German Association for Occupational Therapy (DVE)
Karlovy Vary (ots)
Mindfulness training and increasing mindfulness in everyday life are important in order, among other things, to reduce or cope with stress and excessive demands or to prevent them from arising in the first place. “Mindfulness means being consciously open to experiencing the current moment, switching off the autopilot, noticing feelings and realizing, for example, that not all tasks and problems can be completed and solved at once,” explains Christian Dreher. The occupational therapist in the DVE (Deutscher Verband Ergotherapie eV) has developed the concept of “experiencing mindfulness”. A manual and working materials accompany the program, which makes the topic of “mindfulness” easily accessible, is flexible and is suitable for everyone, including people with mental stress.
Being in the moment sounds easy, but it’s not. Most people often hang their thoughts in either the past or the future. Or they do several things at the same time, with the consequence of not being fully involved in anything. “Everyone is familiar with it: the radio or music is on at breakfast while the news is checked on the smartphone at the same time,” says occupational therapist Christian Dreher, describing how many people start their day in autopilot mode. Everyone knows: Nothing really stuck, neither how the breakfast tasted nor the further information and news in their entirety and abundance. Switching back and forth means you’re not really going anywhere. Mindfulness, on the other hand, means, in contrast to autopilot: Directing attention to where the person wants it. So act consciously and live in awareness, soften entrenched behavior and thought patterns and transform them into flexible actions and reactions.
Mindfulness means arousing curiosity and being open
With this and similar examples, the occupational therapist first illustrates in his group intervention “Experiencing mindfulness” how many experience their everyday life with little mindfulness. He explains the elements of mindfulness and encourages the participants to be curious and try not to judge things. At the same time he refers to the difficulty of not evaluating. A common definition of mindfulness includes the element of non-judging, but this can lead people to think they are doing something wrong when and because they are judging something or others. But no one can turn off that completely, the judging. Therefore, in his occupational therapy-based group intervention, Dreher suggests: “It is better to be aware of the assessment, to be aware that the assessment that the head is making here is something of one’s own, something individual”. And to accept that and at the same time to be open to it. Prepared in this way, the first exercise begins: thinking. For Dreher, that means staying seated and considering what is happening, what movements are being made, what is happening in the body, in the legs, the hips, the upper body and breathing. Then the theory is put into practice. Mindful walking in space with the goal of walking, i.e. not to arrive, but to perceive. What are the feet doing, what is the rest of the body? This is followed by reflection under the guidance of the occupational therapist. What did the individual experience, where did “real” walking deviate from the idea of walking? It’s about sharpening the experience and arousing curiosity, allowing openness. And to discuss: How do the participants experience well-known things? A realization that everyone shares: With curiosity or the spirit of research, a new perspective is possible and the “researcher mode” guarantees, as it were, mindfulness.
Slow down everyday life thanks to mindfulness
What’s the point? “Mindfulness and being focused on the current moment limits the demands on ourselves,” says occupational therapist Christian Dreher, going back to another example. For example, if you start jogging and think about the entire route that needs to be covered, you create “a mountain” in your head and ask yourself whether you can reach the goal. On the other hand, if you manage to draw attention to your body, you are more likely to focus on the current experience – on the step you are currently taking. For example, if the first signs of overexertion appear, the person can react immediately and slow down until their pulse or breathing returns to normal. “It’s an excellent method of establishing a moment-by-moment perception; it allows you to do all tasks at your own pace and with the given skills without overtaxing yourself,” confirms the occupational therapist how it works, more relaxed thanks to mindfulness to be successful and to accomplish the tasks of daily life more easily. “A lot is a matter of the mind,” explains the occupational therapist. This is also part of his group concept for more mindfulness: the topic “Inner Observer” revolves around the advantages of observing inner events instead of letting them get too close to you. Thoughts play an important role in this. The occupational therapist shows the participants that the thoughts are not reality, but just thoughts that arise in the head. It enables the participants to become aware of this status of thoughts again and again and thus to develop a much more relaxed approach to their own mental cinema.
Topics of the occupational therapy group intervention “Experiencing mindfulness”
The topics that Christian Dreher and other trained occupational therapists offer in a flexible sequence are, in addition to the aforementioned “autopilot”, which occupies two units, and the “inner observer”, one unit “current moment”. The participants in this occupational therapy group intervention practice focusing on the moment and not dwelling on the past and future so much. The theme of “willingness to experience”, which is about openness, curiosity and perception, extends over three units; there is also an “acceptance” unit. Turner only touches on the topic of “self-compassion” in one unit to give impulses and food for thought, because this topic should be deepened and worked on extensively if necessary. Those who do not treat themselves well, do not listen to inner signals, risk being overwhelmed, which can lead to mental stress and illness. Even if the occupational therapist devotes only one intervention unit to this important topic, he/she makes the participants aware of the role that feelings play and how important it is to perceive them. “Feelings want to be felt,” says occupational therapist Christian Dreher, citing a psychological insight that those who would like to run away from certain feelings and therefore suppress them initially do not like.
Get to know your own thoughts and feelings better for more mindfulness
Feelings are signals that want to move people to do something. Certain feelings, especially fear, had the purpose of preserving one’s own life in ancient times. “Being lunch or having lunch – eat or be eaten”: fear, for example of the saber-tooth tiger, was a vital feeling. However, this feeling of fear is still anchored in very old parts of the human brain and so it happens that this feeling arises even though in reality there is no real danger. It is only the thoughts that frighten people and, in the worst case, lead to anxiety disorders. The perfidious thing, however, is that if you don’t deal with these feelings, you suppress them, you perpetuate them, and they can even worsen. All feelings come again and again until the person concerned begins to endure the unpleasant feelings. Not being able to endure, suppressing or pushing away feelings leads to numbing. But not only the numbing of fear or other unpleasant feelings, but a general numbing. Even the nice feelings flatten out. Mindfulness is therefore also important at this point: perceive which feelings are arising and how do I deal with them, how can I feel them and live with them instead of suppressing and avoiding them. The latter only makes sense to prevent worse – such as self-harming behavior. “All of this requires continuous training, “experiencing mindfulness” can be a basis for this,” summarizes the occupational therapist Christian Dreher and finally emphasizes that all exercises and changes are practical and suitable for everyday use, following an important occupational therapy principle. The program, which was originally designed for mentally ill people, can be part of inpatient or semi-inpatient treatment by occupational therapists in a medical context, for example. The same applies to use in work rehabilitation, day care centers or residential facilities or for psychological and functional treatment prescribed by doctors or psychotherapists. In addition, this form of mindfulness training is an adequate tool for companies as part of corporate health management. Contact: [email protected]
Information material on the diverse topics of occupational therapy is available from the occupational therapists on site; Occupational therapists near your place of residence on the association’s homepage at https://dve.info/service/therapeutensuche
Press contact:
Angelika Reinecke, German Occupational Therapy Association (DVE),
[email protected]
Original content from: Deutscher Verband Ergotherapie eV (DVE), transmitted by news aktuell
