Mindfulness

[Penguin_hugs]

Hi there,

 

Just wondering if anyone would be able to share some tips about how they practice mindfulness?

 

I got told by my dr today that I should be doing a bit more of that to destress and unwind. I know I do get stressed with working- mainly because I push myself very hard, always striving to do the best for my patients (I'm a hospital pharmacist) and don't always look after myself properly because I'd rather stay on a ward and do something to benefit a patient than take my full lunch break.

 

And now I have stress induced vertigo... again... the first time I had it I was in the process of leaving my old community job that was very stressful, the second time was after moving house and I had a week where I came home everyday to another bill. And now I think I'm just run down from working. I've been told not to work for a few days now and I phoned work and they were very understanding.

 

Any tips?

[amaysngrace]

This is a good article to help give you some pointers.

 

https://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/8069422

 

For me, learning proper belly breathing and how to meditate were the biggest contributors to helping me take a moment to stop and slow down. How are you in your day to day life outside of work? Are you mostly unaware of what's going on around you or do you stop to smell the roses on your days off?

[d0nnivain]

For me two of the easier techniques are:

 

 

walk outside. Feel the sun on your face. Take a moment to really think about what the warmth feels like. Then notice all the fall colors or the other bits of nature around you

 

 

When you eat remember your mom talking about chewing your food 32 times before swallowing. It Forces you to slow down. Put a bite in your mouth think about the texture. Focus on the flavors. Enjoy the act of nourishing your body

[TheWoman]

Read the Power of Now (Eckhart Tolle), if you haven't already. Its an easy but insightful introduction to what mindfulness is. I do think you need to understand what is meant by mindfulness before you try to practice it.

Try an app for meditation, like headspace. Meditation is mindfulness in action.

Get out into nature as much as you can. Its so much easier to be in the present moment, when that moment is beautiful. The wilderness is therapy!

[Penguin_hugs]

Thanks for your advice and the article.

 

I'm still off sick and I think I will be tomorrow too. I went for a walk and just got so dizzy afterwards.

 

I'm trying to take care of myself this week. Today I cooked a proper curry from scratch- just for myself- packed with veg and good ingredients and I felt so much better for it. I can't remember when I last did that!

 

I don't look after myself that well admittedly. On days off I tend to just do housework etc. But I am much better at doing things now than I used to in my old job.

 

A friend from work text me yesterday to see how I was and told me she had got herself in a similar situation last year. She gave me a really good reminder about how the hospital will still run without me and how I need to look after myself. She even suggested we join a pilates class together!

[Michelle ma Belle]

I would also recommend starting a Gratitude Journal.

 

Ideally, you would spend a few minutes before lights out and write down 5 things you're grateful for that day. It could be ANYTHING at all.

 

With enough practice, what this does is trains you to not only seek out positive thoughtful and beautiful moments during the course of your day but appreciate them rather than focus on the negative or get lost in the noise of life.

 

It really has been a game changer for me.