The benefits of mindfulness

Counsellors, therapists, and psychologists alike have embraced mindfulness to support clients in alleviating psychological suffering. Mindfulness is a key component in, though not exclusive to, third-wave approaches such as compassion-focused therapy and acceptance and commitment therapy, both of which I use in my own practice. Indeed, there is good and evolving evidence for its usefulness in the therapy room.

Research suggests that mindfulness can be beneficial for psychological, physical and emotional wellbeing by helping us increase our psychological flexibility and our tolerance to difficult internal experiences. Engaging in mindfulness can help us to become better attuned to our needs, recognising the ways we are, perhaps, unkind to ourselves and allowing us to respond in more compassionate and meaningful ways to our distress. Several ways in which mindfulness helps are discussed below, as well as consideration for who might benefit most from mindfulness practices.

Untangling our thoughts

Mindfulness allows us to observe our thoughts from a distance and without judgement, instead of becoming caught up in and entangled with them. This is particularly useful for those with negative or self-critical thoughts, for those who ruminate over the past or catastrophise about the future.

Creating space for emotions

Mindfulness can help us create space for our emotions, taking a more accepting stance towards our difficult feelings. If we can stop struggling with and seeing our emotions as frightening, but rather embrace them and understand they are there to tell us something, then we can start to make more sense of them and allow them to pass. In doing so, we can start to make room for our ability to relate to ourselves and others with greater compassion, kindness and acceptance.

Changing our relationship to physical sensations and pain

Mindfulness can also allow us to become aware of the physical sensations in our bodies. We can develop a growing awareness of tension or pain, providing us with a greater opportunity to do something to ease that physical discomfort. Mindfulness can help us redirect our attention away from our pain, preventing us from being solely consumed by these physical sensations and allowing us to engage in the here and now.

Rebalancing our autonomic nervous system

Mindfulness can help to reactivate or develop our parasympathetic nervous system, or the system we use to rest and relax. This is particularly important for those in psychological distress where their sympathetic nervous system (or fight/flight response) may be overstimulated and hyperaroused to detect threat and their parasympathetic nervous system may have become dampened, struggling to rebalance their emotional arousal. Engaging in mindfulness can allow us to increase self-insight and create a sense of safety, calm and balance, returning our bodies to a state of equilibrium and, in turn, enabling us to engage in social activities and respond more adaptively to stressful or difficult situations.

Who can benefit? What does the research say?

There is a body of evidence that suggests mindfulness can help those with:

• General psychological distress

• Depression and low mood

• Anxiety and worry

• Stress

• Addiction

• Risk of suicide

• Insomnia

• Weight control

• Long-term physical health conditions (including chronic pain, fibromyalgia, tinnitus)

There is also emerging evidence that mindfulness may help those who have experienced:

• Intimate partner abuse

• Trauma / PTSD

• Eating disorders

• Psychosis

• Physical health conditions, such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes and respiratory conditions (e.g asthma, COPD)

A note of caution

While there is a growing evidence base to suggest that mindfulness can be helpful, it needs to be used with caution in the therapeutic space. Not all clients want to engage in the practice: some because they find it difficult to connect with certain aspects of mindfulness, such as imagery and visualisation and others, perhaps, for fear of being triggered. Indeed, some individuals may experience adverse reactions, particularly if they fear losing control or where the experience of lying down, anchoring to or focusing on the breath or body may be triggering in some way. Your preferences for engaging in mindfulness are always paramount. For any mindfulness approach practised within the therapeutic relationship, it is crucial that this should be engaged in, with knowledge of the nuance of a particular individual's circumstances, and an awareness of what might be a trigger.

As ever, the therapeutic relationship plays an important role when working with mindfulness in the context of psychological distress. Finding a suitably qualified therapist who will provide a caring, nurturing, and validating space is paramount to helping you build the skills and tools for more effective regulation strategies.

Click through to read my post about the myths and misconceptions of mindfulness.

References:

Crowe, M., Jordan, J., Burrell, B., Jones, V., Gillon, D., & Harris, S. (2016). Mindfulness-based stress reduction for long-term physical conditions: A systematic review. Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 50(1), 21-32.

Davis, D. M., & Hayes, J. A. (2011). What are the benefits of mindfulness? A practice review of psychotherapy-related research. Psychotherapy, 48(2), 198.

Gilbert, P. (2009). Introducing compassion-focused therapy. Advances in psychiatric treatment, 15(3), 199-208.

Hayes, S. C. (2004). Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and the New Behavior Therapies: Mindfulness, Acceptance, and Relationship.

Porges, S. W. (2022). Polyvagal theory: A science of safety. Frontiers in integrative neuroscience, 16, 871227.

Roychowdhury, D. (2021). Moving mindfully: The role of mindfulness practice in physical activity and health behaviours. Journal of Functional Morphology and Kinesiology, 6(1), 19.

Strand, M., & Stige, S. H. (2021). Combining mindfulness and compassion in the treatment of complex trauma–a theoretical exploration. European Journal of Trauma & Dissociation, 5(3), 100217.

Taylor, J., McLean, L., Korner, A., Stratton, E., & Glozier, N. (2020). Mindfulness and yoga for psychological trauma: systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Trauma & Dissociation, 21(5), 536-573.

Tesh, M., Learman, J., & Pulliam, R. M. (2015). Mindful self-compassion strategies for survivors of intimate partner abuse. Mindfulness, 6, 192-201.

Zhang, D., Lee, E. K., Mak, E. C., Ho, C. Y., & Wong, S. Y. (2021). Mindfulness-based interventions: an overall review. British medical bulletin, 138(1), 41-57.