges of Mindfulness
One of the biggest challenges reported by new mindfulness practitioners is making time for practicing. The curriculum you will be guided through with these lessons (based on an MBCT curriculum), invites you to practice mindfulness six days a week for 40 minutes each day. It can be split up throughout the day or done in one sitting. This practice can be difficult, however, it is recommended based on scientific findings pointing to the merit of this design. Nevertheless, there have also been numerous studies that have found benefits from practicing as little as 15 minutes daily. Thus if you find yourself starting off slow and building up to 40 or just only being able to squeeze in 15 minutes most days of the week, you should still be seeing benefits. The bottom line is to practice mindfulness as best you can as often as you can. If that means briefly noticing the exact color of your child’s eyes or taking a second to stop and listen to the wind blow, all of these micro-meditations are good for your mind and body. Remember that mindfulness is all about compassion and nonjudgment. So if you find yourself not being the “perfect meditator” (which none of us are), greeting that feeling with compassion in that moment is actually you doing your homework.
Tips for How to Find Time to Practice Mindfulness:
Try to do the program during a period of time that is relatively free from vacations, family visits, business trips, surgeries…etc.
Do longer meditations at the same time and in the same place daily
What time of day do you think will work best for you?
Tell others who need to know that you are not available to respond to your phone, email, or door during these times
Make a commitment to protecting this time for mindfulness practice, as best you can.
Practicalities
Finding a Place to Meditate
Choose a specific place in your house or office that feels comfortable, quiet, and not easily disturbed. Set this aside as your mindfulness spot. Where will your place be?
Gathering Audio Equipment
Do you have a device that can play CDs or audio tracks as needed in this space?
Gathering Sitting Equipment
There are basically three options for sitting: a chair, a firm cushion on the floor, or a meditation bench. Do whatever you think will make you comfortable while also helping you stay awake.
>Relaxation Practice (2): Progressive Muscle Relaxation
Watch: Body Scan Meditation by Diana Winston (10:00)
To develop this skill, daily practice is recommended at the beginning. After developing this technique, you may prefer practicing some form of one or both types of progressive muscle relaxation techniques In Lesson 2 and Lesson 3 regularly.
Personal Applications: What do you think will be the effects and benefits of this progressive muscle relaxation practice for you?
Applications: Effectiveness of Mindfulness for ADHD and Other Conditions
Mindfulness is an ancient practice stemming back to eastern traditions such as Vipassana and Zen (Chiesa, Calati, & Serretti, 2011). Mindfulness typically involves close observation of stimuli detected by the five senses (smell, sight, hearing, taste, and touch) in the present moment (Kabat-Zinn, 2005). By bringing curiosity and awareness to one’s sensory input (e.g. the breath), one is engaging in mindfulness (Chambers, Gullone, & Allen, 2009).
Part of the aim of mindfulness is to consciously choose to stop operating on “autopilot” in order to bring greater awareness to one’s current thoughts, feelings, body sensations, and actions (Baer & Krietemeyer, 2006). When this is done, individuals often experience less depression and anxiety; and experience many other mental and physical health benefits (Mitchell et al., 2013). Effect sizes range from medium to large regarding the impact mindfulness-based interventions have on both attention and emotionality (Sedlmeier et al., 2012). This means mindfulness is very influential in helping people focus and regulate their emotions.
Because mindfulness repeatedly exercises one’s attention regulation system, the idea that mindfulness would be helpful for individuals with ADHD is conceptually plausible (Keng, Smoski, & Robins, 2011). When engaging in mindfulness, the exercises one practices target the mental skills that a person with ADHD would need to strengthen (i.e. focusing, identifying that one has become distracted, redirecting their attention, and cultivating self-compassion) (Zylowska, 2012). Through neural plasticity (the brain's ability to change due to experiences), neuronal pathways strengthen over time with practice and individuals’ attention regulation systems often become more efficiently wired (Olesen, Westerberg, & Klingberg, 2004). This strengthens individuals’ abilities to pay attention, ignore distracting stimuli, and act in manners driven by their intentions rather than their impulses (Zylowska, 2012). For these reasons, mindfulness is a promising treatment for ADHD (van der Oord, Bögels, & Peijnenburg, 2012).
Using an eight-week mindfulness training program specifically designed for ADHD, Zylowska and colleagues (2008) found that participants experienced significant improvements in their ability to sustain attention on chosen stimuli despite distractions. This is typically difficult for those with ADHD. Furthermore, findings revealed that “Mindfulness training also engenders qualities such as acceptance of experience, nonreactivity, willingness/effort, and friendly attitude toward self and is likely to facilitate emotional regulation” (Zylwoska, 2008, pg. 8). This study, in addition to numerous other studies, offers support for the efficacy of mindfulness as a treatment option for adult ADHD (Edel, Hölter, Wassink, & Juckel, 2014; Fleming, McMahon, Moran, Peterson, & Dreessen, 2014; Pettersson, Söderström, Edlund-Söderström, & Nilsson, 2014; Schoenberg et al., 2014).
As mentioned in this lesson, there are virtually an unlimited number of ways one can practice mindfulness: alone, in a mindfulness group, in a therapeutically oriented mindfulness group (e.g. through a wellness center), with an “accountabil-a-buddy” holding you accountable to your solo daily practice, with an online partner with whom you check in about both of your respective mindfulness practices, with a teacher/guru, and/or in a YMCA yoga class…etc. The following study outlines another approach to helping you mitigate the difficulty of sustaining a regular mindfulness practice.
A caregiver and care receiver could enroll together in a Mindfulness program together. This would provide some structure and social support to help sustain motivation. It would also give the caregiver and care-receiver a common language for how to approach day-to-day struggles together. Given the high rate of caregiver burnout, this could serve as a strong prevention measure and increase the probability of improving the well-being of both the caregiver and the care receiver.
Bartley (2011) found that Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) for cancer could be applied to:
avoidance
rumination
turning toward discomfort
kindness
cancer
trauma from life-threatening illnesses
References
Baer, R. A., & Krietemeyer, J. (2006). Overview of Mindfulness- and Acceptance-Based Treatment Approaches. In R. A. Baer (Ed.), Mindfulness-based treatment approaches: Clinician's guide to evidence base and applications (pp. 3-27). San Diego, CA: Elsevier Academic Press. doi:10.1016/B978-012088519-0/50002-2
Bartley, T. (2011). Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for Cancer: Gently Turning Towards. New Jersey, Wiley-Blackwell Press.
Chambers, R., Gullone, E., & Allen, N. B. (2009). Mindful emotion regulation: An integrative review. Clinical Psychology Review, 29(6), 560-572. doi:10.1016/j.cpr.2009.06.005
Chiesa, A., Calati, R., & Serretti, A. (2011). Does mindfulness training improve cognitive abilities? A systematic review of neuropsychological findings. Clinical Psychology Review, 31(3), 449-464. doi:10.1016/j.cpr.2010.11.003
Edel, M. A., Hölter, T., Wassink, K., & Juckel, G. (2014). A comparison of mindfulness-based group training and skills group training in adults with ADHD: An open study. Journal of Attention Disorders, 1-7. doi: 10.1177/1087054714551635
Fleming, A. P., McMahon, R. J., Moran, L. R., Peterson, A. P., & Dreessen, A. (2014). Pilot randomized controlled trial of dialectical behavior therapy group skills training for ADHD among college students. Journal of Attention Disorders, 1-12. doi:10.1177/1087054714535951
Kabat-Zinn, J. (2005). Wherever you go, there you are: Mindfulness meditation in everyday life. New York, NY: Hyperion.
Keng, S., Smoski, M. J., & Robins, C. J. (2011). Effects of mindfulness on psychological health: A review of empirical studies. Clinical Psychology Review, 31(6), 1041-1056. doi:10.1016/j.cpr.2011.04.006
Mitchell, J. T., McIntyre, E. M., English, J. S., Dennis, M. F., Beckham, J. C., & Kollins, S. H. (2013). A pilot trial of mindfulness meditation training for ADHD in adulthood: Impact on core symptoms, executive functioning, and emotion dysregulation. Journal of Attention Disorders. doi:10.1177/1087054713513328
Pettersson, R., Söderström, S., Edlund-Söderström, K., & Nilsson, K. W. (2014). Internet-based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for adults with ADHD in outpatient psychiatric care: A randomized trial. Journal of Attention Disorders, 1-14. doi:10.1177/1087054714539998
Sedlmeier, P., Eberth, J., Schwarz, M., Zimmermann, D., Haarig, F., Jaeger, S., & Kunze, S. (2012). The psychological effects of meditation: A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 138, 1139-1171. doi:10.1037/a0028168
Schoenberg, P. L. A., Hepark, S., Kan, C. C., Barendregt, H. P., Buitelaar, J. K., & Speckens, A. E. M. (2014). Effects of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy on neurophysiological correlates of performance monitoring in adult attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Clinical Neurophysiology, 125(7), 1407–1416. doi:10.1016/j.clinph.2013.11.031
Teasdale, J., Williams, J, & Segal, Z. (2014). The mindful way workbook: An 8-week program to free yourself from depression and emotional distress. New York, NY: Guilford Press.
van der Oord, S., Bögels, S. M., & Peijnenburg, D. (2012). The effectiveness of mindfulness training for children with ADHD and mindful parenting for their parents. Journal Of Child And Family Studies, 21(1), 139-147. doi:10.1007/s10826-011-9457-0
Zylowska, L., Ackerman, D. L., Yang, M. H., Futrell, J. L., Horton, N. L., Hale, T. S.,...Smalley, S. L. (2008). Mindfulness meditation training in adults and adolescents with ADHD: A feasibility study. Journal of Attention Disorders, 11(6), 737-746. doi:10.1177/1087054707308502
Zylowska, L. (2012). The mindfulness prescription for adult ADHD: An eight-step program for strengthening attention, managing emotions, and achieving your goals. Boston, MA: Trumpeter Books.