Page 62 - Keralite Magazine _new 1 copy

KERALITE
mode. In this mode of the mind we tend to get lost
in ‘doing’ so we find ourselves constantly striving
and struggling and ‘getting stu done’ instead of
really living. Most depressed people are in this
mode constantly fighting many battles in their
minds. Medical science has put forward a number of
treatments for depression in the form of types of
antidepressants like SSRI’s Mao’s and TCA. Though
people opt for the medical or rather chemical
treatments, the antidepressants are known to have
a lot of side e ects from dry mouth and headache
to suicidal tendencies.
But what many people are not aware of is, the other
option that is completely natural, non-invasive, has
no side e ects and is safe enough
for even pregnant women. It is
called mindfulness. Through Mindfulness is a
mindfulness you can learn to turn type of cognitive
your negative emotions into your
greatest teachers and sources of therapy to treat
strength. Today it has been depression.
practiced all over the world and
even corporates have inducted
this into their employee welfare
programs. Mindfulness is about living in the present
by taking notice of what’s around us and the
feelings that are inside of us. It’s about being fully
present and removing the extra layer of thought
that we normally attach to people, things, and
events. As ironic as it might sound, depressed mind
is anything but mindful. A depressed mind is filled
with thoughts of guilt, remorse, or pain from events
that happened in the past. The mind even worries
about things we think will happen that never even
come to pass. One thought leads to another. The
person finds feeling bad about feeling bad and
ends up spiraling into a pit of despair.
Mindfulness is a type of cognitive therapy to treat
depression. The research is strong for mindfulness’
positive impact in certain areas of mental health,
including stress reduction, emotion and attention
regulation, reduced rumination, for reducing mild to
2018
moderate depression and anxiety, and preventing
depressive relapse. Mindfulness-based cognitive
therapy (MBCT) was developed in the mid-nineties
by psychologists at the Universities of Oxford,
Cambridge and Toronto to help stabilize patients’
moods during and after use of antidepressants.
MBCT seeks to teach people to disengage from the
deeply ingrained dysfunctional thoughts that are
common with depression. About half of patients
relapse into depression - even if they continue
taking the medication. One common reason for a
relapse is when a normal period of sadness turns
into obsessive brooding. MBCT tackles brooding
and teaches people to be more compassionate to
themselves and others. “The MBCT
technique is simple, and revolves
around "mindfulness meditation.”
In this, you sit with your eyes
closed and focus on your
breathing. Concentrating on the
rhythm of the breath helps
produce a feeling of detachment.
The idea is that you come to realize
that thoughts come and go of their
own accord, and that your conscious self is distinct
from your thoughts. This realization is encouraged
by gentle question-and-answer sessions modeled
on those in cognitive therapy. MBCT in its current
format is a 8-weeks, group-based program with
mindfulness meditation, yoga, body awareness and
daily homework, such as eating or doing household
chores, with full attention to what one is doing,
moment by moment.
The very act of practicing mindfulness can help
patients control their mind and the sad feeling they
have in there. Mindfulness doesn’t detach you from
reality, but it makes you focus that your thoughts
are in your control and that they should not control
you. MBCT's strengths is its lack of side e ects, and
that it can be used as an adjunct therapy. One
characteristic of depression is a habit of thinking
negatively about experience, one's self or the
future. Mindfulness trains people to be more aware
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