Understanding the Value of Mindfulness
Mindfulness is a term often used in our society today. The general idea behind practicing mindfulness is to bring us into the present moment by refocusing our thoughts and checking in with our bodies. Doing so is easier said than done, especially in our hectic, fast-paced lives. However, mindfulness is also extremely beneficial, which is why it is a practice incorporated into the healing and recovery process at Reasons EDC.
Dr. Owen Peterson, Director of Training at Reasons EDC, guides us through this video sharing the tenants of mindfulness used to help patients in recovery there.
There are many formats of mindfulness out there, but at Reasons EDC they focus on classical mindfulness. Classical mindfulness utilizes breath and the experience of its rise and fall and integrates this experience with its effect and connection to emotional or effective states.
The different mental aspects involved in this form are selective sustained attention and distributed attention skills. Selective attention refers to when we focus on one specific object and hold it in our minds. Distributed attention skills are those that we use to take in peripheral information or the environment around us and integrate it into our minds functionally.
With many mental conditions such as depression, anxiety, and PTSD, these attention skills don’t work properly and therefore cannot sustain healthy mental function.
The healing practices used at Reasons emphasize how focusing on selective sustained attention can lead to better functioning of distributed attention. Doing so allows patients to once again integrate their environments properly, which will in turn lead to an improved mental state.
Classical Mindfulness fits well into the framework of the fundamental and philosophical roots at Reasons EDC that revolve around Exposure Response Prevention. To learn more about Exposure Response Prevention, visit exposure-response-prevention.
Essentially, the Classical approach enables practitioners to connect to and process their emotions on a deeper level. When people can utilize selective focused attention, it allows other mental resources to be freed for other uses, thus benefitting their mental states. One of the ways to integrate mindfulness into your life is to practice breathing exercises such as those described in the Deep Breathing Protocol videos.
