Do you feel that you are in a daily battle with your pain?

Is your mind full of thoughts, fears, frustrations or muddle?

Do you feel like you are always rushing?

Do you hate the idea of “accepting your pain” or “coming to terms with it”?

Mindfulness can help you find a calmer way to live life despite having pain.

 

What is Mindfulness?

Mindfulness is merely paying attention in a particular way: on purpose, in the present moment, and non-judgementally.  It is based on meditation practice which helps you

• Allow your mind to settle more in the present moment
• Accept what is here, for better or worse
• Let go of fruitless and exhausting struggle
• Focus your energy on the things that we can change.

Mindfulness doesn’t remove uncomfortable situations from our lives, but to help us relate to them in a different way.

Mindfulness isn’t new

Mindfulness meditation has been used for thousands of years within the Buddhist tradition. The benefits of meditation practice for health and wellbeing have been researched, and now a non-religious version of the mindfulness approach is widely offered by the NHS as part of effective healthcare.

Find out more about Mindfulness.

If you would like to find out more about Mindfulness, there are some very good resources available.  Here are a few we recommend:

Videos

You can find more information and some recommended Mindfulness videos by searching for our channel, GloucestershireMFN on YouTube.

Books

Here are some books recommended by the Gloucestershire Pain Self-Management team.  Click the image to search for the book in Gloucestershire County Council libraries.

 

 

How do you learn to be more Mindful?

Learning to be more mindful requires a little teaching and a lot of practice.

Many people find attending a course helps them to understand mindfulness more and start practising meditation regularly.

You can find courses:

• Online
  • Be Mindful Website
  • Breathworks Website
• Over the phone  (See Breathworks website)
• or look online or ask in the library for help to find local courses in your area.

The Gloucestershire Pain Self-Management Service offers an NHS course specifically tailored for people with long term pain. It involves attending seven half day, and one full day sessions in a group, and daily meditation practice at home. People attending this group will have been referred to the Gloucestershire Chronic Pain Service by their GP or another Health Care Professional.

Below are some comments left by previous attendees on our Mindfulness course:

“Mindfulness has brought me a peace and contentment with my situation that I have not experienced for many years.”

"I was fairly sceptical as to its usefulness for me and my pain and to what level it might help me.  After a few weeks and investing the time, I found it truly helpful in changing my attitude to my sensation."

Try it now

If you'd like to give Mindfulness a try, there are many exercises available on YouTube.  Here are some Mindfulness exercises that we recommend.