MONDAY MINDFULESS

MINDFULNESS:

MBRE strengthens metacognitive control over automatic cognitive biases through mindfulness training 

• Become aware of when their attention has become fixated on addictive cues, stressors, or (physical or emotional) pain.
• Shift from affective to sensory processing of craving, stress, or pain sensations.
• Re-orient attention to the breath via the practice of mindful breathing. 

This technique is also aimed at enhancing self-control over automatic behavioral habits elicited by addictive cues, stressors, and pain. By disrupting negative habit responses, mindfulness may free up cognitive resources to devote to more helpful or healthful ways of thinking, perceiving, and acting in the world.

REASSESSMENT: 

Uses mindfulness practices to potentiate cognitive reappraisal of maladaptive thoughts contributing to negative emotions and addictive behaviors; such “mindful reappraisal” is aimed at fostering adaptive coping in the face of stress. 

• MBRE increases psychological flexibility by explicitly teaching mindfulness skills in tandem with cognitive restructuring techniques. Clients are taught to mindfully disengage from negative appraisals of stressful events and restructure them until they abate, and positive reappraisals are constructed to promote resilience, meaning in life, and active coping behavior.

APPRECIATING:

Enhances positive emotion and motivation by instructing clients to mindfully focus attention on and appreciate naturally rewarding experiences (e.g., a enjoying a beautiful nature scene or the sense of connection with a loved one) while cultivating metacognitive awareness of their own positive emotional responses to such experiences.

• MBRE uses exercises to promote focus on positive daily experiences as a means of restoring dysregulated reward neurocircuitry function associated with addiction, mood disorders, and chronic pain.