Are There Mindfulness Tools For Bipolar Disorder?

• Observing vs. reacting – mindfulness helps the person simply watch their thoughts instead of acting on them. With practice, it becomes easier for a person to stay mindful that their thoughts are just “thoughts” and do not need immediate reaction.

• Change of perception – mindfulness teaches the person to act in a state of “being” rather than a state of “doing”. Too often we get caught up in day-to-day activities, but mindfulness trains us to be aware of what we are thinking, saying, and doing.

• Awareness – mindfulness helps us become more aware of our triggers and thoughts/feelings/actions we typically take when confronted by our triggers, enabling us to change those patterns which do not benefit us.

• Body scan meditation – the person starts by tightening their toes, and then releasing them. They then move on to tightening the entire foot, and then relaxing it. Moving up slowly through the entire body, tightening and relaxing, the person becomes more grounded and can relax.

• Mindful walking – the person finds a relaxing, quiet place with no distractions. They begin walking very slowly, focusing on the heel of the foot leaving and the toes touching the ground.

• Mindful breathing – with this, the person focuses on breathing in through the nose, and out through the mouth. They pay close attention to the feeling of breathing – the body’s movement, the natural rhythm of the body’s breath, and how it feels when the air flows in and out of the person’s lungs and nose.