Four or five years ago, the beverage market was flooded with high caffeine energy drinks that claimed to allow its consumers keep up with the fast past demands of a dynamic modern world. That world has seemed to gather such a pace now that it appears to be losing a sense of control, so in response our beverage market is laden with products that can magically calm and relax its consumers now that the world has utterly lost its shit.
You can’t blame the Market. Economics dictates supply and demand, and right now there is a gargantuan demand for an elusive state of ‘calm’. Calmness has become a currency, but are we weakening this currency by inflated perceptions of what wellness actually is?
Take the fitness industry for example. Infomercials claiming a shitty ab machine can transform you into a granite-like, oiled-up sculpture – as if Michalenglo himself came back from the dead and chiselled you. And better still, you can look like this by simply crunching the bollix out of this machine for ten minutes a day, three times a week. Trust me, I am the very fecking guy who bought one of these and it’s now living out the rest of its days between my dad’s lawnmower and weed killer in his garden shed. In fitness there are no shortcuts, no magic machines. Fitness takes time, it takes a lifestyle shift and level of commitment.
In psychology and spirituality it’s the same – there doesn’t tend to be many shortcuts. There’s no by-pass you can take to miss the congestion and traffic. Perhaps its best to take the scenic route, and although its longer, and sometimes has a few extra hills, it can be fucking beautiful along the way, and ultimately is much more rewarding.
I’m in the middle of my Masters in Mindfulness-based Interventions in UCD. I have noticed a welcome progression in the dialogue around and exposure to mindfulness across society. I truly believe if that if the techniques and benefits of mindfulness are communicated effectively, it has the power to sincerely benefit our society.
I feel, as a strong advocator of mindfulness, it’s important that we do not misrepresent its origins and its essence. Born from Buddhist traditions, it is now largely secularised to become more digestible to western culture. In itself, this is not a major issue. The potential issue lies more in how mindfulness is being packages and sold as a great panacea that can fast-track us to inner peace and tranquility.
Mindfulness is, of course, a very subjective experience – and many people find meditating every now and again as a great solace and comfort when they feel a little overwhelmed or stressed. But there are far more layers to this ancient practice. One could argue that although its over 2500 years old, it has never been more relevant as a tool for life as it is now.
A great example of people’s unwillingness to get away from the quick-fix mindset was recently, when I was asked by an organisation to explore how a mindfulness course could help de-stress their highly charged and overwhelmed staff. I suggested an eight week long mindfulness-based stress reduction programme could perhaps be an effective strategy for them, and sent them the relevant research associated with the programme. They then asked if someone could maybe just pop in and give a talk on mindfulness. I explained to them that if they want to explore the potential benefits of such a programme, that it takes more time and more commitment – a talk would have a very short lived impact. They then proceeded to say that perhaps they weren’t that stressed anyway and they would probably pass on the idea.
These guys wanted the psychological and spiritual equivalent of the ab machine. They wanted their staff’s minds to have six packs, for them to be immune to stress and become a lean, mean, working machine, ready to be prince and princesses of productivity. They wanted something that neither I personally, or a mindfulness programme, can promise or guarantee. There are so many complexities and layers to a humans needs and it’s important that we do not sell mindfulness as the one stop shop for all your mental health requirements. It certainly, when effectively delivered and embodied, can help. But you just can’t shortcut your way to something that has many layers of complexity.
I have practised mindfulness now for almost five years and have been studying it for two years. I still struggle with it at times. Because it is a journey, not a destination. I have loved it, been frustrated by it, angered by it, saved by it. It can be my greatest ally and my greatest enemy. I took the scenic route (and am still on that road).
Aside from the fact that this isn’t a quick fix, if a person has some difficult or traumatic psychological issues, then if possible, these should be addressed by a professional. Ignoring them or repressing them is often not the most effective plan of action. The vast majority of those undertaking mindfulness programmes do so to simply reduce and better manage stress so psychological intervention in these cases may not be warranted. However, if someone does require such intervention, it can be helpful for the mindfulness facilitator to align with the professional in question so they can develop the best possible plan of action for that person. Third wave psychotherapies such as Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Dialectical Behaviour Therapy already incorporate mindfulness into the treatment. Overall, I feel it’s important not to sidestep psychological issues in place of something else, and I include exercise and mindfulness in this. These things can be positively impactful no doubt. But it’s also important to highlight the need for better access to supports such as these for everyone in this society. The psychological foundations of recovering from serious mental health issues are best addressed alongside these tools by a professional.
I feel the conversation around mindfulness has really allowed society engage in the conversation in mental health in a more head-on, less evasive way. It’s often a great stepping stone conversation for people in a country that is still holding onto the last stubborn threads of stigma that is an unwelcome legacy of our past that needs to vanish, especially now when we need to become more human, more together and collective at a time when the world feels fragmented and apathetic.
However, in what can seem a chaotic world, it’s important we don’t commodify calm like the fitness industry committed abs. Inner peace takes work, it takes commitment, it takes support and love from your peers and health professionals. But fuck me, it’s worth the journey.
Photo Credit: Kymann Power