Mindfulness

Some words on being mindful

A question I am often asked is if someone “needs” medication to get better. I want to emphasize that medication can be part of an individual treatment plan. Indeed, many ailments in mental health respond well to pharmaceuticals. But equally important is the level of stress in our lives and how we deal with this stress.

One of the great drivers of disease (of any sort) is chronic stress. It will slowly chip away at your ability to function normally. And I realize that much of the time the stress in our lives is hard to avoid.

Mindfulness is a useful tool in de-escalating our bodily response to stress. The practice of deep and deliberate breathing is millennia old and it works. When you inhale deeply you activate the parasympathetic nervous system through the vagus nerve. This sends signals to lower your heart rate, dilate blood vessels, and even lower blood pressure.

If you are new to mindfulness I recommend the video tutorial below. It is sponsored by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and will walk through the basics. This method of deep breathing and muscle relaxation can be adapted to almost any situation.