A Critical Self-Assessment Of Personal And Experiential Engagement With Mindfulness-Based Positive Psychological Practices

The Development of Mindfulness in Psychology

Mindfulness is empirically and theoretically linked to psychological well-being. The aspect of mindfulness includes the non-judgmental and the awareness of an individual’s day to day experiences. These aspects are considered as the potential in impacting the antidotes contrary to the usual forms associated with the psychological distress, fear and the anxiety. Many of these mindfulness aspects are involved in the maladaptive propensity to suppress or avoid distressing emotions and thoughts. Integrating mindfulness into the psychology is dated back to the year 1950-1960s. In spite of mindfulness research beginning in the year 1960. The mindfulness medication studies started in the year 1970. It was until then when mindfulness was integrated into medication as an intervention to facilitate the psychological wellbeing. Through the use of mindfulness associated principles and several interventions were developed later (Davidson et al.,2003)

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  These interventions are like MBCT also referred to as mindfulness- Based cognitive therapy, DBT (Dialectical Behavior therapy), ATC (Acceptance commitment therapy). The primary objective of this essay is to provide a critical reflection upon chosen experiential resources. Then integrate a discussion of the experiences with a sound reading of the relevant positive psychological, academic literature (Zeidan, Johnson,  Diamond & Goolkasian, 2010)

 In the modern Western societies, mindfulness is a practice that has been cultivated and applied in a wide range of contexts. These contexts include self-experiences, self-exploration, and transformation. There are some research studies about mindfulness and self-associate it to self-acceptance, self-compassion, self-perspective change, self-consciousness, self-concepts, and self-reconstruction. The growth of researchers and reviews in the clinical practices have proven that mindfulness in medication provides a significant effect in reducing psychological and the physical symptoms  (Speca, Carlson,  Goodey  & Angen, 2000)

 Mindfulness contributes to the improved growth of the mental well being and increases self-knowledge. On the other side, it was recommended that mindfulness medication engagement or the interventions are linked to enhanced confident self- attitude like self-kindness, indifference, and the self-compassion. In a positive sense, some of the above discussed positive transformations within self-attitude could be seen quantitively. For instance, it has been proven that self-compassion in the medication focus may facilitate a self-kindness to an individual with the highest level of self-critics and shame (Garland, Gaylord, Boettiger & Howard, 2010)

The mindful is not similar to the development of ego of the theory of positive disintegration. Ego development is understood as a trait with five major inherent features. That is the autonomy, individuality, and self-commitment. Ego development tries to explain the stages of the growth in a way differentiate people of personal experiences in life. However, the method lacks a clear difference between form and context and any generous nature to different levels (Robins, Keng, Ekblad & Brantley, 2012).

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Mindfulness-Based Interventions and Positive Psychological Outcomes

 Positive disintegration theory describes the mechanism of mental development by outlining different processes of psychological life. The approach emphasizes the need of emotions the self-development in adults. The process has significantly helped in understanding and compiling my own inner experiences  

 There a definite difference was seen between the self and the quiet ego. The quiet ego is defined as the well neutral ground in which the individual seeks an integrated as well as self-identity when interacting with other individuals. The quiet ego is not just focused on the self. But it also can incorporate other individuals and still maintain on the self-identity. The quiet ego is made up of four characteristics. These are the interdependence, detached awareness, growth which implies the development of self and other people, family compassion that entails empathy and happiness. The ego theory put more emphasis on the balance between the growth of the self and others. Different researchers of the quiet ego think that if an ego becomes entirely for a very long period, it can be suppressed and so its identity  (Rerup, 2005).

 The mindfulness can be viewed as state-like equality or a positive self-attitude that insists on progressive self-insights. Self-awareness and integration in a lifetime perception in acknowledging of that a real self could be a transformation process. The more a person has a higher internalization and integration of mindfulness, the more flexible and a mature the person could be regarding behaviors and in mind.

  The dispositional mindfulness refers to person’s tendency or the ability to adhere to mindful states for an absolute time limit constituted by continuous well-developed attention and the inhibitory understood as the trait. The dispositional mindfulness benefits quiet range of both social and psychological outcome, for example, increased self-esteem, reduced adverse effects and a high number.

 Furthermore, it’s proven that mindfulness can be related to a decline in self-identification against self-image, the moderate defensive trend against a low ego-involvement. Subsequently, mindfulness defensive advocates self-knowledge that is the self-knowledge of nature and the satisfactory experiences. Also, it raises one’s capability to begin the adventures of dynamic transformations other than the unchanging and constant entity. That means the gradual change implied perspectives and self-concepts at the self-qualitative stage. According to (van der Zwan, Vente, Huizink, Bögels, & de Bruin,2017) with mindfulness, a self-referential scene is diminished while a person experiences become augmented. Mindfulness can transform the style of self-concentration. It is proven that mindfulness medication makes a person fully aware and partially attentive to everything is happening with no investment or judgment. The self-focus, therefore, leads to clearness and correctness in individual’s opinion and perception. In this clearness, a repeated process arise in the sense of self is observed in the medication.

Quiet Ego and Mindfulness

A health professional should utilize mindfulness practice as a way of coming up with a resilience.one should be able to improve the ability to listen and be competitive to self and also to others. A qualified medical officer with mindfulness training can evaluate warning signs of stress in the patient and use his or her mindfulness experience to manage and control them effectively. The critical determinants of a positive therapeutic result are through the described data that suggest the quality of therapy knowledge and personal therapist characteristics (Grossman, 2008). The variance that occurs in the outcomes of a therapeutic operation depends on the therapeutic relationship especially the therapist and the client. The state of mindfulness is a measure that has been found to affect the relationship between the healthcare practitioner and therapist with their emotional life. Research has found that the premedical and medical students training in stress reduction based on mindfulness were able to reduce their depression and distress and increase their intellect. The counseling students teaching on another stress reduction based on mindfulness program were discovered to have a significant decrease in adverse influence, stress, rumination and trait and state anxiety (Astin, 1997). These students also showed an increase in self- love and positive effect. The research on therapist who meditate on client’s outcomes should know that mindfulness to therapist to have the ability to get knowledge and communicate and show the inner experiences of the clients and indicate the client’s suffering while helping the client to express their body feelings and sensations (Geschwind,  Peeters, Drukker, van, & Wichers, 2011).

A study conducted on doctoral students participating in mindfulness training shown an increased report of participator’s mindfulness abilities. These include skills to examine internal phenomena and their self- affectionate ratings. Mindfulness practice has been found to nature the compassion for person and empathy to others. The counseling students’ state of mindfulness were found to be a prediction of self- efficacy, and understanding and was connected to the capacity to steer the attention (Peterson, & Pbert, 1992). Mindfulness does promote therapeutic operation as it can increase response flexibility and increase the empathy.

 The presence of mindfulness meditation by the beginning therapist could result to therapeutic presence. The consent of mindfulness practice has been found to help the counseling students in training to relate to others and also to themselves with acceptance, empathy, and genuineness. Mindfulness helps the students in learning how self- care practice could help to prevent burnout, compassion fatigue and traumatization experiences. The importance of mindfulness practice has been seen to be influential to all partakers of the therapeutic association. A study carried out to investigate the benefits of mindfulness showed that the patient whose care was taken by non- meditative trainees scored lower than those care was being made by meditating psychotherapist trainees. The study of mindfulness was carried out under the following measures; subjective experiences, global functioning and on the symptoms improvement checklist (Walach,  Buchheld,  Buttenmüller, Kleinknecht & Schmidt, 2006). These studies concluded that the most effective way to improve on the therapeutic relationship is through teachings of mindfulness strategies. In the most recent years, the researchers have shown the essence of including mindfulness practice to the therapist to improve the therapeutic relationship.

Dispositional Mindfulness and Psychological Outcome

Through various seminars in mindfulness medication, have developed a capacity of self-regulation and the attention in cultivating the insights that regard necessary procedures in identity. The knowledge and the skills here helped in handling different patients like people living with cancer patients. The essential components of mindfulness in medication has a particular salience towards a cancer patient. The origin of stress among the cancer people can be linked to past experiences. These experiences may include the characteristics associated with the causes of cancer or the regrets that result from the opportunities in life (Jain et al.,2007)

Other anxieties related to future expectations like pain suffering and the loss of life. The exercises of mindfulness offer some powerful antidotes to the origin of stress in cancer individuals. These stresses lie in their memories and imaginations through focusing on present experiences. Many of the cancer individuals are interested in the mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) originates from the beliefs that an individual with cancer might have resulted from the expectations from the stress and other psychological factors. Through mindfulness-based stress reduction, awareness has been raised to these cancer patients on how they should moderate their levels of anxiety. The knowledge has greatly helped in dealing with the side effects associated with the cancer infections. These side effects are the pain and nausea. Thus, allowing them to assume their active roles and also act to their daily routines (Jha, Stanley, Kiyonaga, Wong & Gelfand, 2010)

 MBSR readiness in these aspects in very many ways. Therefore, adapting to the practices and the attitudes of the acceptance that holds the experiences and helping in giving up to the imperative feelings. Accepting and facing the skills as they are calls for patients to some of the limitations and losses. These losses and constraints create a ground for personal expression in enhancing self-efficacy.

The other central part of mindfulness is based on the character strengths. Some of these characters facilitate the practices of mindfulness and the results of its methods. Some of the programs within the mindfulness-based practices are sited meditation, the body scan, meditation while eating and the mindful walk. The aware body scan invites individuals for curiosity and the compassionate about its practice. The kindness directed to one’s self is the central part of the meditation practices.  The next commonly used method is the few little space breath. The practice involves the tuning to the present conditions. Breath focusing and then the expansion of the awareness within the body. It can be attributed to the methods of three unique strengths. These include one for the curiosity, self-regulation at the concentration stage and different perspectives. The mindful walk is assigned to the way one can activate the behaviors associated with the wellbeing and the energy (Miller, Fletcher & Kabat-Zinn, 1995)

Mindfulness and Self-Transformation

In conclusion, mindfulness has provided many opportunities in expressing the strengths and the work within the emerging contextual minor distinctions. The empirical research members are left with many questions which require answers. One of them is whether focusing on the traits strengths improves those strengths. Mindfulness helps the individuals to enhance the powers and also express their value for another individual.

References

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Davidson, R. J., Kabat-Zinn, J., Schumacher, J., Rosenkranz, M., Muller, D., Santorelli, S. F., … & Sheridan, J. F. (2003). Alterations in brain and immune function produced by mindfulness meditation. Psychosomatic medicine, 65(4), 564-570.

Garland, E. L., Gaylord, S. A., Boettiger, C. A., & Howard, M. O. (2010). Mindfulness training modifies cognitive, affective, and physiological mechanisms implicated in alcohol dependence: results of a randomized controlled pilot trial. Journal of psychoactive drugs, 42(2), 177-192.

Geschwind, N., Peeters, F., Drukker, M., van Os, J., & Wichers, M. (2011). Mindfulness training increases momentary positive emotions and reward experience in adults vulnerable to depression: a randomized controlled trial. Journal of consulting and clinical psychology, 79(5), 618.

Grossman, P. (2008). On measuring mindfulness in psychosomatic and psychological research. Journal of psychosomatic research, 64(4), 405-408.

Jain, S., Shapiro, S. L., Swanick, S., Roesch, S. C., Mills, P. J., Bell, I., & Schwartz, G. E. (2007). A randomized controlled trial of mindfulness meditation versus relaxation training: effects on distress, positive states of mind, rumination, and distraction. Annals of behavioral medicine, 33(1), 11-21.

Jha, A. P., Stanley, E. A., Kiyonaga, A., Wong, L., & Gelfand, L. (2010). Examining the protective effects of mindfulness training on working memory capacity and affective experience. Emotion, 10(1), 54.

Miller, J. J., Fletcher, K., & Kabat-Zinn, J. (1995). Three-year follow-up and clinical implications of a mindfulness meditation-based stress reduction intervention in the treatment of anxiety disorders. General hospital psychiatry, 17(3), 192-200.

Peterson, L. G., & Pbert, L. (1992). Effectiveness of a meditation-based stress reduction program in the treatment of anxiety disorders. Am J Psychiatry, 149(7), 936-943.

Rerup, C. (2005). Learning from past experience: Footnotes on mindfulness and habitual entrepreneurship. Scandinavian Journal of Management, 21(4), 451-472.

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Speca, M., Carlson, L. E., Goodey, E., & Angen, M. (2000). A randomized, wait-list controlled clinical trial: the effect of a mindfulness meditation-based stress reduction program on mood and symptoms of stress in cancer outpatients. Psychosomatic medicine, 62(5), 613-622.

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