Table of Contents
Why is Mindfulness Important to Self Healing?
Most of us operate in Auto pilot and don’t realize it. Mindfulness is becoming aware of that programming so you can begin to understand how your auto pilot thoughts influence your day to day life and make conscious decisions to create the best version of yourself you can. Here’s what you can expect to happen if you decide to be mindful…
- Increased self-awareness: Mindfulness helps you become more self-aware of programming, noticing your thoughts and emotions as they happen. This increased awareness will help you identify negative thought patterns, habitual reactions, and triggers. You can self-heal by learning where a trigger or negative response comes from. It’s usually something you learned while you were a child and likely learned it from someone that was close to you.
- Stress reduction: Mindfulness has been shown to reduce stress and anxiety. By focusing on the present moment, you can let go of worries about the past or future, and instead focus on what is happening in the “here and now”. For almost all of us, nothing is happening that is life threatening at this very moment. This can lead to a sense of calm and relaxation.
- Emotional regulation: Mindfulness can help your regulate your emotions. By becoming more aware of your thoughts and feelings, you can learn to identify when you’re experiencing intense emotions and take steps to calm yourself down.
- Improved physical health: Mindfulness has been linked to improved physical health, including decreased blood pressure and improved sleep quality. When you are less stressed and more relaxed, your body can function more effectively.
- Increased self-compassion: Mindfulness encourages you to approach your thoughts and emotions with a sense of curiosity and non-judgment. This can help your develop self-compassion, which is an important component of self-healing.
How Become Self Aware
Set aside time for self-reflection: Take some time to reflect on your thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. By keeping a journal, practicing meditation, or just spending a few minutes each day to think back about your last 24 hours.
Observe your thoughts: As you go through your day, pay attention to the thoughts that pop into your head. Pay attention to your internal dialog. How much of your internal dialog is positive? How much is negative? When you’re walking to get coffee and passing by people, what thoughts go through your mind? Are they judgmental thoughts? Are they friendly thoughts? How do you talk to yourself when you make mistakes?
All of this matters because it represents your current programming. Most of the thoughts you have are on auto pilot. Let that sink in.
Determine your feelings: Make an effort to determine the emotions you experience throughout the day. Are you experiencing any of these emotions, anxious?, sad?, angry?, or happy?, etc. Recognize when your feelings are influencing your decisions or behavior.
For example, Let’s say you’re feeling anxious because you have a presentation to give at work today. As a result, you may find yourself procrastinating or avoiding preparing for the presentation because the anxiety is making you feel overwhelmed and unsure of yourself. Recognizing that your anxiety is influencing your behavior can help you realize it’s the response to the emotions that stimulates your procrastination. Now you can take steps to manage your emotions and get back to preparing for the presentation.
To help get you back on track you could get fresh air, engage in a quick relaxing meditation, or break down the task into smaller, more manageable steps.
Think about your actions and how they relate to your thoughts and feelings. Think about how you behave. Do you have any patterns or routines that might be adding to your mental health issues?
For example, Let’s say that a person is dealing with anxiety and finds themselves frequently checking their phone for notifications. This behavior might be adding to their issues by creating more of the feeling of anxiety and stress. The constant need to check for notifications can create a cycle of anticipation and disappointment, leading to more anxiety and stress. By recognizing the pattern, the person can take steps to break the cycle, such as setting designated times to check their phone, engaging in relaxation techniques. By changing their behavior, they can potentially reduce the impact of their mental health issues and improve their overall well-being. But, finding out the programming that creates the anxiety to begin with is goal. Once you find out where it comes from you can correct the response by reprogramming the yourself.
Challenge bad thoughts: After you’ve recognized them, confront them. Consider whether they are actually true or if there is an another perspective on you could consider. Positively reframe your thoughts.
For example, Let’s say you’re feeling anxious about an upcoming job interview and have the thought, “I’m not qualified for this job, I’ll never get it.” This thought is causing you to feel even more anxious and uncertain about your abilities. To challenge this thought, you could ask yourself some questions to gain a more balanced perspective, such as:
- What evidence do I have that I’m not qualified for this job?
- Are there any times in the past when I’ve been successful in similar situations?
- What are some of my strengths and accomplishments that make me a good fit for this job?
- Are there any alternative perspectives I could consider?
By asking yourself these questions, you may realize that your negative thought is not entirely accurate or helpful. You may be able to reframe your thought into a more positive and realistic statement, such as “I may not have every qualification listed, but I have relevant experience and skills that make me a strong candidate for this job.” By positively reframing your thoughts, you can reduce your anxiety and improve your confidence going into the interview.
Use mindfulness: Mindfulness is just being in the present moment without passing judgment.
Get input from loved ones: To get input on your actions or how you come across to others, talk to trusted friends or family members. They might be able to give you perspectives you hadn’t thought of. Just be in a place where you can hear anything they say. Remember you need to be honest about who you are and adjust to who you want to be.
Understanding where the programming that created your issues came from is at the root of your healing. Ultimately, if you want to fix your problems you will want to find out where they came from. If you can understand where your programming came from you can go back and challenge the programming and ask if this version of you still believes the old programming.
If you want personal help with this journey you can contact me at d.joel@lifeequalslove.com.
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