The mental benefits of mindfulness

By Shannon Swenson

Practicing mindfulness has many mental health benefits. And since mental and physical health are so intimately connected, the benefits work together to improve every aspect of your life.

The following are just a few mental benefits you can expect if you start a mindfulness practice.

Less Depression And Anxiety

A regular mindfulness practice can reduce the incidence of and severity of both depression and anxiety. All markers of these issues improve with a mindfulness practice. When coupled with other treatments such as cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), practicing mindfulness has also been shown to reduce the recurrence of both of these issues.

Lowered Stress Levels

Stress affects you both physically and mentally. One of the primary benefits of mindfulness is a reduction in the mental effects of stress. Overall stress levels are also lower in those who’ve been practicing mindfulness for a while.

Better Memory And Cognition

People who practice mindfulness show improved memory and stronger cognitive skills after just a few weeks of practice. Improvements are shown in recall, focus, processing speed, and more!

Improved Emotional Regulation

The focus on understanding your feelings and not getting overwhelmed that is a hallmark of mindfulness helps improve overall emotional regulation in those who do it regularly. Mindfulness has been shown to physically alter the areas of the brain responsible for regulating your feelings!

Decreased Negative Emotions

The number of overall negative emotions you experience decreases when you have a mindfulness practice. This includes more than just the depression and anxiety previously mentioned; it means that anger, self-doubt, sadness, and other such emotions all decrease when you maintain a mindfulness practice.

Stronger Relationships

Our relationships with other people are an important component of our mental health. We’re social creatures. You might think that something like mindfulness wouldn’t have effects that extend beyond ourselves, but you’d be wrong.

Researchers have shown that practicing mindfulness strengthens all of our personal relationships! This may be because the other benefits of mindfulness lead to more empathy and mental “space” to handle relationships.

Other Mental Health Conditions

Mindfulness has also been shown to treat many mental health issues, from substance abuse and eating disorders to more serious issues such as obsessive-compulsive disorder and borderline personality disorder.

There are different apps available to help practice mindfulness such as Headspace and Calm, but play with different options until you find one that works for you.

Longtime waitresses stand at a table at D. Michael B’s. Combined, the six women, from left, Erica Kerfeld, Angie Massmann, Stephanie Tilbury, Kelsey Wesen, Missy Wendt and Lisa Boots, have been waitressing for 125 years. All of those years have been for the Bistodeau family.

Lowell Anderson / Alexandria Echo Press