Understanding Mindfulness: Self-Distraction vs Self-Awareness

Read Time: 10 minutes

After school activities to get to, tests to prepare for, papers to write. Deadlines to make, social expectations to meet, bills to pay. Chronic illnesses to battle, emotions to process, the world to face. The pressure, the stress, the frustration, the pain, is on. We fly from one thing to the next, hardly able to breathe. We know we need to slow down, to take a moment in the moment, but we can't seem to make ourselves, because what does that even mean anyway?

Maybe, we think, this is the only way we're able to handle all these things, by just pressing on absent-mindedly, numb to what our bodies and minds may be trying to tell us. Or maybe we did try to slow down, to connect with the present, but it seemed to make things worse. It compounded those uncomfortable and painful feelings.

Mindfulness, it turns out, is a double-edged sword.

So What Exactly is Mindfulness?

You've probably heard a lot about mindfulness and mindfulness-based practices, but what exactly is "mindfulness?" Like I hit on before in an earlier blog, mindfulness is the process of becoming aware of your present experience. It's attuning ourselves to our mind, body and emotions and really "listening."

Being mindful opens us to all the physical, mental and emotional sensations. The painful, the pleasurable, the joyful and the depressing. Becoming mindful can be an easy practice for some and extremely difficult for others. 

Common mindfulness practices that you might have heard of or even practiced include:

• Meditation

• Body Scans

• Breath exercises

• Prayer

• Journaling

• Mindful activities, like mindful walking, gardening or eating

Essentially, these practices help you to enhance the communication between your mind and your body, helping you to regulate your thoughts and feelings in a more manageable way.

Mindfulness: Harmful for Some, Helpful for Others

For some of us, practicing mindfulness brings a sense of control and balance to our lives. Mindfulness can allow us to organize ourselves and get a better sense of where we are and where we want to be.

For others of us, becoming mindful of ourselves and our current state is overwhelming. Mindfulness can be exceptionally harmful to disabled people, neurodiverse people, those with significant trauma, and those without a strong relationship to their body or somatic senses.

Mindfulness techniques often involve focusing on physical sensations, which can lead to sensory overload -- this may trigger memories associated with traumatic events that individuals may not be prepared to handle, or physical sensations that are overbearing and painful. Sometimes, if we're not ready, a single-minded focus on the body, its physical sensations and our emotions can actually raise anxiety and stress levels. 

It’s important that therapists and other mental health professionals who recommend mindfulness take into account each individual's abilities and history in order not to do more harm than good. 

For those that are able and ready for mindfulness-based practices, mindfulness can be a useful tool in your toolbox of coping strategies. 

Mindfulness as a Tool, Not a Solution

Mindfulness is a coping mechanism, which means it's a form of survival behavior and is a bandaid for management. It should be thought of as one of your many tools to help you cope with stressors in your life, but not as a panacea. 

"So why use mindfulness at all?" you might ask. Fair question.

Mindfulness can be helpful. In the short term, slowing down and bringing attention to yourself in the moment can bring relief from stress and anxiety. Being mindful of your current situation and understanding what is truly necessary for you in that moment can help us make better decisions.

For example, if you're trying to focus on studying for an important exam and find your mind wandering with anxiety and stress, it may be helpful to stop for a moment and center in on these fears and sensations. “Will I really fail at life if I get a B or C? If I slow down my breathing, unclench my jaw and bring my tongue down from the roof of my mouth…. I can still have time to do the things I enjoy after I study for 30 more minutes.” In this situation, slowing down to let your body share what it needs, naming  your fears and letting them pass, and then prioritizing yourself, may be just the thing to help you continue studying without irrational fears. 

On the flip side, if you've been working non-stop for an extended period of time, you're dead tired, hungry and your mind is essentially "fried," distraction, instead of mindfulness may be best. Bringing attention to these powerful physical and mental sensations won't necessarily help. "Distracting" yourself by hanging out with a friend, getting something to eat or taking a nap in this case might be better solutions. 

While mindfulness can offer temporary relief, engaging in more sustainable coping strategies such as seeking professional help or building strong community support can have more significant long-term benefits that address the root cause of mental health issues.  

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A Time and Place for Everything

In a world where we check our phones umpteen times a day, and are pressured socially to "always be productive," it's hard to be mindful. Doom scrolling on TikTok could lead to a harmful cycle of anxious thoughts, but it could also allow a stressed out mind to zone out, relax and take a break.

What's important is that we recognize that there is a time and place for becoming aware and being distracted, and knowing which you need is the key. Mindfulness is a coping skill, which may or may not be helpful in the short term for you. I encourage you to reach out to a mental health professional to learn more coping strategies, and more importantly, build rituals and habits that prevent you from reaching a "crisis" mode in the first place. 

As always, we encourage you to reach out.

Until next time, 

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About Our Author | Lena McCain MA, LPC. 0017723

Lena McCain is our Founder here at Interfaith Bridge Counseling, where she continues her support as our Clinical Director. She also holds a Master of Arts degree in Clinical Mental Health: Mindfulness-Based Transpersonal Counseling Psychology from Naropa University.

Lena’s drive and passions lie in the realm of community building and youth collaboration, which she has spent the last 12 years studying with an emphasis on one’s exploration of personal growth, community healing, and multicultural values. Lena’s expertise in these areas and the therapeutic field acts as a reminder to our community, teens, and young adults that they are not alone in their experience of life.