During Steve's talk on Depression he spoke about Mindfulness as a means to overcome Depression and Stress. Afterward we
He arranged for his colleagues Emma, Clair and Kate to come and give us a talk on the subject. The ladies used two diagrams to illustrate the talk. One was what they called the "Jelly Man". They drew a picture of a man on the whiteboard to describe how depression or stress can affect the various parts of the body. Starting at the head with headaches, Heart palpitations and shortness of breath, Stomach upset, going back and fore to the toilet more often and shaky legs (that is where the jelly man comes in).
The second diagram they drew was of a triangle. Starting at the apex with
Thoughts <>Feelings <> Behaviour
Once your mind starts going around the triangle the faster and faster it seems to go. Our worries build until we can’t cope As with the fire triangle (Fuel <> heat <> Oxygen), you break the triangle to put the fire out. Break the mind triangle to combat depression and stress.
Mindfulness is our natural ability to be aware of or hold thoughts, feelings, sound, how our body feels and the environment.
Rather than worrying about what has or might happen. When we concentrate on the present we deal with whatever is happening not worrying about what might happen.
We also had a chance to practice Mindfulness by listening to a 10 minute tape helping us to meditate and to concentrate on different parts of our body, our breathing, sounds or images. Using Mindfulness as a way of calming our mind and dealing with depression and stress.
We found it a interesting and pleasant experience