Mindfulnessfor

Self-Care and Stress ReductionLet’s Talk About Brain Health & Brain Disease,

Mon 27th August, 2018 UCD

James O’Shea

2018

Short Meditation

Waking up!

Mindfulness... is about waking up from a life on automatic, and

being aware of ordinary everyday experiences:

Maintaining a moment-by-moment awareness of our thoughts,

feelings, bodily sensations:

Paying attention on purpose, in the present moment:

(http://greatergood.berkeley.edu/topic/mindfulness)

(http://www.thebestbrainpossible.com/)

(Jon Kabat-Zinn - http://www.mindful.org/)

The Trouble With Thinking

Experts estimate that the mind thinks 3,300

thoughts per hour

Or 80,000 thoughts per day

Or 29,000,000 per year

Monkey Mind – Chatter, Chatter, Chatter!!

Time Travel -Somewhere else but not in present moment!

Looking Back

Remembering

Regretting

Resenting

Ruminating

Looking Forward

Planning

Worrying

Rehearsing

Anticipating

Three Brains in One

Perception of Threat

Emotional brain responds to perceived threat

Evolutionary protective mechanism (ancestors)

Survivors slightly anxious?

Emotional Brain - difficulty in distinguishing

between real and imagined threat

Fight, Flight or Freeze triggered

Calming The Storm

Breathing

5/8 breathing

Belly breathing

Just the breath

Physical Exercise

Produces endorphins

Helps reduce cortisol levels

Short Meditation

What can we be Mindful of?

Breath

Body

Thoughts/Emotions

Environment around

us

Movement –

walking/swimming/ yoga

etc...

Eating

Daily activities

How We Experience the World

Automatic-Pilot

Creating a story in our minds about our

experience:

Present Moment

Experiencing life as it is ‘just now’ - Not getting

caught in the story:

Short Meditation

Meeting Our Emotional Needs

Security

Attention

Sense of autonomy

and control

Emotional intimacy

Feeling part of ....

Privacy

Sense of status

Sense of competence

Meaning & purpose

Nourishing & Depleting Activities

Nourishing Activities

Activities that make us feel good, add to us and nourish us

emotionally

Depleting Activities

Activities make us feel bad, take away from us and drain us

emotionally

Try listing all of your activities on the average day and check

how many are nourishing & how many are depleting?

Some Benefits of Mindfulness

Reducing anxiety, stress and

irritability

Improving mood

Reducing worrying

Improving memory, focus of

attention and concentration

Connecting better with

ourselves and our feelings

Communicating better with

others

Supporting the immune system

and the body’s natural healing

processes

Improving our sleeping pattern

Reducing pain and physical

discomfort

Contributing to a sense of

fulfilment and a satisfied life

Courses Available

Mindfulness – An Introduction

◦ Two day introductory course

Mindfulness for Professional Practice

◦ Five day course focused on training professionals to integrate Mindfulness into their day-to-day work

Contact jos368@gmail.com for

further information

Course Teacher - James O’Shea

James is a mindfulness teacher, counsellor /therapist, clinical

supervisor and experienced healthcare professional. He has

worked for over 30 years across a diverse range of mental

health and educational settings.

His qualifications include: MA (Supervision), MA (Education),

Hdip (Education), BSc (Counselling/Psychotherapy), HGdip

(Counselling), Prof. dip (Addiction Counselling), Prof cert

Mindfulness Teaching (IMA), RPN, RGN (NMBI), BACP

(Registered), ACI (Accredited), MINT Member.

References & Resources Bowen,S. Chawla, N. & Marlatt,A. (2011) Mindfulness Based Relapse Prevention for Addictive

Behaviours, London, Guilford.

Coelho, H. F., Canter, P.H.: Ernst, E. (2013)’Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy: Evaluating Current Evidence and Informing Future Research’, Psychology of Consciousness: Theory, Research, and Practice, Vol 1, (S), 97-107.

Hofmann, S., G.: Sawyer, A., T.,Witt, A. A. et al (2010) ‘The Effect of Mindfulness-Based Therapy on Anxiety and Depression: A Meta-Analytic Review’, Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, Vol 78(2), Apr 2010, 169-183.

Kabat-Zinn, J. (2013) Full Catastrophe Living: Using the Wisdom of Your Body and Mind to Face Stress, Pain and Illness, New York, Bantham Books.

Melbourne Academic Mindfulness Interest Group (2006), ‘Mindfulness-based Psychotherapies: a Review of Conceptual Foundations, Empirical Evidence and Practical Considerations’, Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, Volume 40, Issue 4, pages 285-294.

Segal, Z., Willams, M & Teasedale,J. (2013) Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy for Depression, London, Guilford.

Stahl, B., Meleo-Myler, F and Kaerbel, L (2014) A Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction Workbook for Anxiety, Aakland, CC, New Harbinger.

Teasedale, J., Williams, M. and Segal, Z (2014) The Mindful Way Workbook: An 8 Week Program to Free Yourself From Depression and Emotional Distress. London, Routhldge.

Williams, M & Penman, D. (2011) Mindfulness: A Practical Guide to Finding Peace in a Frantic World, London, Piatkus.

Zeidana, F., Johnson,S.K, Diamond, B.J. et al. (2010), ‘Mindfulness Meditation Improves Cognition: Evidence of Brief Mental Training’, Consciousness and Cognition, Volume 19, Issue 2, Pages 597– 60