WELLBEING & RESILIENCE
Fast-track to Wellbeing WELLBEING & RESILIENCE COMMITTEE
E
njoying good mental health means feeling satisfied with where your life is heading, coping with the daily ups and downs, and being able to bounce back.1 It incorporates mental wellbeing (when people feel good and are able to realise their abilities, cope with the normal stresses of life and feel a sense of belonging in their community) and resilience (when people feel they have enough resources to bounce back from and grow after stress and adversity).2 If you could just do one thing every day to safeguard this, you’d do it, right? Let’s face it – everyone loves a shortcut… Matthew Iasiello and his colleagues at SAMHRI’s Wellbeing & Resilience Centre have been interested in this very question: what is the most effective way to protect and build our own mental wellbeing and resilience? Their research shows that there are many ways to build wellbeing, but one of the most effective methods is through a regular mindfulness practice. What does this really mean? I’m glad you asked. Being mindful is about being fully present in the moment, being aware of where we are and what we’re doing. I asked Matthew why he thinks mindfulness is so effective and he replied: “I think it’s because it gives us a moment to respond to the world, rather than react. It allows us that moment to notice our thoughts, without judgement, and evaluate whether they are useful for us or not. This can help us to regulate our negative emotions and be more self-compassionate.” Other reports about why mindfulness is so beneficial include: • Being mindful at work means focusing on one task at a time instead of multitasking. This makes it more likely you will be able to perform a task well.3 • Research suggests that mindfulness may help people cope with long-term health issues such as cancer, pain and depression. 4 • A growing number of law schools and law firms are teaching mindfulness tools for improved focus/ concentration, emotional regulation and the many other scientifically
22 THE BULLETIN May 2021
proven benefits.5 • It can improve work productivity by improving concentration.6 • Without an anchor to the present, minds can get overwhelmed by stress. Mindfulness is that anchor. By focussing on the present moment we can learn to let those stressful thoughts and feelings come and go without getting caught up in judging or controlling them.7 In other words, when we are in the present moment, regardless of how we get there, we are neither ruminating on the past nor worrying about the future. This is an effective antidote to symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress. It also improves our focus and our enjoyment of the activity we are engaging in. Clearly, although mindfulness might previously have been seen as a fairly fluffy concept, mainstream medicine is increasingly acknowledging its benefits. We don’t yet know whether some forms of mindfulness are particularly more effective than others – this will be the next step in the research. However, for now, we can all find a mindfulness practice which works for us in our daily lives. Yoga, meditation and tai chi are just a few of the options and they might not appeal to you. What about craft activities, practising an instrument, really focusing on your morning cup of coffee, baking, or going for a hike… There are many ways to incorporate mindfulness into your day and thus many pathways to its benefits. When asked about his personal favourites, Matthew said: “The great thing about mindfulness is that there are so many ways to practice it, and you can find a style that suits you best; whether it be following a guided online meditation, practicing yoga, mindfully being in nature or exercising. My personal favourite would be breathing exercises or guided progressive muscle relaxation.” If a structured approach works best for you, you might want to embark on a specific mindfulness-based program. Matthew and his colleagues have developed the Be Well Plan which
includes an individual approach to finding wellbeing exercises (including mindfulness) which work best for you. And remember: “Resilience really is an outcome, it is not just something you are born with or a trait. We all face stressful times and as long as we feel we can snap back to our previous selves fast enough then we are resilient. And this doesn’t mean you don’t experience distress, grief or any other negative states. That’s all part of being human. We just need to make sure it doesn’t keep us out of action forever.”8 Some members of the Wellbeing & Resilience Committee have shared their reflections on incorporating mindfulness into their lives: “After many years of trying (and failing!) to make it stick, I seem to have finally developed a daily meditation practice this year and I’m feeling a huge amount of benefit from it. First thing every day I sit for about 15 minutes and meditate, often using a guided meditation on the Calm app. Starting off my day this way was challenging at first, especially when life and work are busy, but it has become something I now really look forward to. I have found it makes me calmer overall and less reactive during the day, even when things get stressful.” – Rebecca Sandford If you are curious about meditation, you might like to check out the Netflix doco, “Headspace: Guide to Meditation”. “I am a keen cyclist and find that going for a ride for a couple of hours on the weekend can take the mind off what is whirring around in my head. It helps me operate ‘without too many tabs open’. In fact, I can tell if it has been more than a few days since I have done any exercise – the tabs start to slow down the computer!” – Tim Dibden
