Mindfulness and Meditation Therapy

Mindfulness and meditation therapy is a psychological intervention method that has been confirmed by evidence-based medicine to have clear effects on mood regulation of mild to moderate anxiety and depression, auxiliary intervention for chronic pain, and improvement of attention. However, it is by no means a "spiritual panacea that can cure all diseases." The sources of different types of mindfulness/meditation exercises on the market vary greatly, and their applicable groups and operating logic vary greatly. Blindly following the trend may even lead to negative problems such as emotional dissociation, traumatic flashbacks, and increased anxiety.

Two years ago, when I participated in mindfulness group intervention in the clinical psychology department of a general hospital, I met a 32-year-old Internet product manager. He had been suffering from insomnia for more than three months. He lay in bed and went through the demand schedule like a movie in his mind. He tried various "10-minute quick sleep meditation" audios on the Internet. Later, he followed the 8-week MBSR (Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction) system practice in the outpatient clinic, and it was only in the 5th week that he slept for 6 hours for the first time. He said that the most different thing was that before following the audio training on the Internet, he was always afraid that he "didn't do it right" and would panic when his mind wandered, which made him more anxious. Later, he learned that when he realizes that his mind wanders, he can just pull back and breathe again, which is part of mindfulness practice.

Many people’s misunderstandings about mindfulness actually come from the fragmented popular content on the market. The so-called "meditation" content that everyone has access to now is not even the best: MBSR founded by Dr. Kabat-Zinn and MBCT (Mindfulness Cognitive Therapy) developed by Oxford University have been clinically verified in large samples. The core is "awareness of the present moment without judgment" and are mostly used in clinical intervention. ； There are also meditation exercises that are simplified from traditional religious practices such as Theravada Vipassana and Tibetan meditation, which place more emphasis on the development of long-term awareness habits and have higher requirements for practice duration and scenarios. ； As for the popular "wealth meditation" and "law of attraction meditation" on the Internet, they are essentially visual suggestions and do not belong to the category of clinically recognized mindfulness meditation therapy. Of course, this does not mean that this kind of content is completely useless. If you feel happy and relaxed after listening to it, it is okay to use it as a daily pastime. Just don't use it as a treatment plan.

There has been ongoing controversy over mindfulness meditation therapy in academic circles. One school of thought believes that it is a completely safe "non-drug intervention" and is even suitable for promotion to all ages. ； Another school of research points out that without professional guidance, for people with complex trauma histories, severe anxiety or psychotic symptoms, practicing mindfulness is likely to trigger traumatic flashbacks and emotional out-of-control. I have previously received a client who had experienced childhood emotional neglect and practiced mindfulness at home. When I scanned my chest, I suddenly remembered the scene of being locked out by my parents when I was a child. I squatted on the ground and cried for two hours. It took a week to calm down. Later, after the trauma was stabilized, I slowly started practicing breathing anchoring for one minute with the one-on-one guidance of a counselor, and it gradually became effective.

Oh, by the way, some people think that righteousness means "lying flat in a Buddhist style" and not caring about anything. This is a huge misunderstanding. I have several friends who play professional e-sports and perform surgeries. They are all practicing short-range mindfulness. It is not for the purpose of "lying flat", but to be more focused: when the opponent takes a blood during the game, I will not be frustrated by the mistake just now, and my attention can be brought back to the current operation. ； I just finished a 4-hour major surgery. I took 5 minutes to do some breathing exercises to remove my emotions from the previous state and make my hands more stable for the next surgery. Even many teams in the NBA have exclusive mindfulness coaches to help players adjust their anxiety before competitions. This is not just lying down, it is clearly to "fit" the attention.

To be honest, I have been practicing mindfulness on and off for almost 4 years. I have never reached the state of "completely emptying my mind" as mentioned on the Internet. The most I do is sit for 15 minutes and run around 8 times, but I just come back every time. There are no "standard moves" in this thing, and you don't need to pursue the feeling of "being in concentration". Just like when you go for a run, you don't need to pursue running a marathon at the beginning. It's good to go downstairs and walk for 10 minutes every day.

If you are just usually stressed and want to find a way to relax, then just find a guided audio that you feel comfortable listening to. It is perfectly fine to slump on the sofa and follow it for 10 minutes after work. You don’t have to worry about genres or postures. You can sit or lie down, just don’t fall asleep. But if you have suffered from insomnia, low mood, or anxiety for more than half a month, so much that you are unable to work and live normally, or have chronic pain for which no physiological cause can be found, and you want to rely on mindfulness for intervention, it is best to find a facilitator who has received systematic MBSR or MBCT training. Don't practice blindly on your own - just like you find a coach at the beginning of fitness. Wrong movements will not only be ineffective, but also easy to hurt yourself.

In the final analysis, mindfulness is just a tool. Use it if it works well, and change it if it doesn't. There is no need to deify it, and there is no need to think that it is your own problem if you don't practice it well. After all, any method that allows you to eat well, sleep well, and live well in the present is a good method.