108 Metaphors for Mindfulness by Arnie Kozak

Author:Arnie Kozak
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Wisdom Publications

58. Babysitting

Because you are an adult, you probably think your mind is adult too, and can function on its own without supervision. Of course we’d like to think our mind is mature, even sophisticated, but as often as not our mind may need some “babysitting” to keep it from getting into trouble.

A therapeutic intervention called Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) helps to prevent relapse of future depressive episodes in patients who have had multiple episodes of depression. To accomplish this, participants use mindfulness to monitor their thoughts and feelings. They learn the connection between sad feelings and thoughts that are associated with depression. Because these distorted thoughts can catalyze episodes of depression, it is imperative to notice what is happening in the mind at all times. Sad feelings are a normal part of life and are experienced by everyone. However, for someone who has experienced an episode of depression, these sad feelings can be the first step in a process that results in another episode of depression. When sadness arises, mindfulness is a babysitter. Mindfulness reminds the individual that sadness can be a normal feeling and that the thoughts arising in association with the sadness are just thoughts and not facts. Depression can be averted by feeling what is happening in the body in the moment and by not believing these thoughts or mistaking them for reality.

And you don’t even need to pay mindfulness $15 an hour for the service!

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