Reduce Anxiety and Depression in Stressed College Students with Mindfulness By John M. de Castro, Ph.D. “Mindfulness is so vital. It’s being right there in the moment. It helps you be successful in everything you do. College students are under a lot of stress — that’s been a given forever. Now, they have […]
High Mindfulness and Low Anxiety is Associated with High Level Cognitive Ability By John M. de Castro, Ph.D. “Mindfulness meditation has been found to elicit a positive impact on cognitive performance and abilities such as attention, memory, cognitive flexibility, and quality of task performance.” – Integrative Therapeutics There is a tremendous amount […]
Make Self-Views More Positive and Relieve Social Anxiety Disorder with Mindfulness By John M. de Castro, Ph.D. “I call this type of mindfulness practice while we are interacting with others—or even while we are simply around others—curiosity training. We are learning to get out of our heads and into the moment. Instead of focusing our attention […]
Reduce Social Anxiety and Drinking with Mindfulness By John M. de Castro, Ph.D. “When you practice sitting in curious awareness, without forcing it, mindfulness becomes easier and easier. You become an observer, rather than a participant in the damaging thoughts that run through your head. As you become more aware, you are less […]
Reduce Anxiety by Coloring Mindfully By John M. de Castro, Ph.D. “Researchers have discovered that coloring activities help relax the amygdala – the section of the brain that is activated in situations where you feel stressed or scared. Simultaneously, coloring activates the parts of the brain that support creativity. . . those who […]
Reduce Cell Phone Withdrawal Anxiety with Mindfulness By John M. de Castro, Ph.D. “It isn’t just the plethora of tech offerings that keep us feeling preoccupied and divided, it is our relationship to these devices that keep us wanting more.” – Sura Over the last few decades cell phones have gone from a rare […]
Improve the Regulation of Emotions in Social Anxiety Disorder with Mindfulness By John M. de Castro, Ph.D. “One way to do this . . . is mindfulness meditation, in which you observe your thoughts and feelings with the objectivity of a disinterested, nonjudgmental witness. This form of mental training gives you the wherewithal […]
Improve Emotion Regulation, and in Turn, Anxiety, and Depression with Mindfulness By John M. de Castro, Ph.D. “With mindfulness meditation training or practice (even a little practice has been shown to make a difference), we become more able to allow disturbing emotions and thoughts to pass through awareness. We develop the ability to […]
Improve Social Anxiety Disorder with Mindfulness By John M. de Castro, Ph.D. “Using mindfulness, we can begin to notice what happens in the body when anxiety is present and develop strategies to empower clients to “signal safety” to their nervous system. Over time, clients feel empowered to slow down their response to triggers, […]
Relieve Anxiety following Surgery with Meditation By John M. de Castro, Ph.D. “Mindfulness trains you to view your thoughts differently. You learn to recognize and stop “mental time travel” — worrying about the future and ruminating about the past. Instead of following a worrying thought down the path of all possible negative outcomes, you […]