To listen to this podcast, please click on the following link : https://1drv.ms/u/s!Am9fBR4s_n_wk0PufkIllW0KMj0f
Hello everyone, we are Louis and Pauline and we welcome you to this mindfulness podcast. It aims to inform and raise awareness about the principle and the benefits of mindfulness in therapy, Now more than ever, she shows a particular interest in the care of patients.
Mindfulness is based on three basic principles, attention, attitude and intention.
First, attention is the fixing and focusing of attention on an object such as the body or even the breath. This makes it possible to develop great flexibility through an attentional switch mechanism. In fact, when the subject feels his attention is diverted towards negative thoughts, the return by attentional switch mechanism to bodily sensations will allow him to regain a state of balance. This attention is maintained in the present moment in order to limit the automatic piloting of thoughts as well as the ruminations that cause disturbing thoughts in many mental illnesses. This attention must not be conceptualizing or discriminative, that is to say that the subject must not compare, categorize or even evaluate what he perceives. He must observe his thoughts as they are, without attempting to evaluate, explain or modify them.
The second principle is that of attitude. She must be open and curious. Curiosity about the content of thoughts, about emotions as well as sensations. The subject must adopt an attitude of non-judgment, non-attachment and acceptance. It is about accepting one’s thoughts without judging them, allowing the manifestation of the emotions and sensations associated with one’s thoughts. This then makes it possible to distance oneself from thoughts to reduce their impact, we will speak of adaptive distance. It will be about investing in an attitude of non-mental rumination. Ruminations are repetitive negative thoughts that can be found in many pathologies such as phobias, obsessive-compulsive disorder, sleep disorders and stress. The subject is invited to change his relation to thoughts, using non-reactive observation of ruminations, without believing or being absorbed in it. Thus, the subject will be led to consider thoughts for what they are, that is, simple mental constructs that have no acquired value of truth.
The last fundamental principle is Intention. That is to say the commitment to a health approach and practice. The patient is invited to perform mindfulness meditation on his own on a regular and prolonged basis. This obviously raises the question of therapeutic compliance. It is therefore essential that this patient be able to motivate himself or be able to be accompanied regularly by the therapist.
The point that I would like to emphasize with you today is the relation to thoughts. This relationship was conceptualized as cognitive fusion by Hayes in his concept of cognitive flexibility. Cognitive fusion is the fact of becoming one with one’s cognitions, of considering that they are true and that they are necessarily evocative of meaning which will lead to conditioned and aversive emotional and behavioral reactions. Conversely, defusion translates into the ability to distance oneself from one’s own thoughts and view them as mere mental events. This will therefore reduce the impact of these thoughts on the subject’s psychic life and reduce negative affects. Mindfulness can therefore be considered as training in cognitive defusion. Ultimately, this training induces greater cognitive flexibility, it means a greater ability to tolerate mental events and therefore to adapt to the external environment without too much difficulty.
I would also like to emphasize one point. Mindfulness is not just a strategy for regulating emotions and cannot be viewed as a strategy for avoiding suffering. Indeed, during the session, the subject comes into confrontation with his pathology, his intrusive thoughts, the suffering that emanates from them and many psychological and physiological symptoms. Mindfulness therefore promotes exposure to the reality of experience. This type of practice will ultimately allow the extinction of fear responses and avoidance behaviors by welcoming the experience, sensations, emotions and associated cognitions.
To conclude, mindfulness can be seen as a process of metacognitive coping allowing a new perception and understanding of the mental experience. These strategies can be central in the treatment of certain pathologies such as phobias. However, this is by no means a silver bullet. It requires training, regular practice as well as sufficient intellectual and cognitive resources.
Hope you learned something from this podcast, we’ll meet again for a new topic very soon, bye.