LIBrezine LRC TOP 5 MINDFUL & WELL- BEING BOOKS
EAST MEETS WEST
MINDFUL of Madness 2019 Edition
BE MINDFUL OF MINDFULNESS
ART AS THERAPY
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LRC mindful & well-being books Be Mindful of mindfulness LRC Favourite Wellbeing Apps Art as Therapy Antenatal yoga east meets west mindful crossword exercise & mental health Know your chakras Mindful colouring page
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rc Mindful & ell-being Books
by Rachel Webb
The LRC have been lucky enough to stock their shelves with a range of books and resources aimed to promote mental health awareness and provide the college with opportunities to improve their own mental health with guides on techniques such as mindfulness. Here are just a few
‘A Mindfulness Guide for the Frazzled’ by Ruby Wax. American actress/comedian/neuroscientist Ruby Wax is well known for her work in promoting mental health and is now a well-established author of the subject. This particular book offers readers an accessible guide to mindfulness, showing us how to de-frazzle our lives by making simple and easy changes that give us time to breathe, reflect and live in the moment. You’ve nothing to lose but your stress... ‘This is happening: redesigning mindfulness for our very modern lives’ by Rohan Gunatillake Written by Rohan Gunatillake, creator of the best-selling buddhify app, this book argues that to lead more mindful, calm and happy lives, switching off is the last thing we need to do. Instead he gives you the ideas, principles and techniques to bring awareness, composure and kindness to wherever you are and whatever you are doing. Filled with over sixty practical execises which you can plug into your life straight away, the book’s mobile mindfulness approach presents a way to get the benefits from meditation, however busy your life is. 4
‘The little book of mindfulness: 10 minutes a day to less stress, more peace’ by Patrizia Collard This little book of mindfulness is a beautifully colourillustrated book of 40 easy ways to be mindful every day, in just 10 minute periods. If you’re unfamiliar with the practices of mindfulness, this is a perfect place to start.
‘Mindfulness: a practical guide to finding peace in a frantic world’ (CD) by J. Mark G. Williams and Danny Penman This book and CD package looks at mindfulness and the secrets of lifelong happiness, providing a unique and inspiring programme developed by Oxford University, designed for anyone who wishes to improve their mental health. The programme also provides a summary behind the science of using mindfulness as a means to regain a sense of purpose and acts as a practical and easy guide on how to free yourself from anxiety and stress. ‘Reasons to Stay Alive’ by Matt Haig ‘Reasons to Stay Alive’ is more than a memoir. It is a book about making the most of your time on earth. Aged 24, Matt Haig’s world caved in. He could see no way to go on living. This is the true story of how he came through crisis, triumphed over an illness that almost destroyed him and learned to live again. A moving, funny and joyous exploration of how to live better, love better and feel more alive.
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eing mindful of indfulness By Sarah White
Mindfulness is promoted by businesses and the media as a practice that can relieve the symptoms of stress, and mental and physical illnesses. It is the practice of being ‘fully present’, which means taking a moment to stop and focus on your body in the space around you, without being overwhelmed by negative thoughts. Many people practice mindfulness when meditating, which has since boomed in popularity and is now available in schools, at work or through smartphone apps. However, critics claim that mindfulness has been largely misconceived as an alternative treatment to medically approved therapies and other traditional medicine. They suggest that this may have a negative impact on those with serious mental illnesses, who opt to meditate instead of consulting a medical professional about their symptoms.
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So what can mindfulness do for us, and are there any potential dangers? The Mental Health Foundation promotes mindfulness as a way to manage wellbeing, including stress, anxiety, depression and addiction. They even suggest that mindfulness can help with physical problems such as hypertension, heart disease and chronic pain. However, many medical professionals have criticised the sensationalism of mindfulness. They claim that mindfulness is under-researched and therefore should not be offered as a treatment for serious medical disorders. Critics state that it is still scientifically unclear how mindfulness affects our bodies, if at all positively. (The Washington Post, 2018) One thing that is clear is that mindfulness is a big money making business. One quick Google search will lead you to a multitude of online courses that claim to redesign the way you think, all for a price.
The most popular smartphone app, Calm, boasts over one million subscriptions and is now valued to be worth over $1 billion. (CNBC. com) Critics have since questioned the morality of selling under researched, unsupervised, pseudo-therapy to the public. One critic has examined how businesses have adopted meditation within workplaces to cut costs of staff wellbeing and development. Poor mental health in staff is estimated to cost employers between £33-£42 million in the UK, due to stressinduced staff absences and low productivity. Instead of removing the sources of stress, some employers encourage staff to meditate or perform group mindfulness sessions in lieu of traditional staff training and development, thus ‘solving’ two problems in one action. (Will Davies, 2016) Most distressingly, stories of meditation triggering mental illness have emerged. One woman was sent on a mindfulness course by her work and found that the sessions caused her past trauma to resurface. She had a mental breakdown, spent three months in a psychiatric unit and became an alcohol addict.
Another person with no previous mental health issues became dissociated with herself after a meditation retreat, resulting in her being treated for psychotic depression for the next 15 years. (Guardian, 2016) So how can we practice mindfulness safely? Many professionals agree that mindfulness can be beneficial for people suffering from stress, and as a complementary exercise to patients undergoing Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy (CBT), but it should never substitute approved treatments. (NHS, 2017) Florian Ruths, a mindfulness psychiatrist, suggests that those who are interested in practicing mindfulness should always meditate in moderation, and preferably under the supervision of a guided professional. (Guardian, 2016) In all, mindfulness may not be a cure, but it does offer relief for some symptoms of illness and a quiet space for inner reflection away from the stresses of the world. With more research and safe practice, mindfulness has the potential to help many people across the world.
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RC Favourite ell-being apps
The following apps can help with managing general well-being and with specific health concerns. These apps may be useful but they are not a replacement for seeking medical advice. If you have concerns about any symptoms you are experiencing, seek professional help.
SilverCloud For Mental Wellbeing (free to use)
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• SilverCloud is an online interactive programme that allows you to manage stress, anxiety and depression. • You will find yourself working through a number of topics selected by a therapist to focus on your specific needs. • It is suitable for people aged 16 years and over. • It uses cognitive behavioural therapy to help change the way you think and feel in order to manage your problems. • Rating: 3.5/5
• The app is designed to help you meditate and encourage mindfulness. • Meditation is a tool that can help you be more relaxed and stress less. • The app will help you relax with guided meditations and mindfulness techniques that will bring calm, wellness and balance to your life • The free basic pack is a 10-day beginner’s course that will help you learn how to • mediate and teach you the essentials of mindfulness. • Rating: 5/5
Headspace Guided Meditation (free to use)
NHS
For Depression & Anxiety (free to use)
• Free NHS mental health and well-being app • Designed to help reduce stress, anxiety and depression • App includes advice on how to improve your mental health, as well as tips and tools to boost your wellbeing • With this app, you can keep a record of your feelings to track your mood, get advice on stress, depression and anxiety, find out their symptoms, and get support when experiencing a mental health crisis. • The app also offers a feature that allows you to relax and unwind with their audio tracks. • Rating: 4/5
• This app is said to be the number 1 app for stress, anxiety and depression with a supportive community base. • It helps you to manage your daily mental health by offering tools that will help you track your mood, mindfulness meditation and your overall health. • The mood & health tracking feature allows you to identify certain habits and their causes. • The ability to track your sleep, exercise and caffeine intake in this feature is particularly good for improving your physical wellbeing. • Rating: 5/5
Pacifica
For Physical Wellbeing (free to use)
All apps are available to download on the App Store or Google Play. By Huriyyah Patel 9
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rt as Therepy with becks keegan
Students and staff created salt paintings in college for Mental Health Week. The idea was to take a little time out to relax and enjoy the process of creating something new. When the paintings were finished, some of them reminded us of the sea and water, the sky, abstract landscapes and others abstracted patterns with beautiful colours. How to create your own salt painting! What you will need: • Watercolour paper • Paintbrush • Liquid watercolours • Pipettes • Salt Method 1.Brush water onto your watercolour paper. 2.Drop on your liquid watercolour paint, as the paper is wet, the colours should spread easily. 3.Sprinkle on the salt while it’s all still wet and watch as it creates
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interesting effects. Tip - If the painting starts to dry and you’ve not finished just add a little more water to help the salt and paints blend.
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ntenatal yoga
The Experience of a first time mum-to-be By Becks Keegan
What’s it like? It’s a great opportunity to understand more about yourself and prepare for the birth of your baby. It’s also a good chance to meet and connect with other mums-to-be in the local area. How it starts: The sessions are at a gentle pace, going around the class checking in with each other. The teacher has a good knowledge of pregnancy and can offer general advice, for example, on how to sleep better on your side. What we have covered in class: • Breathing techniques to help with relaxation including those you can use in labour. • Massage techniques • Yoga positions and stretches; with antenatal yoga - some of these are aimed at helping baby into a good position ready for labour. We some times use large birthing/exercise balls.
I have already used these techniques for stretches, which can help with back and hip pains. How it ends: The session normally ends with unwinding, resting under blankets while the teacher guides us to relax different parts of the body, breath, and uses guided visualisations, for example, letting your mind visit a beautiful beach or meadow. Would you recommend it? Definitely! It’s at a much slower pace compared to the aquanatal class I go to, which focuses more on exercise. The antenatal yoga does involve stretches but it is more of a chance to learn about the different ways to help overcome any pregnancy pains and prepare for labour. 11
E
ast meets West
ancient practices for today
Healing the self has become more popular than ever in western mainstream society and it seems like everyone, from babies to pensioners are being influenced by it. So whether you’re into Yoga, Meditation, Reiki, Crystal Therapy, Chanting, or simply enjoy hugging trees, be sure to know that you’re not alone…new age thinking is now everywhere we turn. Most of the practises have travelled over from the east and many are thousands of years old. Take yoga for example, which has been around in India for at least 5000 years – possibly even longer due to ancient carvings found in the Indus Valley depicting the various poses and practices.
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There are lots of different types of yoga which have originally derived from the three major practices of Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism, although the modern term we tend to use in the west is derived from ‘Hatha Yoga’ which relates to the asanas (various postures for stretching the body and sitting in meditation). Ayurveda has also made its way over from the Indus Valley and is a system of alternative medicine which was mythically a transmission of medical knowledge from the Gods to the sages and then to human doctors...or so the story goes. The foundation of ayurveda is based on the three ‘Doshas’ which are energy forces within the body - Vatta (wind), Pitta (fire) and Kapha (water). The idea is all about balancing the doshas with their physiological functions and bringing back the harmony in people’s life by simply counteracting certain lifestyle choices with new foods, herbs and experiences.
Ayurveda has also been around since the vedic times of India (3500 years ago) where history and knowledge was passed down through the sutras, which are a type of ancient and medieval text. The sacred vedas are a huge collection of hymns, texts, poems, prayers and formulas. Many sutras consist of a few words or syllables of which any subject can be taught. Many are often sung as they pass through the generations, like the ‘Rigveda’ for example, which is a sanskrit collection of vedic hymns. Buddhism has also become more popular within the west, although again its roots are from Asia.
Buddhism has been around since the time of Gautama Buddha who was born near the border of India and Nepal around 2500 years ago. His teachings are still taught today and can be accepted as pretty authentic due to the suttas, which are again passed down through the oral teaching of chanting. The basic ideology of the Buddhists is that we are suffering here in the ‘Samsara’ (death & rebirth cycle) clinging onto the material, which we need to liberate whilst on the path to ‘Nirvana’. Nirvana is the cessation of existing in the Samsara. So I hope this little taster session on a few eastern practices hasn’t blown your mind too much and remember that most ideas or concepts are just that. Be sure to always read between the lines and do your homework before you convince yourself that what you read or hear is the truth. Always make sure you are objective with your research before you follow or get involved with certain groups or practices. By Zoe Rothwell
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EN out wiith Becky’s rossword
ACROSS 6. Taking action to preserve or improve one’s own health. (4,4) 8. An uncomfortable feeling of nervousness or worry about something that is happening or might happen in the future. 10. Both spiritual and physical. This discipline uses breathing techniques, exercise and meditation. 11. The scientific study of the way the human mind works and how it influences behavior. 13. Being conscious or aware of something. 15. To focus one’s mind for a period of time, in silence or with the aid of chanting, for religious or spiritual purposes or as a method of relaxation. 16. A state of feeling very unhappy and anxious. 19. The quality of being kind and thinking about other people’s needs. 20. Agreeing that something is satisfactory or right.
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DOWN 1. The state of being comfortable, healthy, or happy. 2. Being calm, peaceful, and trouble free. 3. Knowledge or perception of a situation or fact. 4. Being kind and giving emotional support to others. 5. A pleasant activity that makes you become calm and less worried. 7. Physical activity that you do to make your body strong and healthy. 9. The state of being happy. 12. The act of thinking about something or someone carefully. 14. Not causing or feeling any stress.(6, 4) 15. Healthiness of the mind. 17. The act or process of taking air into your lungs and releasing it. 18. The way you feel at a particular time.
15 ANSWERS 1 down – wellbeing 2 down – serenity 3 down – awareness 4 down – caring 5 down – relaxation 6 across – self-care
7 down – exercise 8 across – anxiety 9 down – happiness 10 across – yoga 11 across – psychology 12 down – consideration 13 across – mindfulness
14 down – stress-free 15 across – meditation 15 down - mentalhealth 16 across – depression 17 down – breathing 18 down – mood 19 across – thoughtfulness 20 across - acceptance
By Rebecca Davison
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xercise & Mental Health
How it Works Exercise makes you feel good because it releases endorphins and Current treatments for serotonin (happy chemicals) that mental health issues offered by the improve your mood and reduce NHS are: stress. The vigorous movement pumps • Talking therapy blood to the brain, which can • Cognitive behaviour therapy make you think more clearly. It • Medication increases the size of the hippocam• Antidepressants pus, the part of the brain respon• Antipsychotics sible for memory. It also increases • Sleeping pills and minor tran- the connections between the nerve quillisers cells in the brain. This improves • Mood stabilisers your memory and helps protect • Arts and creative therapies your brain against injury and Complementary and alternative therapies: • • • • • •
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Yoga Meditation Aromatherapy Hypnotherapy Acupuncture Herbal remedies
However, there is increasing evidence suggesting that physical exercise has beneficial effects on both your physical and mental health. It has shown to reduce anxiety, depression, ADHD and negative mood and improves selfesteem and cognitive functioning.
disease. Sleep and the quality of sleep will improve too, which has a knockon effect on your overall health. Start Exercising The UK Government recommends 2.5 hours of moderate exercise per week split over several days. If you join a club or group, it will also reduce the feeling of isolation and loneliness. One study found that
increasing your activity levels from doing nothing to exercising at least three times a week, reduces the risk of depression by up to 30%. When you’re feeling down or in a low mood, the last thing you will want to do is physical exercise. You may be feeling tired or demotivated. Start with something you feel you can do, something you can achieve, such as a brisk walk around the block. You could then build up to a jog over a couple of weeks. Exercising with a friend is great for motivation; you can encourage one another and you won’t want to let them down. Before you know it, your exercising will become a routine or habit; something you do without too much thinking or
effort. Make a point of noticing how you feel when you have finished your exercise. You’ll probably be glad it’s over, but you will certainly feel good about it too.
Classes at Bolton One Monday Pilates 10:45 - 11:30 Zumba 17:15 - 18:30 Yogalates 18:30 - 19:15 Wednesday Yoga 10:00 - 11:00 Aqua Aerobics 11:00 - 11:45 Tuesday Aqua Aerobics 11:00 - 11:45 / 19:30 - 20:30 Yoga 12:15 - 13:00 Thursday Supple Strength 10:00 - 10:45 Point to Remember Physical exercise is great if you are having a bad day or temporary low mood and can lift you out of these feelings. However, although physical exercise will help all mental health sufferers, it is important to remember that conventional treatments are still necessary for more severe mental health problems as well as exercise. The LRC has a large number of books on mental health, available for loan from the first floor LRC. By Janette Davies 17
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now your chakras
inner energy fields & colour chart
By Zoe Rothwell 18
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he LRC Mindful olouring Page
By Sarah White
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Join Bolton College LRC in Celebration on 27/6/19 at 5.30pm in Diversity