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What Is Mindfulness?

Mindfulness is a word you may have heard used if you have looked into therapy in the past or participate in activities that utilize meditation, such as yoga. You may have also just heard the word in passing, and you’re not quite sure what it means. Mindfulness is the practice of staying present in the current moment, and it can greatly improve your mental health. In today’s post, we will discuss the basics of mindfulness and how it pertains to the programs offered by Innerspace Counseling.

At Innerspace Counseling in Old Bridge, our mission is to provide adults, children, and teens with the support and skills they need to overcome and manage their mental health on a daily basis. We offer a five-day per week intensive program for those who may be transitioning from a hospital setting, as well as a three-day per week outpatient program for those transitioning from the five-day program or looking for more intense treatment than traditional individual counseling. If you have any questions, or you would like to know if our program is right for you, then give us a call to request a consultation.

What Is Mindfulness

The programs at Innerspace Counseling use Dialectical Behavior Therapy, which helps you learn the skills you need to effectively manage your mental health. One of the main skills you learn through this type of therapy is mindfulness. Mindfulness is defined as being the ability to be fully present in any given situation. Once you have mastered mindfulness, you should be able to stay focused and aware of where you are and what you’re doing without feeling overwhelmed by anything happening around you.

What some may be interested to learn is that mindfulness is a trait that you already possess. The problem is that unless you practice it, it’s difficult to access this skill when it’s needed. The mindfulness skill is something that will develop over time with constant focus and practice.

The Benefits of Mindfulness

Living in the present moment without letting past, present, and future situations overwhelm you is not as easy as it may sound. However, there are many benefits you can experience as you start to improve the mindfulness skill.

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Reduce Emotional Reactivity

How often have you been in a situation where you’re having a conversation with someone and they say something that unintentionally makes you mad? Anger is a very strong emotion, and if you’re not used to thinking about your emotions as they occur, you may concede to the anger and respond with something that upsets the other person. These instant reactions happen every day, and you may not even realize it when it’s happening. One of the benefits of mindfulness is being able to reduce your emotional reactivity so that you can better control your responses to stimuli. For example, instead of immediately saying something to upset the person you’re talking to, you have the ability to pause and think about the anger you’re feeling and react in a rational way instead of immediately saying the first thing that comes to mind.

Experience Acceptance

People cope with negative emotions and experiences in a variety of different ways. That being said, most people choose to cope with negative experiences by deflecting, avoiding, or denying what they are feeling. When you ignore your feelings, especially the negative ones, they often end up taking a bigger toll on your mental wellbeing over time instead of going away like you might hope.

Because mindfulness is focused on living in the current moment, it gives you the strength and courage to acknowledge your feelings and accept them for what they are. Once you accept your feelings for what they are, you can work through how to fix them.

Live in the Moment

Even if you haven’t heard of mindfulness, there is a good chance you’ve had people tell you to live in the moment once or twice. Mindfulness teaches you how to experience each moment in a new way that leaves you feeling more present. As a result, many people find themselves living a happier, more fulfilling life than they were before. When you’re living in the moment, you have the chance to savor the pleasurable moments more fully as they occur and fully engage yourself in activities.

Get Started at Innerspace Counseling

There are many benefits that you can experience when you start practicing mindfulness, and at Innerspace Counseling in Old Bridge, our experts offer the tools and support needed to help you get there. We are dedicated to helping our patients live a happier and healthier life while successfully managing their mental health. Our programs feature individual counseling, group therapy, family sessions, and more, allowing you to get the most out of your healing experience. Explore our website to see if Innerspace is right for you, and give us a call to request a consultation.