Mindfulness Overview
Presented by: Dr. Dawn-Elise Snipes Executive Director, AllCEUs
Podcast Host: Counselor Toolbox & Happiness isn’t Brain Surgery
Author: Journey to Recovery (2015) & Happiness Isn’t Brain Surgery (2017)
The video version of this presentation as well as worksheets are available at DocSnipes.com/mindfulness
What is MindLESSness
~ Mindlessness
~ Auto-pilot
~ Go-with-the-flow
~ What has always been done
~ Examples
~ Getting home and not remembering the drive
~ Eating without realizing it or when you are not hungry
~ Having intense feelings (or relapses) come from “out of the blue”
How Did We Learn Mindlessness
~ Messages
~ Because I said so = Don’t ask why
~ Suck it up = Don’t feel, just do
~ Nobody cares/ignore it = Don’t trust
~ That’s what everyone does = Don’t think
What is Mindfulness
~ Mindfulness
~ Awareness in the present moment
~ Stop-Look-Listen-Feel-Interpret
~ What is going on
~ Inside you
~ Around you
How Can Mindfulness Help
~ Transition from reacting to acting (Be proactive)
~ Makes more efficient and effective use of energy by making the right decisions the first time. (Begin with the end in mind)
~ Encourages self-awareness and compassion (Seek first to understand yourself, then understand others)
How Can Mindfulness Help
~ Reduce inefficiency through planning and prioritizing
~ Maintain awareness to prevent or mitigate discomfort
~ Balance and renew your resources, energy, and health to create a sustainable, long-term, effective lifestyle.
~ What do I need right now
~ What options do I have to meet those needs in the present, while still moving toward future goals?
Core Mindfulness
~ Three States of Mind
~ Reasonable: School Brain, Scientist, Robot
~ Emotional: What your heart says
~ Wise: The logical choice that makes you as happy as possible balancing your wants with the best choice
~ Example: Animal rescue
~ Example: Extracurricular activities
Core Mindfulness
~ Wise Mind What Skills
~ Observe: Be a detective. Take in the whole situation.
~ Describe: Name your experiences
~ Participate: Be actively involved in the moment
~ Practice observing, describing and participating
~ Identify 5 things that get in the way of observing, describing, participating
Core Mindfulness
~ Wise Mind How Skills
~ Nonjudgmental: Observable, measurable
~ One mind: Focus on the task at hand. Clear your mind of everything else
~ Do what works
What is Purposeful Action
~ Purposeful Action
~ Becoming mindful in the present moment
~ Acting intentionally instead of reacting emotionally
~ Choosing behaviors and actions that will
~ Make effective use of your energy
~ Help you achieve your long term goals
~ Example: Peanut Butter
Mindfulness Activities
~ Head-Heart-Gut Honesty
~ How do you feel
~ What do you want
~ What do you need
~ Attitude of Gratitude (Don’t Crap on the Present)
~ Self
~ Family
~ Job
~ Life
Activities cont…
~ 5 Minute Focus
~ Go into a room for 5 minutes (At first it will seem like an eternity)
~ Write down
~ Everything you see
~ What you smell
~ What you hear
~ How you feel (Emotionally and physically)
Activities cont…
~ Vulnerability Checklist
~ These are things that—when unchecked– can cause low grade stress, making you more vulnerable to stronger reactions.
~ Emotional
~ Physical
~ Social
~ Environmental
Activities cont…
~ Three Minute Thoughts
~ Take three minutes and write down (or record) all of the thoughts you have
~ Review what you wrote down
~ How many thoughts were negative?
~ How many were about the past?
~ How many were about the future?
~ How many were about the present?
~ How many were irrelevant?
Activities cont…
~ Colors of Emotion
~ Most colors evoke emotion in people.
~ Many of these emotions are learned because a color reminds you of a memory.
~ What Color Do You Feel?
~ Get a big box of crayons identify how different colors make you feel
~ General Color Families
~ Hot colors are red
~ Cheerful colors are yellow
~ Calming colors are blues
Activities cont…
~ Smells are one of the strongest memory triggers
~ Know Your Nose
~ Calming
~ Nostalgic
~ Angry
~ Stressed
~ Energetic
Activities cont…
~ The ABCs
~ Activating Event
~ Beliefs (automatic ones)
~ Consequences
~ Disputing (Purposeful Action/Considering the Evidence)
~ Evaluating (Purposeful Action/Considering the evidence)
Activities cont…
~ Relapse Warning Signs Checklist (Black SWAN)
~ Relapses do not come from out of the blue.
~ Part of mindfulness is learning about yourself from past experiences
~ Relapse prevention means being aware of your Status Wants and Needs (SWAN)
~ Developing a checklist of your relapse warning signs and reviewing it daily can assist with preventing relapse
Activities cont…
~ Functional Analysis (What, Why & How)
~ Anger/Resentment/Guilt
~ Fear
~ Stress/Overwhelmed
~ Happiness
~ Denial
~ Depression
~ Isolation
Activities cont…
~ Daily Planner
~ Each morning spend 10 minutes being mindful of how you are feeling
~ Identify all the things that need to happen or get done that day
~ Go through the list and highlight the ones that MUST get done
~ Identify anybody that can assist with the must-dos
~ Get going. (Purposeful action)
Summary
~ Our culture promotes automation and mindlessness
~ Mindfulness means taking time to think before you act.
~ Stopping to think takes time, but usually it takes less time than making needless errors
~ Mindfulness helps you prevent and mitigate problems
~ Mindfulness means understanding your SWaN and the whats, whys and hows of your vulnerabilities so you can make the best choice of action
~ Mindfulness is the first step in emotion regulation and getting happy
Mindfulness Related Resources
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