Could reading and watching tv be considered mindfulness?

[ordinaryordinary]

I’ve been doing Headspace recently as feeling very overwhelmed and stressed (aren’t we all). My mind just doesn’t stop, if I’m not stressing about something I am searching my mind trying to think of the next thing to stress about. A lot of the mindfulness stuff talks about quieting the mind, and it got me thinking that the only time my mind is quiet is when I am engrossed in a really good book or TV show/film. Could this be as good as mindfulness and meditation?

I’m thinking that we have so many distractions these days with the internet, social media, phones, that just sitting down to watch tv or read a book, and giving that thing your full attention, happens less and less for many of us, which is maybe why we’re all so stressed and need the mindfulness stuff!

er, no,won't fit the definition.
Mindfulness is supposed to be a huge heightened low stimulation inner awareness.

But if you find something that relaxes you & makes you happy then it's probably a good thing. Even if it doesn't attract a special label.

Maybe more ‘self-care’ then?

No.

These things are a distraction, but not mindfulness.

I don’t think I’m there yet with the mindfulness then! I’m just happy when my mind stops whirring at the moment!

No it's not mindfulness.
But I've had similar experiencs. I've been feeling so anxious. But found really concentrating on a TV show or a book has helped calm my mind. Often I'd watch TV and look at my phone or read at the same time. But just focusing on the TV has helped calm me alot.

Mindfulness is about regaining control of the whirring.
Taming the monkeys.

The act of mindfulness strengthens the ability to focus on other thoughts, to turn away from unpleasant thought patterns.

Like a muscle it takes practice, and gets stronger the more we do the exercises.

Nothing like watching TV, which is a passive activity.

And yes I agree- watching TV can help to calm and distract- certainly better than fretting and worrying.

I don't know anything about mindfulness but I highly recommend listening to audiobooks to help you go to sleep without your mind racing.
Take care

Thanks speakout that description really helps, I’m going to keep at it, I’m sure it will take time. Equally, I will give myself a pat on the back for every hour of a book or film I get through without my mind wandering!

Thanks all

Very short frequent exercises for mindfulness can be easier, and more effective.
Even just for 30 seconds, just a few times a day.
Can be done waiting in a supermarket line, at a bus stop, waiting for a kettle to boil.It can be hard to focus for long periods, but little and often can work really well.
Once we start opening up these new neural pathways and using them frequently they can start to become our default patterns, and much more pleasant than the anxiety trails that we slip into. With time the unpleasant routes will start to grass over and become more difficult to access.

You sound really knowledgeable, have you been practicing it long? Is Headspace a good place to start or can you recommend any other tips?

That’s how I truly relax. Can’t get into mindfulness. My mind wanders too much.

It's not mindfulness, but watching something like a film of waves on a beach with just the sound of the waves helps me. There are apps with sounds of the sea or rainfall, which can be calming to listen to.

I also like "slow TV". There was something on at Christmas which was hours of a team of reindeer walking in the snow- no music, no commentary, just the quiet scenery & gentle sounds of hooves on snow. Quite hypnotic & very peaceful.

If mindfulness is gaining control of the whirring and taming the monkeys then watching tv can put me in this state. If a production is exceptional I can lose myself, my mind doesn’t wander and I don’t relate what I’m seeing back to my experience. I feel relaxed after it. I don’t watch often but when I do, the inner chatter stops. Isn’t that what mindfulness is about? Listening to rainfall or waves on a beach does nothing for me

welliguessitwouldbenice

No mindfulness is not watching TV.

Otherwise GPs would be suggesting TV as a cure for anxiety.

TV is a temporary distraction, but does nothing to help the root problem.
Mindfulness is a way to retrain the brain from unhelpful thought patterns.

Mindfulness is a way to retrain the brain from unhelpful thought patterns.

CBT did that for me rather than mindfulness or MCBT. Now, when my mind buzzes, watching tv helps me relax and generally stops the buzzing. If the buzzing won’t stop I reach for my evidence box

Mindfulness is part of CBT though?

It can be but not the therapy I had. My therapist tried it with me and realised I was sat staring at her instead of listening to the noise in the corridor and the rain on the window

The core of my CBT was to ask myself “how true is that thought?”. It was active. Watching tv is passive and not a remedy for negative thoughts, but a route to relaxation when your mind needs to switch off

It's more like mindlessness (unless you're reading something academic) mindfulness involves focusing intensely on something but watching TV gets everything just fed into your mind with little thought involved.

There’s a good book called the art of rest, based on a two year study on 20,000 people I think.

From memory, people find reading the most relaxing thing, and TV came in at no.10

Mindfulness practices came somewhere in the middle, but the trouble with mindfulness is it is a very broad concept - a PP called it retraining the brain from unhelpful behaviours, but others would say it’s just c being in the moment.

Anyway, it’s a book worth reading.

Mindfulness practices came somewhere in the middle, but the trouble with mindfulness is it is a very broad concept - a PP called it retraining the brain from unhelpful behaviours, but others would say it’s just c being in the moment

CBT was the retraining for me, nothing akin to mindfulness. Watching tv is being in the moment for me

CBT is goal oriented, I didn't think mindfulness was goal oriented. Very opposite even.

I think I'd just dissolve into a panic attack if I sat still and let my brain have free reign. Sometimes, the stress is too much for being mindful, and distraction is the only remedy.
Get into podcasts as well OP, I'm almost never without a distraction some days. Just get through these times first, then move onto more advanced mindful skills. Xx

of course reading can be a form of mindfulness. If you are trying to bring on a certain state of mind this can be achieved by reading. of course it depends on what and how you read.