Try a little mindfulness……and build it into your life/work……

Dave Bertin

Voices Scotland Trainer & CBT Therapist

Today – the plan.....

What is Mindfulness? theory and taster

What is it useful for? risks?

Using it for yourself Practice session

Remember as a child playing....

Total absorption in what you were doing Lost in time In the moment

One definition is.....

Mindfulness is paying attention, deliberately, in the present moment without being judgemental.

Jon Kabbat-Zinn

So what’s it all about……?

A place of stillness in the middle of a frantic world

No one can run fast enough to escape their own worries

Anxiety levels now are 3 to 4 times higher than they were in the 1950s

Fundamentally a learnt habit – not a forgone conclusion!

So what’s it all about……?

How often do we feel that we are overwhelmed with inputs/thoughts/stuff to do?

We tend to fill our senses with “noise” This “noise” causes us information

overload, inefficiency and therefore stress

A taster.......

To give you a sense of what Mindfulness is.......

The problem with this..............

The past

The future

This moment

Why bother?

No time No point Can’t do it Too busy Can’t slow down It’s the worlds fault So why bother?

Finding your motivation...

What is it that is the most important reason in my life for doing this?

What can I say to myself to encourage me to stick at it?

Remember this is a new skill – it takes time to master it

Practical steps to making it happen.....

Be mindful of what you are doing Focus on one thing at a time Do it and then focus on the outcome You will get things done so don’t worry Ignoring a feeling or emotion just makes it

worse – so make it your decision to focus on it

The importance of choices

Make clear choices Don’t just do things you have to do Do things you want to do Make it your choice to face the tricky stuff Don’t wait for it to pop up and jump you Commit random acts of kindness

Think about what you do each day....

Things we do either nourish us or deplete us Nourishing things make us feel energised,

relaxed, stimulated, good, positive .......... Depleting things make us feel tired, stressed,

negative, defeatist, grumpy, overwhelmed ........ We all see these activities in our own way

Consider each one of your daily activities: Does doing this make you feel “nourished” or is

it “depleting”?

So what to do...

Increase the nourishing ones Decrease the depleting ones Change the way you see them

Look for something positive in the depleting ones – consider “process” and “outcome”

Make it your choice to do the depleting ones Thing about when you do each type and decide

on the order that suits you Start and end your day (or ideally chunks of

your day) with nourishing activity

Basic principles

Don’t judge yourself, your feelings, your emotions

There are just aspects of being human – useful at times – unhelpful at others

Find a focus for your mind that you can follow

Use that to let you take control and time out

Practice, experiment, try, don’t be scared to fail

Seven deadly sins......

Automatic pilot versus conscious choice Analysing versus sensing Striving versus accepting – tricky one?

What’s the worse that could happen?

Seeing thoughts as solid and real versus seeing them as just thoughts

Avoidance versus approaching Mental time travel versus the present moment Depleting versus nourishing activities

Parachute and duvets....

Start the day – 60 seconds of breathing and 60 seconds of “what matters today is ...”

Use breathing spaces to punctuate the day Befriend your feelings – see them, reflect on them,

like them.... Press the pause button when things get tricky Find (and do) nurturing activities Increase your exercise Remember to breath

Thank you...

Dave Bertin dave.bertin@chss.org.uk 07825296496

The process of emotions.....

Our reaction – emotions and

actions

Interpretation and Thoughts

Situation

Feelings versus thoughts

It seems like we feel things automatically Only partly true – such as the startle reflex Generally we interpret things, analyse them, reflect

on them – even if we are not always aware of this This interpretation is more within our control than

we think We tend to have learnt habits of interpretation We can learn new habits!

But can you change the cogs????

YES! An element of doubt is a good thing There’s nothing surer than an uncertainty! Our thoughts (even if not conscious ones) can affect our

actions/feelings/emotions.... Remember:

Situation Interpretation Thoughts Feelings Reaction

NOT: situation – feelings - reaction

Picture this story......

You are on a busy street and see a work colleague in the crowd

You wave and shout hello They do not wave back and turn up a side street What do you:

Feel – emotionally & physically? Think? Do?