Mindfulness: Techniques, Benefits, and Limitations in Psychology

This essay delves into the concept of mindfulness, defining it as a state of awareness and acceptance of present-moment experiences. It explores the two key components of mindfulness: focused attention and open monitoring. The essay examines the therapeutic applications of mindfulness, particularly in treating mental health conditions like addiction, stress, anxiety, and depression, highlighting the influence of Kabat-Zinn's Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) model. It discusses the techniques involved in practicing mindfulness, such as focusing on basic senses and breathing, and outlines the benefits, including improved working memory and enhanced concentration. The essay also acknowledges the limitations of mindfulness, such as its potential ineffectiveness for some individuals and possible adverse effects for those with certain psychological conditions. Overall, the essay provides a comprehensive overview of mindfulness, its applications, benefits, and limitations within the field of psychology.

Mindfulness
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Mindfulness
Mindfulness can be described as a state of the mind that recognizes the existence of
consciousness and acknowledges it in real-time and with acceptance (McBee,2018. ). Other
authors have described mindfulness as the ability to know what is happening within one’s head
and in the moment without getting carried away by it. This in simpler language is, trying to
remain calm and collective in all situations through embracing both our thoughts and the external
happenings. This teaches us on how to respond wisely rather than reactively. The topic of
mindfulness has in recent years been the subject of research for so many people, including
Garland, who categorizes mindfulness as a practice that mainly involves two components which
are:
1. The ability to have focused attention
2. The ability to be open when monitoring events and situations.
Focused attention, can be described as the ability to be able to stay concentrated on one event
or object despite facing multiple distractions. When one has focused attention, they utilize the
different parts of their bodies to focus. This might include body functionalities, such as
breathing. According to research, when one has focused attention, the rate of their breathing
tends to be very minimal. When one has focused attention, they can quickly detect relevant
stimuli. This type of attention is also referred to as mental focus. With this type of focus, an
individual's ability to attend to internal stimuli and external stimuli is limited. This type of focus
enables us to carefully and efficiently carry out their important day to day activities (McBee
2018. ).

Open monitoring, on the other hand, is the ability to be able to notice the constant
changes that are taking place around us without any form of judgment. This implies that the
individual is able to notice that there are other things happening. This brings in the aspect of
acceptance while one is being focused on what they are doing at the same moment. This means
that a mindful individual is one that, despite being aware that there are other happenings in their
surroundings, they choose to be focused on their tasks at hand in every moment ( McBee,
2018. ).
Over the years, mindfulness has been known to assist in numerous therapeutic
applications. This is evidenced by the great number of people who have been assisted in difficult
psychological conditions such as Drug addiction, stress, anxiety, and depression (Baer, 2015).
The realization of this led to its adoption in different platforms such as in schools, prisons,
hospitals, and even veterans' centers. These places have adopted the use of mindfulness
techniques such as Kabat-Zinn's model to implement rehabilitation programs.
Kabat-Zinn's model is a well-known model that was developed by Jon Kabat-Zinn in the
year 1979. He named it Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) while he was at the
University of Massachusetts. Kabat-Zinn's specifically used the training to treat chronically ill
individuals. Kabat-Zinn's defined mindfulness as the awareness that is gotten from paying
attention on purpose in the present moment and non-judgmentally (Kabat-Zinn, in Purser, 2015).
Over the years, researchers have come up with different views on how to implement this
in an attempt to help in addiction and mental disorders. Based on studies by Kabat-Zinn's, there
are two purposes of mindfulness meditation (Kabat-Zinn, in Purser, 2015).These are:

1. The ability to Know the mind- with this Kabat-Zinn's claims that problems such as
addictions are a thing that is created in the mind of an individual. This is explained
by, activities and statuses such as Ego-centrism, attachments, and discrimination that
are all derived from an individual's mind. This means that the discovery of this is a
mental thing and that the change of an individual's mindset is key in trying to
eliminate such. The ability of an individual to know their mind is key in obtaining the
right information to alter the feelings to motivations.
2. Training the mind – the fact that the mind shapes the actions of an individual. It is
always necessary to tune the mind to situations that enable it to be more receptive to
positive things and deceptive to the negative environments.
Mindfulness and how it is manifested.
For one to start having mindful moments, they ought to first identify their
problems or rather the activities that one encounters daily that trigger their addictions.
This is usually the time when the individuals' mind wanders around. The following steps
ought to be taken when that happens.
The first step during this period is to focus on the basic senses. This includes
touch, sight, smell, and what one hears. This will help the individual notice all that is
happening around them. The next step is to try as much as possible to come back to one's
senses. This is assisted by the act of noticing what is next to the individual and assessing
the environment. Once this is done, the individual starts to have a mixture of thoughts.
This is the point in which the ability to get back to being mindful comes back. At this
point, the patient ought to still stick o noticing the environment and all that is in it. This
will help them not to get overwhelmed and to remain steady in their healing process. This

can be supplemented by the individual's ability to focus on their breathing patterns. The
patient should feel the air coming in and feel the exhaled air going out of their system.
With that, they will be able to take control of their bodies. When this is done for a few
minutes, the individual gets back to their sense as they would have taken back control of
their body by acknowledging their surroundings and taking control of their thoughts and
actions.
Benefits
The use of this technique has been assessed, and it has been known to work for so
many people. That is the reason why it is regarded as a key method in the curing of
Addictions and Mental health problems. The fact that these problems seem to always
originate from the mind of an individual makes these techniques more suitable in the
rehabilitation of the affected individuals (Davidson & Kaszniak,2015).
The major benefits of these activities are that they can be done from anywhere
provided the environment is conducive, and it can be done by any individual. It does not
require too much training or professional guidance. Once the patient is familiar with the
steps to administer this, they are able to perform the action. In addition to that, these
techniques can be incorporated into a wide variety of things. This may include when
meditating. This helps the individual have a calm and relaxed outlook, which will intern
transform the individual's ability to think clearly and to associate with others through
engaging in a meaningful and productive manner (Hanh, 2016).
Another well-known benefit of mindfulness is that it improves the individuals
working memory. When one focuses on activities such as breathing, they heighten their

sense and allow their minds to focus on specific things at a time. This helps boost the
levels of concentration of the individual (Hickey,2010).
Limitations
Mindfulness being a well-proven method that has been used through the years, it
has its own limitations. An example of this is the fact that the method does not
necessarily work for everyone. This means that not everyone that practices the techniques
gets healed. In addition to that, there are individuals that have negative effects from
performing the techniques. Such people have disorders related to intense anxiety or
dissociation from reality. These individuals are affected by mindfulness, and it will make
them feel even worse (Bedard, 2012).
Another limitation is the people who are prone to the symptoms of psychosis.
Psychosis is a mental disorder that affects people that is characterized by thoughts and
emotions which are impaired, making the individual feel even worse than they initially
felt.
In conclusion, mindfulness is an ability that one can acquire over time. One of the
ways through which one can acquire the habit is through meditation. meditation is
considered as an instant trigger for mindfulness. In addition to that, meditation once
learned well can be used at any given moment (Baer, 2015). And as much as mindfulness
is a process once meditation is mastered, It can be used in any given situation and at any
place the individual is at. As seen, there are both advantages and limitations for
mindfulness. with the most notable one being its positive effect on clients with addiction
problems and mental health disorders. With researches showing that there are

significantly positive effects of it on improvement of the two. However, just like any
other treatment, it is not always guarantee and in certain instances it does not work. It is
advisable that in case it does not work for one, they should leave it and focus on
something which may be an alternative method. In the long run, it is always wiser to give
it a try as it might also help people who are not affected by either mental disorders or
addictions.

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