Incorporating Mindfulness into Daily Life

One of the questions I get asked the most about mindfulness is how to transition the practice of meditation into application in daily life. People often report that even when they make time to sit and meditate on a somewhat regular basis they have difficulty connecting that practice with their everyday life experiences.

In order to fully benefit from a meditation practice we must not only go through the motions of sitting on the mat and/or doing a guided practice, but also make the effort to learn about meditation and reflect on the practice. It’s the difference between knowing what a hammer is and understanding when and how to effectively use a hammer to build a birdhouse. Unfortunately, the more that a principle or practice becomes commodified the harder it is to trace it back to its roots and the more it becomes about the rote repetition of a task. It is vitally important to ask ourselves why we come back to practice and how that practice affects us.

The most important aspects of meditation and mindfulness are not about clearing your mind or focusing on your breath, but about the underlying principles that create the foundation of why and how we practice. Mindfulness and meditation are not about being comfortable, relaxed, or at peace with the world, though those things can certainly be auxiliary benefits of a practice. Instead, meditation is an open invitation to build compassion, non-judgement, and radical acceptance of discomfort. The discomfort may be around parts of ourselves or others that we dislike, or aspects of the world and our experience in it that are not to our liking.

A truly mindful way of being requires ongoing work, it is never complete, and it is always evolving. It requires us to build a routine around checking in with ourselves consistently. A mindful life requires us to incorporate and practice the following principles:

• Non-judging: shifting out of the evaluation of experiences based on our likes, dislikes, and personal biases.

• Non-striving: shifting out of goal-oriented behavior in order to allow an experience to unfold.

• Acceptance: accepting each moment and experience exactly as it is rather than how we wish it would be or fear it might be.

• Curiosity: bringing a beginner’s mind to each experience, slowing down, and allowing ourselves to fully be present in what is happening rather than moving through on autopilot.

• Non-attachment: allowing ourselves to let go of clinging to a particular goal, outcome, fear, or experience. Acknowledging at every experience is finite.

• Compassion: genuine compassion for our own and other people’s lived experiences rooted in shared connection and humanity.

• Patience: willingness to dedicate as much time as it takes without rushing to a goal or end point in an experience.

All these principles create the underpinning of mindfulness and meditation. They are also deceptively challenging to practice because they require letting go of our ego, need to succeed, and inherent bias. There is no mastery in mindfulness, only ongoing practice.

If you’d like to practice and learn more I recommend checking out the writings of Pema Chodron, Thich Nhat Hanh, or Jon Kabat-Zinn. If you’d like to learn more about how to incorporate mindfulness to support your mental health, don’t hesitate to reach out!

Making Time for Breakfast

Breakfast is perhaps one of the most neglected meals of the day. Our mornings are spent in the chaos of alarm clocks, getting ready for work or school, and generally trying to avoid facing the day as much as possible.

There’s a saying that you should start the way you mean to go on. So, this post is about making a conscious decision as to how we mean to go on. We often focus on goals in the context of New Year’s resolutions, but you don’t have to wait for a special day each year to start something intentionally.

Treating each day as a new beginning can help us feel more hopeful and refreshed and create more opportunities for self-evaluation. Taking time, even a little time, to be intentionally present with ourselves in the morning can help us reduce burnout, improve our mood, and reduce anxiety about facing the day.

Breakfast helps get our metabolism going and gives us energy for our day. It can also help us be more conscious and intentional about our other food choices throughout the day and not have to rely on caffeine to trick ourselves into not noticing we’re hungry or tired. Breakfast is both a literal and a symbolic act of nourishing ourselves and a reminder to take time to be present with ourselves.

Here are some ideas for reclaiming your morning and your breakfast:

• Make breakfast non-negotiable, create opportunities to try new things, or decide on a go-to, easy balanced breakfast to make for the week. Prep ingredients the night before if needed.

• Commit to a meditation practice. Even if it’s only 5 minutes before you head out the door or get out of bed. Taking time to wake up to your day slowly can create a more intentional, less hectic flavor to your day.

• Read a physical book or magazine rather than scrolling on your phone or other device. Prioritizing the rest of the world over yourself first thing in the morning can increase stress levels and reduce our motivation and ability to tend to our own needs.

• Listen to music that is soothing or motivating first thing in the morning. Use this as an opportunity to dance around to something you enjoy.

• Move your body. Create a 10-15 minute stretching, walking, or yoga routine to get your blood flowing and stretch out your body after a night of sleep.

• Ditch your alarm clock. Here’s a confession: I absolutely hate alarm clocks. To me, they are the worst, most jarring way to wake up. Create a bedtime routine that allows you to wake up naturally around the same time every day. It may take a few weeks to fully adjust but trust me it’s worth it. If you absolutely need an alarm clock opt for one that wakes you up with light rather than sound. It may also be helpful to get an idea of how much sleep you naturally need and adjust your routine accordingly. Hint: most people vastly underestimate how much sleep they actually need to feel good.

• If you have a pet, make the first thing you do when you get up snuggling or playing with them. The resulting happy brain hormones make for an excellent reward.

Pick 1-2 things off this list to start off with. Mornings don’t have to be overwhelming. If you’d like additional support with developing better routines to support your mental health please don’t hesitate to reach out!

When should you consider psychiatric medication?

I have found over the years that although I am not a psychiatrist, a significant part of my conversations with clients in therapy revolves around medications. Common concerns range from worries about addiction and side-effects to worries about losing parts of self because of the medication. I am not a doctor and recommend that you consult with a medical provider about any specific medication concerns, but I hope that this post can provide you with some pointers about how and when to have conversations with your medical provider and set realistic expectations about medications and medication management.

If you haven’t had a physical exam in over a year and are experiencing low energy, insomnia, hypersomnia, sudden changes in appetite, and/or digestive issues it’s a good idea to schedule a physical exam first to rule out physical health issues that could be contributing to mental health symptoms such as thyroid issues, anemia, and premenstrual dysphoric disorder.

Signs you may want to consider psychiatric medication:

1. If you are consistently working on trying to implement behavioral changes and failing due to emotional overwhelm.

2. You’ve implemented behavioral changes, but mood symptoms are continuing to significantly impact daily functioning.

3. Your symptoms are so severe you are unable to attend to daily tasks, you are experiencing manic symptoms, psychosis, and/or suicidal thoughts.

Topics to address with your psychiatrist/medication provider:

• Side effects of medications being prescribed and any previous experience with psychiatric medication.

• Expected benefits and timeline to see changes with medication. The most common medications prescribed tend to be anti-depressants, usually the SSRI kind (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor), which take about a month to build up enough in your system for you to see changes. It’s important to have an accurate idea about the impact of medications so that you can accurately gauge whether the medication is working.

• Process for increasing or decreasing dosages and how to communicate concerns with your psychiatrist.

• Any other substances you might be using. This includes other prescription medications, marijuana, alcohol, caffeine, or any other drugs. Effectiveness and risks associated with psychiatric medications will be impacted based on whatever else you’re taking.

• Discuss any blood testing or other medical testing that might be needed with heavier duty medications. This usually applies to heavy duty mood stabilizers or anti-psychotics.

• Discuss any effects medications may have on appetite and sleep, particularly if you are taking stimulants or medications that might induce nausea for the first few days/weeks of taking them.

• Always consult with your provider before discontinuing medication or adjusting dosage.

What medications can do:

• Medications can help reduce the barrier to accessing behavioral changes needed to make lasting improvements in your life and ease long-term symptom management.

• Medications can reduce severity of mood symptoms biologically in order to allow you to make better cognitive decisions about your health.

• Medications can reduce frequency and intensity of very severe symptoms such as psychosis, mania, and panic attacks.

• Medications can help improve quality of sleep which will improve symptoms of depression, anxiety, PTSD, and ADHD.

What medications cannot do:

• Medications cannot address the quality of your interpersonal relationships.

• Medications cannot instantly make you feel happy all the time.

• Medications may not eliminate all mental health symptoms forever.

• Medications may not work the same way at the same dose forever.

• Medications impact different people in different ways, so what works for a friend or loved one may not work for you.

• Medications alone will not be enough if you are not also working to implement lifestyle changes.

Depending on your needs you may need medication for a short while to address a temporary situation or you may need a low or even high dose of medication depending on symptom severity, lifestyle changes, and chronic nature of your mental health condition. The reality is that there is no way to know for certain, but if you work closely with a trusted provider that you feel comfortable having open conversations with you can drastically improve your outcomes.

I want you to know that needing medication does not make you crazy, weak, incapable, or unreliable. Taking medications appropriately and with active support means that you are taking a necessary step to take care of and improve your health. Psychiatric medication is meant to be a supportive part of your journey. Unfortunately the stigma associated with it often prevents people from seeking necessary care which does a disservice to everyone. Remember that your journey will be unique to you and don’t hesitate to reach out for support if you want to learn more about how therapy can help!