Anne Mader LMFT
  • Home
  • About Me
  • My Approach
  • Awareness, DBT and Mindfulness-Based Therapies
  • 6 Weeks Compassion Skills Class
  • Insurance, Payments and Policies
  • Office Location
  • Helpful Resources
  • TED Talks and other helpful Educational Videos to View
  • "Tools for Living" Blog
  • DBT Skills Group Participants
Search

You're Distracted. This Professor can Help

3/27/2013

0 Comments

 
Excellent article on raising awareness about digital tools (cellphones, email, FB, the Internet, etc) and distraction. (click on link below)       http://chronicle.com/article/Youre-Distracted-This/138079/%3E
0 Comments

Mindfulness defined

3/25/2013

0 Comments

 
Wise words on mindfulness by author and long-time meditation instructor Joseph Goldstein.

"Mindfulness is the quality and power of mind that is aware of what's happening — without judgment and without interference. It is like a mirror that simply reflects whatever comes before it. It serves us in the humblest ways, keeping us connected to brushing our teeth or having a cup of tea. It keeps us connected to the people around us, so that we're not simply rushing by them in the busyness of our lives.

We can start the practice of mindfulness meditation with the simple observation and feeling of each breath. Breathing in, we know we're breathing in; breathing out, we know we're breathing out. It's very simple, although not easy. After just a few breaths, we hop on trains of association, getting lost in plans, memories, judgments and fantasies.

This habit of wandering mind is very strong, even though our reveries are often not pleasant and sometimes not even true. As Mark Twain so aptly put it, "Some of the worst things in my life never happened." So we need to train our minds, coming back again and again to the breath, simply beginning again.

Slowly, though, our minds steady and we begin to experience some space of inner calm and peace. This environment of inner stillness makes possible a deeper investigation of our thoughts and emotions. What is a thought— that strange, ephemeral phenomenon that can so dominate our lives? When we look directly at a thought, we see that it is little more than nothing. Yet when it is unnoticed, it wields tremendous power.

Notice the difference between being lost in a thought and being mindful that we're thinking. Becoming aware of the thought is like waking up from a dream or coming out of a movie theater after being absorbed in the story. Through mindfulness, we gradually awaken from the movies of our minds."


Joseph Goldstein
0 Comments

3 Minute Breathing Space

3/17/2013

0 Comments

 
Picture
The 3 Minute Breathing Space is an effective tool for building in a momentary "pause" at any time during the day, helping us to re-balance and come out of Automatic Pilot mode. And in coming out of Automatic Pilot mode, we can be more in control of/have choice over our responses, come more into the present moment, interrupt unhelpful patterns of rumination, and reduce feelings of stress and overwhelm. You can take a 3 Minute Breathing Space momentary "pause" whenever you need to throughout your day. Research has shown that deciding when and where you are going to "do something" means you are more likely to follow through on your plan, so think about your "when" and "where" for your 3 Minute Breathing Space momentary "pause". You can even put a reminder alert on your phone or computer to help you remember.
Fun fact: You might notice your breathing naturally and easily slowing down, deepening as you take your 3 Minute Space momentary "pause"....this helps to down-regulate your central nervous system - as your outbreath lengthens and slows, so does your heartbeat.


How to take a 3 Minute Breathing Space (Each step lasts about a minute)


      Step 1 - Becoming Aware
      Start by finding a an alert, yet comfortable position for your
      body and close your eyes. (or if this is the first time you are
       doing the exercise, you can read the instructions to yourself and
        over time, adapt the excercise as you want to.)
        Become aware of your body, notice the sensations of your
        feet, your hands, the surface upon which you are sitting
        or standing. Gently bring your attention to your inner
        experience and acknowledge it, asking yourself "what am I
        experiencing right now?" Become a gentle observer, just noticing.
  • What thoughts are going through the mind right now? Are your thoughts fast or slow...past or present? Acknowledge your thoughts without trying to be drawn into them or push them away....an open, gentle awareness...noticing.
  • What feelings are here? Notice any feelings of discomfort or unpleasantness, acknowledging them without trying to make them different from how they are...holding them in gentle, open awareness.
  • What body sensations are here right now? Perhaps scan your body, noticing any places of tightness or bracing, acknowledging the sensations without trying to change them in any way. Allowing any sensations to float gently in your awareness.

    Step 2 - Gathering and Focusing Attention
    Now direct your attention to the physical sensations of your breath. Notice the physical sensations of the breath in the abdomen....expanding as the breath comes in....and falling back as the breath goes out. Following the breath all the way in, and all the way out. You may find it helpful to say to yourself "I am breathing in. I am breathing out. And if the mind wanders, gently bring your attention back to the breath, using the breath

    to anchor in the present moment.

    Step 3 - Expanding Attention
    Begin to expand your field of awareness around the breathing so it includes a sense of the body as a whole, your posture and your facial expression, the space around your body as if the whole body is breathing. If you become aware of any sensations of discomfort, tension, gently bring your awareness to the intensity of these sensations by imagining your breath could move into and around the sensations, befriending them, rather than trying to change them in any way. Allow your breath and awareness to hold these sensations gently...floating in your awareness. And then expand your breathe and awareness again to include the whole body.


    And as you are ready, gently begin to move your fingers...toes...body...and gently open your eyes.




0 Comments

    Archives

    July 2016
    July 2015
    March 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    November 2013
    October 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013

    Categories

    All
    Acceptance
    Awareness
    Breathe
    Choice
    Compassion
    Emotion
    Emotion Regulation
    Fear
    Gratitude
    Living And Dying
    Meaning In Life
    Mindfulness
    Non Judgemental
    Non-judgemental
    Positives
    Presence
    Rebalancing
    Relaxation
    Resilience
    Ted Talks
    Tools
    Video
    Vulnerability

    RSS Feed

104 S. Estes Dr, Ste 301W ~ Chapel Hill, NC, 27516 ~ 919-968-0231 ext 1 ~ www.annemaderlmft.com and FB @ Anne Mader, LMFT Psychotherapist