​"Slow down 
​Won't you stay here
​ a minute more
I know you want to walk
through the door
But it's all too fast
Let's make it last a little while."
-Nichole Nordeman 

​Mindfulness

Many clients ask what mindfulness means. A simple answer is to be fully present and attending to what is happening, and to what you are doing in the moment. That might sound simple, but it is often very difficult for many clients who present with anxiety, which often has it's root in trauma of various kinds. Our mind can take flight, lose touch with our bodies and pretty soon we are engrossed in obsessive thoughts about something that just happened or fretting about the future. And that makes us anxious.

Learning the practice of mindfulness is extremely helpful for both individuals and couples who struggle from trauma in their past that often leads to anxiety. Learning the techniques of mindfulness are also extremely helpful for couples in which one of both have a diagnosis of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Teaching couples to be reflective versus reactive is a powerful technique in helping couples break an often destructive cycle of communication and conflict, that is being fueled by reactions coming from the limbic system of a traumatized brain. These reactions are often not conscious. 

This page will contain resources so you as a client can learn to practice these at home. The title of the song above is called Slow Down. Trauma survivors often have a hard time slowing down. They find themselves in a constant state of frenzy going from one crisis to the next. They fill their schedule will non stop activity, not realizing that they are unconsciously communicating to their brain to be in a perpetual state of trauma. Learning to slow down is one of the keys to beginning to live a more mindful and reflective life. The song Slow Down speaks to a hard realization for many, that life goes by quick and before we know it, we have missed being present with the one's we love. We hope you take this to heart and you find this page to be helpful on your healing journey. 

​References

Mindfulness Meditation May Ease Anxiety, Mental Stress
How Does Mindfulness Reduce Anxiety at a Neural Level? 
​Using Mindfulness Meditation to Overcome Anxiety
Mindfulness Practice in the Treatment of Traumatic Stress
​The Science of Trauma, Mindfulness, and PTSD
​Mindsight by Dr. Dan Siegel
Mindfulness Meditation by Jon Kabat-Zinn
Mindful Magazine

​​Tip Sheets For Clients

What is Mindfulness?
Benefits of Mindfulness
Body Scan
Managing Stress
Mindful Breath
Mindful Eating
Mindful Moments
Mindfulness at Work
Origins of Mindfulness 

"In the end, just three things matter:
How well we have lived.
How well we have loved.
​How well we have learned to let go.”

- Jack Kornfield