Mindfulness Flashcards
How can the positive assumptions be applied to mindfulness?
Mindfulness links strongly with the overall aim of positive psychology which is to improve well-being and aid in the flourishing of human potential. Therefore, it could be argued that mindfulness is linked with the assumption of “the good life”. Meditation and mindful breathing can be an activity that engages us.
Another link is that of the authenticity of goodness and excellence.
The informal practices of mindfulness are focused on nurturing positive emotions, strengths and virtues, and emphasising their importance and authenticity.
Mindfulness also teaches life regulation qualities such as patience.
Mindfulness is based on the assumption that humans have free will.
One of the key ideas of mindfulness is to train an individual to gain control over their thoughts and emotions.
What are the key points of mindfulness?
Uses meditation and breathing techniques to help people focus on the moment and increase their well-being.
Many of the examples we use focus on the use of mindfulness to deal with issues such as stress. However, it is important to note that mindfulness has been used to treat other psychological problems and can also be used to promote flourishing and well-being in individuals who aren’t experiencing a particular psychological issue.
What are the key points of gaining control of thoughts?
Goal of focusing on the present is to gain greater awareness of unhelpful / negative thoughts and gain control over them and spend less time dealing with them.
What are the key points of meditation and mindful breathing?
Allows people to reprocess their internal experiences and help them accept that thoughts and related emotions are impermanent.
In this way the individual learns not to react in an automatic way to their thoughts.
What are the key points of the informal practises of mindfulness?
Informal practice involves paying attention to the surroundings and the moment.
When an individual’s attention begins to wander they should bring their attention back to these sensations.
Informal practices can be incorporated into daily life to give us a break from our normal thought processes.
What are examples of mindfulness techniques?
The most well-known techniques involve the use of meditation and mindful breathing.
Examples:
In a body scan, the individual is guided through the process of paying attention to sensations in different parts of the body without reacting to them.
Mindfulness can also be practiced informally by consciously deciding to focus our attention on a particular task such as eating or brushing or teeth.
Practising to pay attention to one thing at a time can help us improve our well-being.
What are the key points of meditation and mindfulness apps?
The growth in popularity of mindfulness techniques has also led to an abundance of online meditations and apps designed to teach people to be more mindful and to pay attention to the present moment.
What are the key points for the integration with other therapies evaluation point?
The techniques of mindfulness practice are becoming increasingly incorporated into other therapies, such as psychoanalysis and CBT, offering a new and alternative perspective in therapy.
What’s an example for the integration with other therapies evaluation point?
Mindfulness-Based CBT (MiCBT) is a four-stage therapeutic approach which incorporates mindfulness with CBT.
While traditional CBT attempts to modify people’s unrealistic thoughts and beliefs, MiCBT helps to change the process of thinking, not just the content of our thoughts.
Mindfulness is demonstrated to be an effective technique.
What did Teasdale et al (2000) study and find?
Evaluated the effectiveness of MBCT among 145 recurrently depressed patients.
Patients were randomly allocated to receive treatment as usual (TAU) or TAU plus eight classes of MBCT.
Relapse / recurrence to major depression was assessed over a 60-week period.
MBCT provided the greatest help to those who had suffered the most number of previous episodes.
It did not have an effect on those who had only two episodes of depression in the past, but substantially reduced the risk of relapse in those who had three or more previous episodes of depression.
What did Reibel et al (2001) report?
MBSR decreased levels of anxiety and depression in 136 patients who participated in an 8-week mindfulness programme, involving 20 minutes of meditation per day.
These results were also seen after a one-year follow up.
What’s the group VS individual mindfulness evaluation point?
For certain psychological problems, there is some evidence to suggest that mindfulness meditation is more effective in group settings.
What did Mantzios and Giannou (2014) investigate and find?
Investigated Group VS Individual mindfulness among participants who were trying to lose weight. 170 participants who were randomly assigned to practise meditation for six weeks within a group or individually.
The researchers found that participants in the group setting lost more weight and lowered their levels of cognitive-behavioural avoidance.
The benefits of individual mindfulness meditation need to be viewed with caution.
Ruedy and Schweitzer (2010)
Demonstrated how individuals who were high in mindfulness were less likely to cheat on a task, and more likely to uphold ethical standards.
Improving our state of mind through mindfulness will result in us becoming more moral in many facets of life.
