Mindfulness. Meditation for Caregivers: Remembering Ourselves While Caring For Others. Sue Matthews, PhD Licensed Psychologist.

Transcription

1 Mindfulness Presenter: Sue Matthews, PhD Licensed Psychologist Meditation for Caregivers: Remembering Ourselves While Caring For Others

2 Getting started A simple breathing exercise to get ourselves more fully here What brings you here today? Sharing what you hope for in choosing to be here

3 Objectives: To Define Mindfulness Meditation To Understand Potential Benefits for Caregivers To Know Ways To Practice Mindfulness Meditation To Have Resources to Learn More and To Support your Practice

4 Mindfulness Meditation Is: the disciplined focus of attention on the immediate experience of the hereand-now with a conscious attitude of curiosity, openness and acceptance; Just noticing all immediate sensations repeatedly Source: Bishop et al, 2004

5 Mindfulness Meditation Includes: Thoughts that will inevitably arise, with the practice of returning to focus on the immediate experience as soon as awareness is pulled into thinking. Practicing an attitude of gentleness towards this constant switching back to the present from the land of thought. Source: Bishop et al, 2004

6 Mindfulness Meditation includes: No attempt to suppress or judge the thoughts that arise, just a gentle openness to whatever comes in thought or in experience while at the same time ushering awareness back to the present moment. Source: Bishop et al, 2004

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8 Why Would Mindfulness Meditation Benefit Caregivers? 1. The essence of mindfulness is returning to your very own self, the passageway through which caring/love comes 2. Mindfulness has been shown to reduce stress: Caregiving can be stressful 3. Caregiving is the Serenity Prayer in action and Caregivers usually need help with the acceptance and letting go part

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10 SERENITY PRAYER God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference. --Reinhold Niebuhr

11 Healing is: coming to terms with things as they are, rather than struggling to force them to be as they once were, or as we would like them to be, to feel secure Jon Kabit-Zinn Founder: Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care and Society U. Mass Med School

12 Why Would Mindfulness Meditation Benefit Caregivers? 1. Some research shows people receiving care from caregivers trained in mindfulness are happier (Singh et al, 2010) 2. Mindfulness on the Soles of the Feet can be used to work with anger (Singh, 2003) 3. Mindfulness practice can lead to increase in brain gray matter associated with emotion regulation, self-referential processing, and perspective taking (Holzel et al, 2010)

13 Let s Try Walking Meditation:

14 Mindfulness Meditation Is: the clear and single-minded awareness of what actually happens to us and in us, at successive moments of perception. It is called bare because it attends just to the bare facts of perception as presented either through the five physical senses or through the mind - Nyanaponika Thera

15 Some specific resources: Newoldage.blogs.nytimes.com The Art of Contemplative Care: Pioneering Voices in Buddhist Chaplaincy (Wisdom Publications, 2012) The Emotional Survival Guide (Guilford Press, 2006) Mindfulness-Based Elder Care (Lucia McBee)

16 Centers with Classes: Emory Continuing Education ( has an excellent meditation class Shambhala Meditation Center ( Church St. Decatur, offers free introductory sessions ongoing weekly, open ended practice, in-depth classes Drepung Loseling Monastery ( is affiliated with Emory and offers introductory sessions and classes as well.

17 Books: Pebbles and Pearls: How to Apply a Meditative Practice in Your Workplace, Family and Everyday Life - Jon Kabat-Zinn Mindfulness for Beginners - Jon Kabat-Zinn Full Catastrophe Living - Jon Kabat-Zinn At Home In The Muddy Water; A guide to finding Peace Within Everyday Chaos - Ezra Bayda When Things Fall Apart - Pema Chodron Peace is Every Step -Thich Nat Hahn Dreaming Me: An African American Woman s Spiritual Journey - Jan Willis Buddha s Brain - Rick Hanson and Richard Mendius

18 Audio Tapes and Web Resources*: Knowing Yourself: Bodyscan - Sharon Salzburg Pebbles and Pearls - Jon Kabat-Zinn Being Present: Walking Meditation - Sharon Salzburg *Plug in any of the authors mentioned into YouTube and you can access many lectures and guided exercises

19 CREATE YOUR OWN CUES AND STRUCTURES 1. While Grooming, Self or Other 2. Early Morning Practice 3. One Minute per Hour 4. At Lunch 5. At Transitions 6. Any Time You Have to Wait 7. Use a Timer 8. Get a Bell 9. Whenever Walking, or Walk the Hall 10. Remember Nature 11. Pebbles 12. Schedule the Time

20 FSAP Core Services Behavioral Mental Health Education and Outreach Organizational Dynamics Health Promotion & Wellness Confidential, Professional Assistance Personal Counseling Career Counseling Work-Related Consultations Psychiatric Consultations Nutritional, Fitness, and Wellness Coaching On-Call 24/7 ( or 7-WELL) Hours of Operation 8:00-5:00 p.m. Some early morning and evening appointments available Available to Employees and Family Members

21 Mindfulness Let s Get Stopped!... S T O P Stop for a minute Take a breath, or two, or three Observe your sensations Proceed on your way On YouTube: Stop: A Short Mindfulness Practice