To warn you about the dangers of practising mindfulness

[theymademejoin]

I brought the dogs for a walk in the woods yesterday. Decided to take the nice, smooth gravel path rather than one of the mud tracks, as it had been raining the previous day.

I had been reading about how you can practise mindfulness anywhere. Just be in the moment. Absorb with your senses. So, as the path was nice and smooth, with no roots or holes to trip me up, I decided to give it a go.

I wandered along, really seeing the dappled sunlight filtering through the treetops, really hearing the swoosh of the gentle breeze as it rustled through the leaves, really smelling the earthy fragrance of the loamy, damp, undergrowth when.........

Splash! I had wandered from the centre of the path into an ankle-deep, crater filled with mucky water at the side of the path. And best of all, I was about 30 minutes away from the car at this stage.

I was bloody mindful on the walk back. Mindful of the squelchy, squishy, horribleness that was my shoe. I think I'll stick to my normal heedless tramp through the woods in future. Or maybe wear wellies.

Any other tales of mindfulness gone wrong?

This ^

It might not help everybody, but we are all different. Even prescribed medication for anxiety and depression varies in effectiveness for different people. I know there are some who have tried it and not found it any use, but I can't help thinking that a lot of the people who summarily dismiss it as 'bollocks' don't really get it.

I had pretty bad postnatal anxiety. I am not at all 'woo' or new-agey or any of that nonsense. Mindfulness was a practical way of teaching myself to stop living in the whirl of panicky thoughts constantly going round in my head. I didn't go to a class or download an app. I simply read about the principles and applied them. It really really helped. If I ever feel myself getting panicky like that again, I go back to what I learned. On a more daily basis, I find it also made me a bit better at appreciating enjoyable moments, rather than always thinking ahead to the next thing I'm suppose to be doing. So that's a bonus too.

Just enjoy your lovely walk OP. Bollocks to being ‘mindful’ or anything other than what you are.

I say this as a meditator. I’ve done it daily for 8 years, and it’s important to me, but I chose to do it rather than it being presented as some kind of cure-all for mental health issues, stress or anxiety.

It’s not for everyone. Sometimes a nice walk is just a nice walk.