Live a Happier Life
Depression can make it seem like your whole world is dark and hopeless, or you may feel nothing at all. It's important to know that depression affects millions of people every day, but it doesn't have to be permanent.
You Are Not Alone in This
You deserve the chance to live a happier life without feeling weighed down or held back by depression!
Depression
Depression is a serious mental illness that affects millions of people. Interest: The good news is, there are many things you can do to help yourself feel better and overcome depression. One of these things is mindfulness – which has been shown in research to be an effective treatment for chronic depression.
You might have heard about it before but don’t know what it really means or how it works? That’s okay! We’re here to break down the basics so you can start feeling better today.
Mindfulness involves being aware of your thoughts, feelings, and sensations without judging them or trying to change them. It also includes paying attention to your breathing and physical sensations like hunger or fatigue without trying to control them either. This practice helps us accept our experiences as they are instead of fighting against them- which often leads us into more suffering because we're not accepting reality as it is right now in this moment.
When we stop resisting life's difficulties, we find peace within ourselves and with the world around us - even when times get tough!
Mindfulness is a practice that has been around for thousands of years and it may be one you have heard about before. It can bring relief from stress, anxiety, depression, and negative thoughts while increasing energy levels. Just because someone does not identify with the Buddhist tradition doesn't mean they cannot benefit from mindfulness techniques such as meditation or mindful living.
There are many ways to incorporate mindfulness into your life without being religious in any way at all--mindful eating or mindful walking to name just two examples!
Here are a few of the reasons that mindfulness works so well for relieving depression:
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Depression is fueled by thoughts and beliefs that we're not good enough or that we are captive in our own lives. Mindfulness gives us the ability to notice these negative thoughts and beliefs for what they really are and change our relationship with them – this takes away their power and ability to control our lives.
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Depression can make us feel trapped and often our mind works against us, which keeps us from getting "free" or starting over. Research has proven that a regular mindfulness practice literally changes our brain, which can open up new opportunities in life as we remove our limiting beliefs.
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Depression can grow to chronic proportions if it goes untreated over time. Combined with cognitive therapy (which we offer), mindfulness helps us change the way we respond our own experiences in a way that frees us from a cycle of depression.
Trust us, it works! We have seen it again and again, and research now proves it to be true!
Let the therapists at Austin Mindfulness Center come alongside you. We will help you to understand how you are caught in a struggle with depression. We will teach you the mindfulness skills that will help release you from the struggle. Finally, we will walk with you as you learn to integrate the skills into your daily life.
We are glad you found us and we want you to know that facing your depression by seeking therapy is the crucial first step in alleviating your painful struggle.
Please reach out and schedule an appointment today.
Articles re: Depression
Guided Meditations
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What is Mindfulness?
Mindfulness is paying attention to the present moment without judgment and with an open and curious intention. It is a way of cultivating a part of your brain that can observe without reactivity or the need to avoid or escape what is there in the present moment.
We have been conditioned to operate in the doing mode of mind, where our minds tend to feel more useful. It's familiar and allows our minds to run on autopilot for a lot of our lives. This leads to a number of problems. If you are on autopilot, you are probably functioning o.k. on the outside in order to get things done, but you are not present for it. Instead you may be in the past or in the future. This isn't always "bad." But when the past is filled with regret or pain and the future is filled with fear or anxiety, we tend to experience these things as if they were happening now. But they aren't. And this leads to suffering.
On the other hand, the "being" mode of mind simply observes, but also disengages the brain activity that elicit emotional reactivity, worry, panic, hopelessness, depression, and many other negative patterns of your mental life. By engaging the being mode of mind, you create psychological flexibility and thus, more options, and more freedom.
Benefits of Mindfulness
Regular mindfulness practice has been proven to provide the following benefits:
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Less stress
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Increased working memory
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Better focus and attention span
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Lower anxiety and depression
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Less emotional reactivity
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More cognitive flexibility
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Positive affect (good mood)
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Quicker recovery following fight/flight response
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Increased immune functioning
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Increased capacity for empathy
Do You Suffer from Panic Attacks?
If not addressed, anxiety can often lead to panic, panic attacks, and eventually panic disorder, depression, and worse.
After suffering from panic attacks for years, the owner and Executive Director of the Austin Mindfulness Center, Dr. Kristin Vaughn, discovered mindfulness. Learning from her own personal experience with panic attacks, and years of providing therapy for her clients, Dr. Vaughn set out on a mission to bring clarity and relief to panic sufferers. In 2018, she created Hello Panic, a community for education and healing designed for individuals who suffer from panic attacks.
If you suffer from severe anxiety and panic, consider visiting hellopanic.com to learn more. From there, you can join our Facebook group, download helpful eBooks and infographics, and watch instructional videos of Dr. Vaughn explaining how you can free yourself from the grips of panic once and for all!
There is nothing worse than a panic attack! The Hello Panic program is my life's mission to help the world overcome anxiety and panic so we can all live our best possible lives.
- Dr. Kristin Vaughn, Owner of the Austin Mindfulness Center and Creator of Hello Panic