Throughout my career as a psychotherapist, I’ve repeatedly heard the refrain “Who would I be without my (anxiety, depression, etc., fill in the blank)?” While clients express a need for change, they also have a deeply embedded fear of tearing down a well-crafted, life-long identity that is connected to their pain. This is more common than you might think.
For example, have you ever had memories of a trauma or past negative event replaying in your head like a favorite tune? We’ve all experienced this.
Fortunately, scientists have learned that present moment awareness shifts attention away from old triggers and past traumas. For example, a study conducted by the US. Department of Veteran Affairs concluded, “The relationship between lifetime trauma burden and various mental health issues of relevance to U.S. veterans may be mediated by mindfulness or the ability to pay attention to the present moment.”
So how do we get present and stop those unfriendly songs from playing over and over in our heads?
I know, that sounds like one of those “how do you change a lightbulb” jokes, but it’s worth considering, and may not be as daunting as it sounds.
Present Moment Awareness Rewires the Brain
The experience of being present in the here and now is now being applied in various ways in the therapy world. Mindfulness-Based Exposure Therapy, for example, is being used with combat vets, who are taught to move their awareness away from rumination and back to the present moment, where they can recognize that they’re safe and respond to what’s happening right around them.
Here’s the kicker: Whether you know it or not, learning to get in the present moment strengthens the brain’s prefrontal cortex, or what I call the Reflect and Relate Module of the brain.
When you practice presence, you strengthen the circuitry of the brain that helps you pause, think, and respond—rather than activate the react and get stressed system of the brain.
Three Easy-To-Use Practices for Getting Present
-
Savor an In-Between Moment.
Have you ever noticed how easy it is to lose sight of what’s happening right here, right now in your own “backyard”? The practice of noticing the in-between helps you to pause, come back to the moment, and steep yourself in the here and now.
I’ll always remember the time when a client with acute depression shared with me a simple but profound in-between moment that had stayed with him that past week.
He said to me, “I heard a bird chirp. That reminded me of springtime, and it gave me hope.”
You can journal these “little, ordinary moments” to start. Make sure to share those moments with others. In this way, you are not only reflecting, but relating these little moments with others. By both reflecting and relating, the brain more strongly encodes these memories—and values them as precious moments that make up a life well lived!
-
Find One Pleasant Thing in the Here and Now.
The practice of noting pleasantness can help shift you out of negativity and toward joy. Let’s try this right now by having you notice one pleasant thing in your surrounding environment. This can be a color (such as your favorite color), an object, a sound, or even a shape. You can continue this practice each time you step into a new room or space. As you do this, find yet one more pleasant thing.
This repetition rewires the brain and trains you to get out of the head and into the here and now moment. If you do this enough times, it will become a fun habit for you to seek out pleasantness, whether you are on your computer, at home making a meal, or out shopping.
-
Share Your “Strength” with Another.
There’s a mountain of research showing how strength-based practices reduce depression and even enhance one’s own identity as a socially caring contributor.
Let’s try one of my favorite strengths practices right now. To do this, you’ll start by naming your top three personal strengths. This could be anything, such as tenacity, enthusiasm, kindness, fairness, compassion, patience, encouraging, mentorship, discipline, perseverance, responsible, caring, thoughtful, sensitive, wise, intelligent, adaptable, understanding, and so on.
Next, you’ll choose one of those strengths and put it to use for the rest of the day. As you do this, how does makes you feel? You can journal all the times you put your strength to use. Remember that even if you apply your strength just one time a day, that’s good enough! Continue using this strength for one entire week.
The following week, you can put another of their key strengths into action—even just once a day for a week. Believe it or not, this was shown to be an effective way of enhancing mood and reducing depression.
This is a wonderful way to get present and make a difference in your world as well.
Conclusion
As you practice the above-mentioned ideas, you’ll not only be getting present, but you’ll be rewiring your brain.
By practicing presence, you’ll start to savor all the little and astounding things that are around you, whether you’re driving your car or waiting in line at the store. Most importantly, you can use these presencing practices anytime that one of those old, unhappy songs starts playing in your head. Happy presencing!
