Skills
   over
 Pills™

To be mindful is to be aware of your thoughts and feelings in a non-judgemental and gentle way. Mindfulness requires you to be present in the moment, it helps reduce stress and increase your attention and focus.

There are so many ways to practice mindfulness; whether it is drawing, walking, eating or even just sitting, simply bring awareness to what you are thinking, feeling, and experiencing at the moment.

Positive thoughts and words have the ability to improve mental and physical health, decrease stress, and manage anxiety.

It is common under stress or in times of despair that our negative thoughts take over creating a cascade of more negative and worrying thoughts. This can be a hard cycle to get out of:

• First be mindful of your thoughts and feelings, remember not judge them but just acknowledge them

• Next, ask yourself is this true and is this helpful? A lot of the time we jump to conclusions, overreact, dramatize things that serve us no purpose – take note if this is the case

• Lastly, practice reframing your thoughts with positivity and honesty

It happens to everyone – thoughts that we can’t do something or aren’t good enough can be consuming and prevent us from doing our best, or even trying. Get ahead of bad thoughts by actively filling your head with positivity.

Mantras matter! Our thoughts shape our reality, something that in a state of depression, anxiety, or anger we forget and lose control of.

Find a few good mantras to keep in mind. Have them at the ready when you need reminders to keep persevering and that you are perfect the way you are! Here are some examples of ones we’ve used:

• “My mind is brilliant. My body is healthy. My spirit is tranquil.”

• “I create my own path and walk it with joy.”

• “I am good, I am true, I am blessed, I am loved.”

• “I am strong. I am beautiful. I am enough.”

Positive Thinking Mayo Clinic