Recommendation on Practicing Mindfulness

[Chupacabra 44]

I suffer bipolar, and everyone on my mental health team concluded that I lack mindfulness and am emotionally detached. And, not that I'm seeking a trophy, or anything, but my therapist told me that she had never seen anyone so detached from themselves as I apparent am/was. This was a few years ago, and I'm making progress, and by learning mindfulness I am now able to spot my ascending moods and to take preventive measures, before I'm boarding a plane on a whim for a month trip to China (true story). My huge issue is hypomania/mania.

My psychiatrist told me that mindfulness and meditation were going to be my best tools to better maintain balance vs medication. (A very and refreshing perspective from a psychiatrist, IMO).

In any event, this psychiatrist recommended only a single publication to educate me - the book is "Mind Over Mood". I was chatting with a member yesterday about practicing mindfulness and this person was unfamiliar. Hence, I'm posting this.

I grabbed an incredibly boring link below, because I didn't want to post a link from any given vendor - figured it might violate the forum rules. But, you can google to find better sites to read about this book.

Regardless, if you struggle getting a handle on your triggers for something like mania, as I used to, try practicing mindfulness. However, I'm certain if you are a good researcher then you don't need the book. But, for those who prefer information easily presented, I recommend this book. (And just FYi, I'm a researcher type). And, personally for my own style, I found the book a little sophomoric in that it is very visual; lots of charts, drawings, tables, etc. THIS IS A WORKBOOK.

Read the reviews on this book elsewhere before possibly making the investment to acquire it.

APA PsycNet

psycnet.apa.org

 

[mahakaliSS_MahaDurga]

Thank you for all the kind and helpful things you do for members of this forum.

 

[BitterlyAlive]

Yes, I second @mahakali88. You're such a kind person and always trying to help us out. It's much appreciated.

Your psychiatrist sounds incredible by the way. Medication isn't always the most helpful thing for one's situation, and I'm glad they encouraged you to try another solution. I find mindfulness to be very difficult and it seems like it causes me to feel more anxious and detached. I doubt I'm doing it properly, lol.

 

[Chupacabra 44]

Thank you for all the kind and helpful things you do for members of this forum.

Wow, thank you for the nice compliment!

Yes, I second @mahakali88. You're such a kind person and always trying to help us out. It's much appreciated.

Your psychiatrist sounds incredible by the way. Medication isn't always the most helpful thing for one's situation, and I'm glad they encouraged you to try another solution. I find mindfulness to be very difficult and it seems like it causes me to feel more anxious and detached. I doubt I'm doing it properly, lol.

There are some good free resources on line. When starting out I was taught to do little things like just focusing on breathing and noticing how the ground feels while walking. It has really helped me.

But, your answer is kind of how I feel about yoga I struggle to focus with yoga.

Yes, the psychiatrist was absolutely incredible. She was an absolute wonderful person. She was ivy league trained both for undergraduate and for med school and was incredibly humble. I kind of graduated from her program unfortunately after about 10 months so I had to see somebody else but I was really sad to have to move on from her because she was absolutely terrific.

 

[Chupacabra 44]

Easy to read synopsis on mindfulness and mental health.

Mindfulness

Mindfulness is a technique you can learn to be fully present and engaged in the moment without judging anything. It can help you manage your thoughts, feelings and mental health.

www.mentalhealth.org.uk

 

[Chupacabra 44]

My brother/sister meet with me yesterday for lunch/dinner. She and I both practice mindfulness, and she sent me these two lists. One is supposed to look at the list each morning to identify exactly what they are feeling. I'm going to do this a couple of times per day.

I'm thinking I'm going to print a couple copies of each and have these in my home, in my car, and maybe in my wallet to help me cross check what I'm feeling throughout the day. I'm eager to cross check what I'm feeling immediately after my next visit to the US Post office or the DMV (for those who live across the pond you wouldn't understand).

I'm curious if our site's forensic expert @Mm80 can identify the shade of nail polish worn by sister. @Mm80 has taken a strong interest in the field of forensic polish identification over the past 24 hours, for some unknown reason.

 

[Mm80]

My brother/sister meet with me yesterday for lunch/dinner. She and I both practice mindfulness, and she sent me these two lists. One is supposed to look at the list each morning to identify exactly what they are feeling. I'm going do this a couple of times per day.

I'm thinking I'm going to print a couple copies of each and have these in my home, in my car, and maybe in my wallet to help me cross check what I'm feeling throughout the day. I'm eager to cross check what I'm feeling immediately after my next visit to the US Post office or the DMV (for those who live across the pond you wouldn't understand).

I'm curious if our site's forensic expert @Mm80 can identify the shade of nail polish worn by sister. @Mm80 has taken a strong industry in the field of forensic polish identification over the past 24 hours, for some unknown reason.

Looks like mindful mink to me.
Its a scandinavian tone

 

[Throwawaysoul]

Mind over mood 2nd edition pdf. File was bjg to attach. I have attached the epub version. I'll be checking it out soon. Thanks for the recommendation @Chupacabra 44

PS: if you find the book helpful, I encourage you to support the authors and buy it if and when you can.

Edit 2: I attached the .epub version. Epubs are smaller, more compatible with ereaders and the formating is a lot easier to read in general, especially on phones. Moon Reader is a good ebook reader for android.

 

[Chupacabra 44]

Mind over mood 2nd edition pdf. File was too big to attach. I'll be checking it out soon. Thanks for the recommendation @Chupacabra 44

PS: if you find the book helpful, I encourage you to support the authors and buy it if and when you can.

Let me know what you think once you read it!

It feels good to know somebody out there in the "interwebyyy" is listening to me.

I'm debating whether to keep my eddition or to give it to my sister/brother.

 

[Throwawaysoul]

Let me know what you think once you read it!

It feels good to know somebody out there in the "interwebyyy" is listening to me.

I'm debating whether to keep my eddition or to give it to my sister/brother.

I attached the .epub version. If you have an ereader, they are easier to read compared to PDF files and more than half the size.

Thanks again :)

 

[Chupacabra 44]

I attached the .epub version. If you have an ereader, they are easier to read compared to PDF files and more than half the size.

Thanks again :)

I'll forward the information to my sister. thank you very much!

 

[Chupacabra 44]

First, don't miss a great opportunity to easily acquire a resource in thread number 8 that @Throwawaysoul has taken the time to locate and post for all our benefit.

A reminder this workbook is a top recommendation from mental health professionals and this workbook can help anyone on this forum potentially regardless of where you are on your own particular journey.

Please post in this thread so both @Throwawaysoul and I will receive some positive reinforcement, if you download the workbook. Thanks!

I think I'll post some on going information inside this thread in part not to be perceived potentially as spamming this concept with endless threads throughout the form.

I really think these concepts are applicable for anyone on this forum at any stage on their journey. For my own personal beliefs, I intentionally try and stay somewhat cryptic with how I present some information.

In taking liberties to potentially adapt the concept "you can drag a horse to water but you can't make it drink" to illustrate my approach; I try and drop some knowledge as soon as I perceive any hint of moisture on the ground. Others, I notice want to hand carry others knee deep into the stream; this approach does not work for me personally as some members prefer to drag horses to water and while not dunking the horses head into the water to help it drink seemingly are more than willing to wade them knee deep into the water and laddle the water up to their little horses' pursed lips. Personally, I won't do this due to my own moralistic views for myself; and only in a few isolated instances have I judged others, but have only expressed my opinion indirectly in support of others whom elected to become more vocal.

It is up to everyone to contemplate what I present and consider how this information presented might help you regardless of where you are in life. I can assure you no matter where you are in life all information I supply in this thread can help you!

Was that last part cryptic enough for you? Hope so.

You need to mindfully connect the dots as I won't be doing this for you.

Tl;dr

Here is some information on mindfulness.

What is Mindfulness? | Mindful Ambition

The Beginner’s Guide to Mindfulness Chapter 1: What is Mindfulness? A simple definition of mindfulness Mindfulness is a state of being, where you maintain nonjudgemental awareness in the present moment. Before moving on, let’s break that definition down a bit further. “Mindfulness is a state of...

mindfulambition.net

 

[Jojo81]

Thank You for the suggestions. I have really found my bipolar disorder after coming out from my hypomania during which I was feeling so creative with arts and crafts that I started my own business buying stuffs spending a lot of my money and resigning from a good job that I had..

 

[Deleted member 1465]

I tried to practice mindfulness and I swear it made things worse! I wonder sometimes if I'm actually too mindful and I don't want to be! Mind you, I also tried hypnotherapy and discovered that, according to my hypnotherapist, I don't think like other people. I broke up with him. It was sad.

 

[Chupacabra 44]

Thank You for the suggestions. I have really found my bipolar disorder after coming out from my hypomania during which I was feeling so creative with arts and crafts that I started my own business buying stuffs spending a lot of my money and resigning from a good job that I had..

I feel your pain.

I to have suffered stuff like this repeatedly in my past before I was diagnosed. Luckily, now that I know what it is and I have researched and learned as much as I can I'm able to be proactive and to try and learn triggers and take responsibility for my own behavior. I'm doing much better now than I was 7 or 8 years ago.

Good luck with your stuff.

I tried to practice mindfulness and I swear it made things worse! I wonder sometimes if I'm actually too mindful and I don't want to be! Mind you, I also tried hypnotherapy and discovered that, according to my hypnotherapist, I don't think like other people. I broke up with him. It was sad.

Thanks for pointing this out because I could easily see this! There's probably a perfect point in knowing too much and not knowing enough where all of us will function best.

I've literally used to be oblivious before hearing what mindfulness even was. I was completely detached from myself. My sister has the same issue. She does self-help meetings literally every single night and has been doing so for over 10 years. She's convinced she and I are this way due to childhood trauma.

Fortunately our childhood was not as dysfunctional as many other stories I have read. Nonetheless she and I have major issues.

I figure I always had food always had shelter I always had clothing, etc. so I need to figure my stuff out and fix my issues. Other people weren't nearly as fortunate as I was.

 

[Deleted member 1465]

Nonetheless she and I have major issues.

The weird thing is, most people on here (including myself) have some major issues, but often it doesn't appear like it because they can be very fluent and expressive online. I do wonder sometimes if I give the impression of coping really well when in reality I'm falling to bits.
I'm sorry about your trauma. I agree, there is a weird equilibrium to try and achieve where you listen to what you need, observe without judgement, but don't fall into yourself too much. It's actually really difficult but can yield profound rewards.
I try. I fail. I try.

 

[Chupacabra 44]

My personal view with what you're saying is kind of black and white.

In no way am I trying to antagonize anybody so please don't anyone take this the wrong way. But I look at it this way, the mere fact that all of us are here on this board has me conclude that all of us have some level of dysfunction, in some form.

There are exceptions to every rule and if my view unintentionally hits a nerve for anyone, just assume you are THE exception.

Clearly I am not judging as we are all in the same boat. And because I'm over the top competitive with many aspects of my life I'll put my level of dysfunction up against anyone else's on this board. Lol

 

[Deleted member 1465]

all of us are here on this board has me conclude that all of us have some level of dysfunction

I'd go further than that and say that everyone has some level of dysfunction. It's just that some are normalised, some are delusional and some are more functional than others. And combinations thereof.
After all, everything exists in continuum under the normal curve, it's just that some get to swim in consensus whilst others paddle around in the shallow ends.