Being Present In the New Year

Being Present in the New Year

​Written by Dr. Lindsay Tobin, PsyD
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As we find ourselves in month two of 2020 and the winter weather really kicks in we may find ourselves looking back on some of the goals we have resolved to achieve this year. Maybe we want to improve our health and fitness, spend less time on our phones, improve our relationships and deepen our connections. We may even have started out strong in January but find ourselves falling back into old routines and habits. We think to ourselves, “This happens every year. Why can’t I make these changes? What is wrong with me?” From there we spiral down the rabbit hole of self-criticism, reflecting on and reliving all of our perceived failures and short-comings. This year, let’s try something different. 

Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) provides us with tools that allow us to be more fully present in our lives, reducing depressive spirals into our pasts and anxious ruminations about our futures. MBCT is an evidence-based practice developed from Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR). MBSR was developed by Jon Kabat-Zinn at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center. MBCT helps individuals develop a different relationship with their thoughts and feelings. 

Lessons in Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) :
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• We learn that our thoughts and feelings are not ‘truth’ or ‘facts’, but rather passing mental events.

 

• We learn that we can choose to respond to our thoughts and feelings or allow them to pass.

 

• We learn the difference between ‘reacting’ and ‘responding’. 

 

• We learn about the difference between the ‘doing mode’ and the ‘being mode’. In turn, we can stay focused on our goals and develop improved relationships and time-management skills.

For more information or to start your own mindfulness journey following the MBCT approach, I highly recommend the book MIndfulness: An Eight-Week Plan for Finding Peace in a Frantic World, by Mark Williams and Danny Penman. Other resources include:

The Mindful Way Workbook: An 8-Week Program to Free Yourself from Depression and Emotional Distress, by John Teasdale, Mark Williams, Zindel Segal, and John Kabat-Zinn

Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for Depression, by Zindel Segal, Mark Williams, and John Teasdale

The Mindful Way THrough Depression: Freeing Yourself from Chronic Unhappiness, by Mark Williams, John Teasdale, Zindel Segal, and John Kabat-Zinn

The Mindful Catholic: Finding God One Moment at a Time, by Dr. Gregory Bottaro