developing mental resilience to cope with life experiences (‘ dis.tress ')?
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Developing Mental Resilience to Cope with Life Experiences (‘ Dis.tress ')? BL, Singapore, June 2009. “ i am not ok.” – mental dis …tress …our Habitual reaction to life’s events. External negative ‘events’ – Instinctive reaction – Fight or Flight Survival of self and others (Basic) - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Developing Mental Resilience to Cope with Life Experiences (‘Dis.tress')? BL, Singapore, June 2009
“I AM NOT OK.” – MENTAL DIS…TRESS…OUR HABITUAL REACTION TO LIFE’S EVENTS
External negative ‘events’ – Instinctive reaction – Fight or Flight Survival of self and others (Basic)
DIS…tress – Agitation of mind (psychological) Emotional agitation (emotion - a mental and
physiological state associated with a wide variety of feelings, thoughts, and behaviour)
Internal negative ‘events’ – Habitual reaction Unable to Battle or Flee ‘the exhaustion funnel’
“Slight pain we can endure but we hope that severe ones will be brief.”
WORRY AND ANXIETYSOURCES OF DIS…TRESS
Worrying: Is ‘mind-made’. Is a lasting preoccupation with past or future negative
events: Reliving the past – remorse, lamentation – diminished self-
esteem Living out a future – anxiety and fear – confusion
Can create emotional dis…tress: Extreme ambiguity creates intolerable anxiety (a defused
feeling) We develop ways to alleviate anxiety:
Technology – overcome nature (harnessing for benefit of all) Law and rules – relationship with people (values and ethical
bahaviour) ‘Religion’ – relating to transcendental forces (virtuous and
wholesome mind)
OUR EXPERIENCE…SHOT BY AN ARROW
Experience –
*Labels and Concepts – Coloured by our: Views and perceptions, and Intention
“Men decide far more problems by hate, love, lust, rage, sorrow, joy, hope, fear, illusion, or some other inward emotion, than by reality, authority, any legal standard, judicial precedent, or statute.” Cicero
Events
Interpretation*
Habitual ReactionEmotions
Romancing the
Emotions
THE PATH TO MINDFULNESSEXAMPLE OF HABITUAL REACTION TO
PROBLEMS
Emotions & Mood
i.e. Grief, Fear and Anger
Anxiety
Dissatisfaction
Despair
SYMPTOMS OF
STRESS
HABITUAL REACTION
Our Habitual ways of solving problems invariably end up making
things worse. E.g. suppressing, finding distractions etc.
Compulsive
Behavior
Addiction
Obsession
Life was to be searched or nothing!But it was
the fear that it was
nothing that drove me forward.
Every encounter
was an encounter
with myself.”- John Le
Carre-
MIND-BODY INTERDEPENDENCE…BEING A LIFEGUARD
Experience – It is both mind and body: Sustaining Well-being –
An undefeated mind, and In the pink of health
Responsibility – Mental development Physical health Well-being - Both… with an open heart (motivation)
BARE ATTENTION…AN ELEPHANT?
Consciousness –
Feeling (pleasant, neutral, unpleasant) ------------------------------------------------------ Perception (coloured by views) Mental volition (reactive or responsive) Consciousness
“All action is of the mind and the mirror of the mind is the face, its index the eyes.” Cicero
THE PATH TO MINDFULNESS
Emotions & Mood
i.e. Grief, Fear and Anger
Anxiety
Dissatisfaction
Despair
SYMPTOMS OF
STRESS
HABITUAL REACTION
Our Habitual ways of solving problems invariably end up making
things worse. E.g. suppressing, finding distractions etc.
Compulsive
Behavior
Addiction
ObsessionSTOP!!
TOOLBOX: MINDFULNESS – A PARTICULAR FORM OF AWARENESS
OBJECTIVE: “SETTLING THE MIND IN ITS NATRUAL STATE”
APPROPRIATE RESPONSE…HAVING A RIGHT TEACHER
Meditation – An endogenous body-mind approach for developing personal resilience. Calm abiding – composing the mind:
Chatter Sloth
Introspection – insights of nature, relationships and self: Attachment Aversion Self-doubt
Establishing right mindfulness – Mindfulness is mental state, characterized by calm awareness of one's body functions, feelings, content of consciousness, or consciousness itself. It is appropriate attention, and involves the qualities of being: Mindful (keep remembering) Alert (clearly knowing) Ardent (effort with skill)
“A mind without instruction can no more bear fruit than can a field, however fertile, without cultivation.” [Cicero]
THE PATH TO MINDFULNESSEXAMPLE OF HABITUAL REACTION TO
PROBLEMS
Emotions & Mood
i.e. Grief, Fear and Anger
Anxiety
Dissatisfaction
Despair
SYMPTOMS OF
STRESS
Suspend judgement temporarily
Open-Mindedn
ess
Compassion for
Self
Patience
Engage wholeheartedly in the practice with gentle persistence.
A TASTE OF MINDFULNESS How?
It is purely experiential (just being), and Being engaged in introspection (going ‘inside’).
Function: To disengage the pattern of mental activity
(processes) by severing the link between - Mood (mirage-like) and negative feelings Unpleasant emotion and depressive state of mind (illusion-
like)
A Taste of Mindfulness
CHANGE IS POSSIBLE – PROCESS WORK…FROM HABITUAL REACTION TO APPROPRIATE ATTENTION
Developing mental resilience and overcoming mental rigidity through: Mindfulness cultivation
Meditation on the Four Virtues: Loving-kindness, compassion, appreciative joy and equanimity Attenuating self-centered-ness (‘I’) -
Attachment Aversion
Managing polarities: ‘Yin and yang’, ‘chi’, ‘prana’ Realign and unite body, mind and spirit – eg yoga, tai chi, TCM
HINDRANCES TO CONCENTRATION
Overcoming the five hindrances to developing appropriate attention: Sensual desire (attachment, obsession)
Ill will (aversion, lacking goodwill)
Sloth and torpor (dullness, apathy)
Restlessness and anxiety (out there)
Doubt (causality, present moment)
THE BENEFITS OF MINDFULNESSA PROCESS CHANGE
i.e. feelings, thoughts,
behaviour and attitude
DEVELOP RESILIENCE AND WELL-
BEINGi.e. confidence,
good health, etc.GRADUAL CHANGE FROM HABITUAL
BEHAVIOUR
CULTURAL ORIENTATION[RICHARD E. NISBETT]
EAST Self-control
Family and friends Member of collective
social network Harmony Holistic - Senses and
interdependence ‘Tao’ and change Logic - Linear and
either/or
No mind - analogue
WEST Control of others and
environment Plays and poetry Individual talent and
agency
Liberty Atomized - Form/ideas
and reality based on attributes
‘Soul’ and static Logic - Cyclical and
both/neither Mind - digital
MINDFULNESS TAKEAWAY
2.BODY ACTIVITY
Eating mindfully3.
MINDThoug
hts using
analytical
approach
4.INTERDEPENDEN
CY
1. BODY SENSATIONSScanning and Breath
MINDFULNESS TOOLBOX
“Simplicity is the most difficult thing to secure in this world. It is the last limit of experience and the last effort
of genius.” [George Sand]
EQUANIMITY……WHAT IS THE TASTE OF SALT?
To have evenness of mind under stress A habit of mind that is only rarely disturbed under great
strain To be free of emotional and mental agitation by an effort of
will or as a matter of habit To be cool and steadfast under strain
"I am angry and resentful, because I feel rejected, offended, betrayed, sidelined, outcast, annihilated...... unloved and unappreciated. "
[Ayya Kema]“A life of peace, purity, and refinement leads to a calm and untroubled old age.”
[Cicero]
HOW DO I KNOW I AM MAKING PROGRESS?
Taking responsibility for one’s own
deeds(accountability)
Being free of fear
(selflessness)
OUR DAILY LIFE… FREE TO DECIDE…AN OSTRIDGE
Body – Seeing, listening, smelling, touching, tasting Driving, teaching, authoring, movie making Walk, jog, swim, sport, rock climb, yoga, tai chi, silat,
pilates Read, music, paint, sew, cook, parenting, care-giving, acts
of charity A small act of random kindness
Speech – In conversation
Mind – Aspiration, thoughts and intention
Rest and sleep – Does the mind ‘rest’ in sleep?
RISK CONSIDERATIONS ‘Flooding’, or the experience of emotions that are too
difficult to process on your own
Skills in attention and concentration can lead to an over-developed competitive and materialistic drive
Introspective skills can lead to a tendency to withdraw from life experience (cynical and aloof) as opposed to fully engaging in it
Suppression of difficult emotions as opposed to awareness of them can be a byproduct of a misunderstanding of the process of mindful awareness
[Susan K Greenland]
CLINICAL INTERVENTIONS INCORPORATING MEDITATION
Some well-known techniques to reduce pain, stress and social anxiety
disorders, regulate emotions, and increase well-being: Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, Jon Kabat-
Zinn (30 years) A technique combining mindfulness practice and yoga to
reduce stress (emotional) and chronic pain Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy, Segal,
Teasdale, Williams A method of psychotherapy which blends features of cognitive
therapy with mindfulness techniques to help prevent relapse into depression
Dialectic Behavioral Therapy, Marsha M. Linehan A method that combines standard cognitive-behavioral
techniques for emotion with concepts of mindful awareness and acceptance to help borderline personality disorders
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Hayes, Strosahl, Wilson
A clinical practice incorporating mindfulness techniques
EMOTIONAL REGULATION AND SELF PROCESSING
Some Research Findings of Clinical Interventions Incorporating Mindfulness:
Enhancement of emotion regulation – cognitive, attention (alerting, re-orienting, executive control), distraction
Enhancement of Self Processing – reduction in neural bases of analytic/narrative self – Analytic/narrative self – past- future oriented, fixed self-concept (conceptual notion), rumination Experiential self – present moment focused, continuously changing experience of self, reduced over-generalized memory, i.e. reduced depression (over-coloured past experiences – lose specificity), and anxiety[Watkins and Teasdale]
Neural synchrony of brain systems (considered by some to be the neural correlate of consciousness)