How Do Mindfulness and Relaxation Help with Mental Health?

If you want to improve your mental health, practicing mindfulness and relaxation can help.

What is Mindfulness?

Mindfulness is the practice of being present in the moment. Learning a few special techniques can help you understand your emotions better, cope better with challenging situations, feel more in control, boost concentration levels and assist you in forming healthier relationships.

Give Mindfulness a Try

You can try one mindfulness technique right now. Sit in a chair and put your feet flat on the floor. Now, close your eyes. Breathe in deeply through your nose and let the breath out slowly through your nose. Continue concentrating on your breathing for about five minutes. If negative thoughts try to enter your mind, make a quick mental note of them but continue focusing on your breathing.

Benefits of Mindfulness

Researchers at Mayo Clinic have discovered many benefits of practicing mindfulness regularly, including:
• Being more in control of your emotions
• Reducing job burnout
• Improving sleep
• Lowering blood pressure
• Controlling diabetes better

What is Relaxation?

Life can be very stressful. While it is often not possible to make stressful situations disappear, taking a break from them by giving yourself time to relax can help improve your mental health. You can define relaxation as giving yourself a break from tension and stress.

Give Relaxation a Try

There are many relaxation techniques you can try. One that you can do almost anywhere is to sit in a comfortable chair with your legs flat on the floor. Start by breathing in through your nose and slowly letting it out through your mouth. Now, with your arms hanging limply by your side, make a tight fist. Concentrate on the tension that you feel. Then, let it go and shake your hand a little. If you are still feeling tense, repeat on the other side.

Benefits of Relaxation:

There are many rewards for giving yourself time to relax regularly, including:
Decreasing your heart and respiration rate
• Lowering blood pressure
• Relaxing muscles
• Creating a calm environment
• Building your confidence
• Improving your coping skills
• Boosting your energy levels

If you find that mindfulness practice and relaxation aren’t having a positive impact on your mental health, or feel that you need more help, we invite you to contact American Behavioral Clinics today to set up a free initial consultation to talk with us.