If you’ve been looking at my last few posts, you might be wondering where I’m going with it all. Why am I spending a lot of time discussing meditation? Why mindfulness? Why am I examining sound effects and music? Meditation and mindfulness are so similar to self-hypnosis that it’s worth looking at the whole area together. I run mindfulness group sessions and, where appropriate, I teach people self-hypnosis or how to meditate under their own initiative. Learning these techniques is empowering and can substantially improve the following:
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Stress
For example, see this study, which was based on the bemindfulonline course, found that people who took the mindfulness course reported a 58% reduction in anxiety, 57% reduction in depression and 40% reduction in stress. Based on these figures, and my own experience, this course is worth looking at; I took it in 2020 and noticed a big difference over several weeks. I still do some mindful activities every day, and my mood has increased significantly.
Once the course is finished, it can be beneficial to continue practicing mindfulness. The course authors have both published at least one book each, and I found both books accessible, easy to follow and useful. For example, this audiobook is really good, as Tessa herself narrates it, and I find her voice calming and relaxing. Ed’s book is also excellent, but I can’t find an audio version of it as of Feb 2022.
As well as the books, mindfulness group sessions can be a nice place to share the space with other like-minded people while encouraging each other and potentially making new friends. I run these periodically and I’m always open to considering running such groups on demand.
Now that you know even more about mindfulness, you’re ready to start giving it a go in your own way. Because we’ve looked at a range of research studies, we can conclude that mindfulness is a credible self-care option.