Mindfulness is the practice of being aware of the present moment. This practice allows people to become aware of thoughts, emotions, and body sensations from moment to moment. Mindfulness practice also involves doing one thing at a time. Because most of us are conditioned to doing several things at a time, we often do not notice the impact multitasking or mindlessness can have on us. While we pay attention to several different tasks, we often miss what is happening around us or inside of us. We can become accustomed to drowning out our internal or external experience while we multitask which can make it more challenging to experience things in our present moment. Increasing mindfulness in our lives helps us connect more with others, our surroundings, and ourselves. Interested in practicing mindfulness? Try these helpful tips!

1. Increase your awareness by keeping a daily gratitude journal or list. This practice increases your awareness of what you are grateful for in the moment which reduces suffering when negative experiences occur.
2. Take 5 minutes each day to sit quietly and focus on your breathing. This practice can help you stay in the present moment without getting distracted by thoughts, feelings, physical sensations, or external things.
3. Set a reminder on your phone to check in and ask yourself “what am I feeling?” Try to name the emotion. This practice can help you get in touch with your feelings by noticing and name the emotion.
4. Try a mindful body scan before bed. While lying in bed, take a few deep breaths and start to scan your body for any sensations. Start with your toes and work your way up to your head. Try not to hang on to any sensation, but instead, try to allow the sensation to come into your attention and move out of your attention freely.
5. Practice mindfulness with imagery. Try sitting quietly and becoming aware of any thoughts that arise. Imagine each thought as a cloud that is drifting through the sky. This practice can help you notice thoughts without attaching to them which can reduce the likelihood of overthinking, rumination, and suffering.

Mindfulness is a core component of Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT). By learning mindfulness, you can begin to implement other coping strategies to manage your emotions, tolerate painful emotions and experiences, and maintain healthy relationships. Interested in learning more about mindfulness or DBT? Contact The Summit Counseling Center by calling 678-893-5300 to schedule an appointment with an Intensively Trained DBT therapist or visit our website to learn more about our DBT program http://summitcounseling.org/dbt-program/