Better Choices = Better Health

     "The power of man has grown in every sphere, except over himself." Winston Churchill

     “... the choices we make and the habits (automatic patterns) we develop in life will largely determine our health, well-being and how long and how well we live. …

     … it’s not the occasional conscious indiscretion that undermines our health so much as the continual, erosive effect of our automatic, habitual patterns. … Ignorance is not bliss – it leads to negative health and serious problems. Walter M. “Personal Resilience. The New Field of Lifestyle Medicine.” RTI Ottawa 1994.

     Mindfulness is a state of being “that emerges through paying attention on purpose, in the present moment, and nonjudgmentally to the unfolding of experience moment by moment.” (Kabat-Zinn 2003) Mindfulness training “increases awareness of thoughts, emotions, and maladaptive ways of responding to stress, thereby helping participants learn to cope with stress in healthier, more effective ways.” (Bishop et al 2004) 

“This is in contrast to a common mode of attention, which is argued to be generally ‘non-mindful,’ involving a sense of being on ‘automatic pilot’ or reacting habitually and automatically to life situations.

A growing body of literature, including several meta-analytic investigations, supports the efficacy of mindfulness interventions for reducing anxiety, depression, and distress, along with enhancing well-being and psychological health.” Del Re AC, Flückiger C, Goldberg SB, Hoyt WT. Monitoring mindfulness practice quality: An important consideration in mindfulness practice, Psychotherapy Research 2012 DOI:10.1080/10503307.2012.729275

     You may wish to try one of the mindfulness meditation exercises supplied by the Department of Family Medicine, School of Medicine & Public Health, University of Wisconsin: http://www.fammed.wisc.edu/our-department/media/mindfulness

Photo: Vittorio Fracassi   www.dpreview.com