subject: Mindful Stress Management [print this page] An increasing number of people earning their living at home as employees or business owners have put themselves under great physical and emotional stress created by the around-the-clock Internet economy and business. The fact is stress no longer comes mainly from threats to physical safety but from interactions with that is never ending and the demands of culture by email text,video or podcast.
Health care professionals, whether the health provider is located at a hospital, a place of work or in a senior housing location, is concern about the adverse impact of stress. It seems that stress is a major factor even for kids in elementary school who show concern about getting good grades or being in the good graces of a friend or getting on the baseball travel team.
A local hospital sent a mailer to all the neighborhood residents that they were giving a class in Mindful Stress Reducation. The concept of Mindfulness has been around for some time. I remember reading about mindfulness-based stress reduction in the 80s and 90s. The direct approach to behavior was accepted at that time. Your objective was to discover what was taking place in your life and then make it better. It was considered a way of doing something for yourself that no one else could do for you. It was a question of paying attention to what was causing the stress so that you could deal with it better whether it is dealing with your job loss, the fact that you have breast cancer or your marriage is falling apart. The concept is that being mindful you can consciously and systemically learning to respond to your own stress, pain, illness as well as the challenges and demands of every day life
Some call it a new area of interest where medicine and psychology meld but those of us who have been long aware of the mind body connection simply see the concept as another how to for making the connection. I've always thought that mindfulness would work well with adults who have Attention Deficit Disorder because basically what it is training the mind through certain exercises to stay more focused on the present rather than letting the mind ruminate about the past and agonize over the future.
In other words being mindful, being in the present is another way of approaching reducing stress. Staying in the present gives us a chance to realize that our life is not a rehearsal. Health professional understand the need for stress reduction in the large hospitals. It also works for many people who are becoming ill because of their stress.
There are many meditation techniques and practitioners tend to apply their own descriptions and emphasis when teaching. There are many health programs that involve learning approaches to mindful stress reduction.
It is not unusual for people who practice yoga or meditate on a regular basis are also those who concentrate on mindful stress reduction. So do cancer patients who are trying to keep a more positive attitude as well as boost their immune function. The hospital found that participants in this program were able to reduce their sleep disturbances. There were also significant reductions I stress, fatigue and negative mood.
Medical research repeatedly demonstrates that the power of the mind really does influence the body. When you think, for example, your brain is firing various neurotransmitters and other neural activity. All you physical activities are connected through the same neural network. By learning to actively calm your mind you figure out how to be your own best ally in the mind and thought response reaction you have to what is taking place around you and play a support role rather than staying oblivious to the role you're playing.
For instance, the strength of many of the very young cancer patients. The point is most of our thinking is habitual and we have been preconditioned to think this way or that whether we have been diagnosed with breast cancer or have not found a job in 10 months. Once we understand the trap our thinking has become, then we can focus on whatever energy it takes to focus on promoting our own health.
The primary approach of the mindfulness philosophy is to learn to live in the present and expand the present situation.
