Mood Swings by Caroline Mitchell

Author:Caroline Mitchell [Mitchell Caroline]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781847094605
Publisher: SPCK

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Practical mindfulness exercises for mood swings

This chapter contains guidance for mindfulness practice: it’s intended to be used as guidance only, rather than as a strict set of instructions that should be followed. Take some time to read it first, get familiar with what you need to do and then begin.

Before you start

Start with an open frame of mind, and don’t feel discouraged if there’s no immediate ‘cure’ for how you’re feeling as it takes time and effort. Don’t worry about how many times your attention wanders – that’s to be expected and provides more opportunities to train your brain to refocus. An idea of how you want your life to be different is important – why are you doing this; what changes do you want? To manage your mood swings better is a great goal in itself, but exactly what do you want to happen? Keeping a journal devoted to your experiences of mindfulness can be invaluable, allowing you to look back over the previous weeks, months and years. The book Sheldon Mindfulness: Keeping a Journal by Philip Cowell (see Further reading) explains the benefits of mindful journaling and how to approach the process so you get the most out of it. Maybe write some goals down in your journal and keep referring back to them, as this can help to clarify what you want to achieve. It’s worth thinking seriously about it, then approach mindfulness practice with an air of curiosity and see what happens!

Setting the scene

You don’t need a formal ‘therapy room’ for mindfulness: some quiet space anywhere you’re not likely to be disturbed will do. When you become more familiar with how mindfulness works, you can use all sorts of places, such as the garden, the far end of a car park, a park bench or even in the toilets at work! Put your phone on silent, switch the TV and radio off, make sure pets are out of the room and wear clothes that aren’t too tight. Maybe have a glass of water ready for afterwards, as focusing on your breath may make your throat dry.

Closing your eyes may help you connect with the emotional intensity. View strong emotions as waves. The power of even the strongest wave is not sustainable: a surge builds, the wave rises to a crescendo and then breaks and fades away. Similarly, the most intense emotion doesn’t last for ever, and you can learn to ride it out by viewing the waves as emotional periods that will pass. When you have successfully surfed another wave, congratulate yourself and know that you can handle the next one, as more waves will inevitably surface. As Kabat-Zinn has said:

You can’t stop the waves, but you can learn to surf.1

Setting a time limit when you’re starting out is useful – 10, 15 minutes or whatever you feel comfortable with. The traditional posture for meditation with your legs crossed sitting upright with your back straight is ideal because it helps with breath control, but if this isn’t comfortable, just sit as upright as possible.

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