Little by little, Mindfulness is becoming one of the preferred therapeutic tools for the treatment of a multitude of physical and psychological disorders. There is no doubt that guided meditation and mindfulness have numerous benefits, but is mindfulness a psychological therapy or just a complementary help technique? Patricia Rosillo, psychologist at El Prado Psicólogos, answers this question and tells us about the incredible effects of Mindfulness. Very attentive!
Is Mindfulness a psychological therapy or a support tool?
- “Mindfulness is not a therapy in itself, it is one more tool that can add and help in the therapeutic process”, clarifies Patricia Rosillo.
- Mindfulness is a kind of philosophy of life that consists of learning to be in the present, in the here and now, and avoiding that part of the mind that tends to go to the past or future, generating depression or anxiety.
- “Mindfulness gives us the opportunity to look at ourselves in a more compassionate and understanding way, without judging ourselves, in order to have a happier attitude in life. Obviously, from here, from this philosophy, the symptomatology of mental disorders does not make sense because many things are being integrated”, comments the psychologist.
The many benefits of Mindfulness
“Practicing Mindfulness allows us to let go of negative thoughts, let go, release and accept things as they are…”, explains Patricia Rosillo.
These are some of the effects of Mindfulness, but we can find many others:
Control stress and anxiety
The demands of the current society in which we live often cause us to feel overwhelmed, stressed and with feelings of constant anguish. Meditation helps us reduce cortisol levels, the hormone that is activated in our body when we feel overwhelmed and that can have negative effects on the body if we don’t keep it at bay.
Reduces and eliminates insomnia
It has been shown that people who practice Mindfulness sleep and rest much better at night. The state of relaxation achieved by meditating makes falling asleep much easier.
Promotes concentration
Mindfulness aims to train awareness and full attention to focus on the present moment so that the mind does not wander to other matters. In fact, Mindfulness is directly linked to cognitive flexibility. Therefore, if lately you have noticed that it is very difficult for you to concentrate at work or with studies, practicing meditation can be of great help.
Improves memory
Linked to the previous point, Mindfulness is also a wonderful technique to reinforce memory in our day to day. You only need to practice it 10 minutes a day for a couple of weeks to start noticing the effects in your brain.
Develop your emotional intelligence
With the practice of Mindfulness, we can improve our self-awareness and our self-knowledge, something that over time also makes us evolve and grow as people. With meditation you will get away from daily worries and you will be able to have greater compassion towards yourself.
Improve interpersonal relationships
Another of the great benefits of Mindfulness is that it helps to improve assertiveness, that is, your ability to manage and communicate emotions to other people. This, indirectly, helps make your friendship, partner, or family relationships much healthier and sincerer.
Power creativity
By leading the mind into a state of calm and well-being with meditation, your brain will crowd out negative emotions and have much more room for increased mental activity and new ideas.
