Pitfalls of mindfulness: What to be wary of

For many of us, facing a new year can provide us with an opportunity to make a new start and perhaps leave the struggles of the past behind. Many may have resolved to get our mental health in better shape and well-documented way of doing this in recent years is by practicing mindfulness.

Mindfulness has become something of a phenomenon over the last decade and many people have credited the practice with helping them achieve more positive mental health.

Mindfulness broadly involves an individual concentrating on a practice or activity for a sustained period of time in order to fully experience the present moment and, in turn, reduce focus on other things in the past or future, which can contribute to anxiety and depression.

This can be done through meditation or some other focused activity whose goal is to create a neutral state of awareness which doesn’t allow for judging or reacting.

Although mindfulness has had many positive effects, anyone who is thinking of delving headfirst into this well-known practice must be aware that there are some downsides.

As with any trending psychological practice, they headlines often obscure the truth and academics who have studied mindfulness have found that it can have some negative impacts.

In focusing on cleansing their minds of negative thoughts, some people may be unwittingly disregarding positive thoughts too, research has shown. Experiences, memories and thoughts are very rarely couched in binary, black and white terms. In many occasions, experiences can have both negative and positive outcomes and in attempting to rid our minds of the negative, we may not fully learn the lessons of those experiences.

Explore more advice on how to get your mind in good health with the books at www.hubbfi.com.