5 Ways Mindfulness Can Help During a Pandemic

Has your life been turned upside down by the global pandemic?

Have you had increased stress, anxiety and worries during COVID-19? Have you wondered if your life would ever get back to ‘normal’?

If yes, you are certainly not alone.

The 2020-2022 pandemic has seen many of us faced with unforeseen challenges, one of them being forced into spending large periods of time in home bound isolation, working from home, and coping with life from our living room.

Research tells us that mental health issues have been triggered or even worsened during the pandemic. So, how can we find some extra peace and wellness? Mindfulness can help.

Mindfulness is a popular word these days, and for good reason. It is something we can do anywhere, without needing to join groups, and it doesn’t cost us any money.

Mindfulness can give us the individual freedom to increase our wellbeing, even when stuck working from home.

So, what is mindfulness?

 In this video, Jon Kabat-Zinn describes mindfulness as “Paying attention on purpose in the present moment, non-judgementally…as if your life depended on it”.

 When it comes down to it, awareness or lack of awareness is all we have in each moment.

 Watch this short video to find out more:

 

Here are some benefits of mindfulness:

1. Decreases stress
2. Increases health
3. Boosts resilience
4. Improves academic success
5. Improves ability to deal with illness

 

Studies show us that people who use mindfulness during lockdown have lower levels of depression and anxiety and are better able to cope during uncertain and emergency situations.

If you choose to use mindfulness based self-help, research tells us that your quality of life and wellbeing will be improved.

So, how can we use mindfulness at home?

Here are 5 simple ways:

1. Mindful Eating

Mindful eating is not a diet. It is a process of savouring your food in the moment. The ‘raisin experience’ is a great exercise to try it out. Mindful eating is a great way to attach mindfulness to an activity you already do every day, eating.

2. Mindful Walking

Mindful walking is as simple as paying attention to all of the sensations while walking. Mindful walking meditations are a great way to try this if you are new to it.

3. Mindful Breathing

Mindful breathing is one of the most popular ways to practice mindfulness. It is a direct link to the sensory connection between body and awareness.

4. Mindful Feeling

Mindful feeling is the practice of being aware of emotions as they arise and feeling the sensation of them fully, without needing to turn away from them.

5. Mindful Seeing

Mindful seeing is the act of focusing on one thing as fully as you can. Try it now. Find an object in the room and put your whole attention on it for one minute. See if it increases your focus and if you become more aware of the space around you.

A Final Note

 Thank you for bringing more awareness to your life. It is important! None of us want to live our lives sleepwalking and unconscious until our last living breath. Your life is precious, practice mindfulness and live with conscious awareness. Your awareness is a gift.

 

 

References

Ackerman, C. E., MA. (2022, February 15). 23 amazing health benefits of mindfulness for body and brain. PositivePsychology.Com. Retrieved May 20, 2022, from https://positivepsychology.com/benefits-of-mindfulness/

Antonova, E., Schlosser, K., Pandey, R., & Kumari, V. (2021). Coping With COVID-19: Mindfulness-Based Approaches for Mitigating Mental Health Crisis. Front Psychiatry, 12, 563417-563417. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2021.563417

Bertin, M. (2021, November 16). A daily mindful walking practice. Mindful. Retrieved May 20, 2022, from https://www.mindful.org/daily-mindful-walking-practice/

Celestine, N., PhD. (2022, March 3). What is mindful breathing? Exercises, scripts, and videos. PositivePsychology.Com. Retrieved May 20, 2022, from https://positivepsychology.com/mindful-breathing/

DBT-RU. (2020, December 8). Mindfulness of current emotions [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NECs97k_8Z4

Hartstone, J. M., & Medvedev, O. N. (2021). The Role of Mindfulness and Life Satisfaction in Psychological Distress During the COVID-19 Lockdown in New Zealand: a Quasi-experimental Study. Mindfulness (N Y), 12(11), 2693-2706. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-021-01731-4

Nelson, J. B. (2017). Mindful eating: The art of presence while you eat. Diabetes Spectrum, 30(3), 171–174. https://doi.org/10.2337/ds17-0015

PsychAlive. (2013, January 3). What is mindfulness? [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmEo6RI4Wvs

Shapiro, S. L., Oman, D., Thoresen, C. E., Plante, T. G., & Flinders, T. (2008). Cultivating mindfulness: effects on well-being. J. Clin. Psychol, 4(4), 840-862. https://doi.org/10.1002/jclp.20491

Taylor, H., Strauss, C., & Cavanagh, K. (2021). Can a little bit of mindfulness do you good? A systematic review and meta-analyses of unguided mindfulness-based self-help interventions. Clinical psychology review, 89, 102078-102078. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2021.102078

Toniolo-Barrios, M., & Pitt, L. (2021). Mindfulness and the challenges of working from home in times of crisis. Business Horizons, 64(2), 189–197. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bushor.2020.09.004

World Health Organization. (2022, March 2). COVID-19 pandemic triggers 25% increase in prevalence of anxiety and depression worldwide. Retrieved May 20, 2022, from https://www.who.int/news/item/02-03-2022-covid-19-pandemic-triggers-25-increase-in-prevalence-of-anxiety-and-depression-worldwide

UMNCSH. (2015, December 10). What is mindfulness? [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWJUv1lH-Ng&t=45s