Mindfulness is a type of meditation practice that involves awareness of the present moment without judgment. Jon Kabat-Zinn, the founder of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, defines mindfulness as being fully awake in our lives. It is about perceiving the exquisite vividness of each moment.

Q: How can I cultivate mindfulness into daily life?

A: Mindfulness is a lot like weightlifting. Typically, you practice mindfulness in short, timed sessions, such as three to five minutes per session, once a day. You choose a focus point, such as breathing, walking, eating, listening or looking, and you bring yourself back to the focus point when you notice your mind wandering. As you continue practicing mindfulness, sessions become longer. You will also notice that you are more mindful in general life. This is similar to weightlifting in that, as you increase the number of repetitions or amount of weight, you will notice that everyday tasks such as carrying groceries become easier.

Q: How does mindfulness reduce stress in my life?

A: Being present in the moment allows you to function in the moment. Much of the stress in our lives comes from ruminating over things that happened in the past or worrying about what has not happened yet in the future. When we connect with the present, we choose meaningful behaviors for the present. This connectedness reduces stress.

For example, if you are worrying about what to make for supper tonight, you are not present to enjoy your breakfast. If you eat your breakfast too quickly, you might become hungry earlier than normal, which could lead you to snack on junk food during the day. If you snack on junk food, you might start judging yourself (Why do I always eat junk?), which could make you feel guilty. Feeling guilty takes a lot of mental energy, which could lead you to other bad decisions (e.g., Well, I already messed up my diet today; I might as well order pizza, instead).

In this example, simply being mindful during breakfast could help you avoid the other pitfalls. There are many other situations in which mindful behaviors help reduce stress, and there is significant research support for mindfulness practice for stress reduction.

Q: Can cultivating mindfulness in my life help with anxiety?

A: Anxiety often takes the form of future-based worry, which is sometimes called catastrophizing. Generally, our fear or worry of what might happen in the future is much worse than the actual feared situation, such as thinking about getting a flu shot versus actually getting the flu shot. When we are fearful of something, we typically try to avoid that situation, which can lead to additional problems such as avoiding the flu shot and subsequently getting the flu.

Mindfulness helps us to focus on the present moment, which generally is not nearly as painful as anxiety makes it out to be. This way, our brain can learn to lessen the focus on anxious thoughts and focus on the actual moments of peace and comfort that we have during the day.

Dr. Marie Schaaf Gallagher is a psychologist at Sanford Seventh and Rosser Clinic in Bismarck. She completed her undergraduate and masters degrees from North Dakota State University in Fargo and received her doctorate degree from University of South Dakota in Vermillion, S.D.

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