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10 Things to know about mindfulness
1. What mindfulness means
2. How mindfulness works
3. Why mindfulness is important
4. Mindfulness where to start
5. Will mindfulness help my anxiety
6. Mindfulness for children
7. Can mindfulness cure depression
8. Are mindfulness and meditation the same thing
9. When mindfulness doesn’t work
10.Mindfulness or meditation
1. What mindfulness means
What is mindfulness? Is often the first question people ask, so if you’re looking for a quick quote about what mindfulness is, try this:
“A mental state achieved by focusing one's awareness on the present moment, while calmly acknowledging and accepting one's feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations.”
Now, that is an accurate quote, but to be honest it was written by somebody that is already mindful, and if you’re not yet, then it may not have much meaning.
So, if you really want to understand what mindfulness is and how it can help you, please keep reading, as I provide answers to some of the most common questions about mindfulness.
“A mental state achieved by focusing one's awareness on the present moment, while calmly acknowledging and accepting one's feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations.”
Now, that is an accurate quote, but to be honest it was written by somebody that is already mindful, and if you’re not yet, then it may not have much meaning.
So, if you really want to understand what mindfulness is and how it can help you, please keep reading, as I provide answers to some of the most common questions about mindfulness.
2. How mindfulness works
Have you ever noticed just how much your mind wanders?
For example, you’re reading this because you want to find out more about mindfulness, right?
But there’s a good chance you won’t even read to the bottom of the page and many people won’t even have made it this far!
Why?
Because you have never learnt how to control your mind and stop it being restless!
Practicing mindfulness enables you to calm down your chattering monkey mind, so that you can focus your attention longer and concentrate more.
Think about how mindfulness works like this:
There are two dogs, one is untrained and one is well trained.
The untrained dog is always running off, ignoring the owner and going lots of places it shouldn’t, leaving the owner stressed and exhausted.
The well-trained dog wanders off sometimes but always come back when the owner calls it, leaving the owner calm and relaxed.
So, mindfulness works by training your mind to obey you, in a similar way to training a dog.
Now, imagine your mind is one of these two dogs; which one would it be?
Why not start training it now by reading to the end of this page instead of letting it run off again?
For example, you’re reading this because you want to find out more about mindfulness, right?
But there’s a good chance you won’t even read to the bottom of the page and many people won’t even have made it this far!
Why?
Because you have never learnt how to control your mind and stop it being restless!
Practicing mindfulness enables you to calm down your chattering monkey mind, so that you can focus your attention longer and concentrate more.
Think about how mindfulness works like this:
There are two dogs, one is untrained and one is well trained.
The untrained dog is always running off, ignoring the owner and going lots of places it shouldn’t, leaving the owner stressed and exhausted.
The well-trained dog wanders off sometimes but always come back when the owner calls it, leaving the owner calm and relaxed.
So, mindfulness works by training your mind to obey you, in a similar way to training a dog.
Now, imagine your mind is one of these two dogs; which one would it be?
Why not start training it now by reading to the end of this page instead of letting it run off again?
3. Why mindfulness is important
Mindfulness is important because it can help to improve both your mental and physical wellbeing.
There have been many scientific studies published proving the benefits of mindfulness and I have put links to some of these studies at the bottom of the post.
Mindfulness is important because it is proven to help with:
Sleep.
Relaxation.
Anxiety.
Depression.
Anger.
Stress.
Addictions.
Focus.
Energy levels.
Concentration.
And it also helps you avoid illness and aids recovery after illness.
There have been many scientific studies published proving the benefits of mindfulness and I have put links to some of these studies at the bottom of the post.
Mindfulness is important because it is proven to help with:
Sleep.
Relaxation.
Anxiety.
Depression.
Anger.
Stress.
Addictions.
Focus.
Energy levels.
Concentration.
And it also helps you avoid illness and aids recovery after illness.
4. Mindfulness where to start
People often wonder where to start with mindfulness and how to go about learning mindfulness.
So here’s the thing. Mindfulness is really very simple. Honestly, it’s simple.
BUT, simple and easy, are NOT the same things.
Lets put it to the test shall we?
Don’t think about anything for the next 5 minutes!
Simple….. I’m not even asking you to DO something.
I’m asking you to NOT do something.
BUT we all know how difficult that simple request is, right?
So, whilst it’s simple, you do ideally need to learn from a specialist that has been successfully practicing mindfulness for many years.
When looking for a mindfulness teacher it’s important to check out reviews and also speak with them before committing to a course of sessions.
It’s vital that you feel comfortable with them and feel confident in their ability to help you.
BUT, you must understand that mindfulness is not a quick fix that you can learn in half an hour.
I’ve worked with hundreds of people that have completely transformed their lives.
People that were crippled with anxiety and depression, exhausted from stress and sleeplessness and even people that were suicidal.
However, the really successful clients all share something in common.
They understood it was a marathon not a sprint and they stuck with it!
So here’s the thing. Mindfulness is really very simple. Honestly, it’s simple.
BUT, simple and easy, are NOT the same things.
Lets put it to the test shall we?
Don’t think about anything for the next 5 minutes!
Simple….. I’m not even asking you to DO something.
I’m asking you to NOT do something.
BUT we all know how difficult that simple request is, right?
So, whilst it’s simple, you do ideally need to learn from a specialist that has been successfully practicing mindfulness for many years.
When looking for a mindfulness teacher it’s important to check out reviews and also speak with them before committing to a course of sessions.
It’s vital that you feel comfortable with them and feel confident in their ability to help you.
BUT, you must understand that mindfulness is not a quick fix that you can learn in half an hour.
I’ve worked with hundreds of people that have completely transformed their lives.
People that were crippled with anxiety and depression, exhausted from stress and sleeplessness and even people that were suicidal.
However, the really successful clients all share something in common.
They understood it was a marathon not a sprint and they stuck with it!
5. Will mindfulness help my anxiety
More and more people are suffering from anxiety and want to know can mindfulness help with anxiety.
The simple and quick answer is yes absolutely, mindfulness helps with anxiety, but read on to discover how and why!
You see anxiety is spoken about like it’s a disease or illness but whilst it’s true that many people these days suffer from an excess of anxiety, if anxiety didn’t exist, humans wouldn’t exist.
In order to overcome anxiety, we really need to understand what it is and where it comes from.
Let’s just imagine one of your ancestors a few thousand years ago, nice and relaxed, walking through a forest.
There is a noise in the bushes nearby and suddenly your ancestor is on red alert.
All of their senses are heightened and they focus only on the source of the noise; the potential threat.
Their heartbeat increases as adrenaline floods their body so that they are ready to fight or run away from the potential danger.
They might freeze in panic or even faint.
They might feel sick or have a desperate need to evacuate their bowels.
So, let’s understand what’s actually happening here.
What we now call anxiety is actually an essential primitive survival mechanism.
When it’s triggered, it’s what is known as the stress response and quite simply, humans would not have survived without it.
When your ancestor heard the noise, their survival instincts took over and sent a message to the brain, which basically says “Potential danger! Get ready!”
And they may have been sick or evacuated their bowels as evolution has taught us that we have a better chance of surviving by running or fighting with an empty stomach.
So, the response we call anxiety, is not only natural, it’s necessary.
BUT, here is the BIG point that you MUST understand if you ever want to fully manage your anxiety.
Every, species on our planet has a stress response, BUT humans are the ONLY species that can trigger their own stress response by thought alone!
A cat has a stress response, which will be triggered if it is chased by a dog.
BUT a cat cannot trigger its’ stress response by THINKING about being chased by a dog.
Your stress response would be triggered if you were confronted by a roaring nine-foot tall polar bear.
BUT it could also be triggered if you sat THINKING about being confronted by an aggressive polar bear.
However, there is yet another key thing you MUST understand about your brain regarding anxiety.
The part of your brain that deals with this stress response is not an intellect.
This means it can react in the same way to very different potential threats.
For example, if you are worried about your health or money or your job or a relationship or an exam or interview or pretty much anything else you worry about….
Your brain can react as if it were facing a real life polar bear attack!
And if you doubt this, try it out now. Notice how you’re feeling then THINK about something that you’re worried about.
So, you see it’s not actually the events, people or situations in your life that create the anxiety, it’s how you choose to think about them.
Which brings us back to the question; will mindfulness help my anxiety.
If you’re suffering from an excess of anxiety it means you are THINKING too much about either past events or possible future events.
Mindfulness teaches you to be more present and live more in the moment.
Which means of course that your mind will be quieter as you’ll be thinking less.
And if you’re thinking less, there will be less anxiety.
And with enough practice, you can even live free of anxiety completely!
The simple and quick answer is yes absolutely, mindfulness helps with anxiety, but read on to discover how and why!
You see anxiety is spoken about like it’s a disease or illness but whilst it’s true that many people these days suffer from an excess of anxiety, if anxiety didn’t exist, humans wouldn’t exist.
In order to overcome anxiety, we really need to understand what it is and where it comes from.
Let’s just imagine one of your ancestors a few thousand years ago, nice and relaxed, walking through a forest.
There is a noise in the bushes nearby and suddenly your ancestor is on red alert.
All of their senses are heightened and they focus only on the source of the noise; the potential threat.
Their heartbeat increases as adrenaline floods their body so that they are ready to fight or run away from the potential danger.
They might freeze in panic or even faint.
They might feel sick or have a desperate need to evacuate their bowels.
So, let’s understand what’s actually happening here.
What we now call anxiety is actually an essential primitive survival mechanism.
When it’s triggered, it’s what is known as the stress response and quite simply, humans would not have survived without it.
When your ancestor heard the noise, their survival instincts took over and sent a message to the brain, which basically says “Potential danger! Get ready!”
And they may have been sick or evacuated their bowels as evolution has taught us that we have a better chance of surviving by running or fighting with an empty stomach.
So, the response we call anxiety, is not only natural, it’s necessary.
BUT, here is the BIG point that you MUST understand if you ever want to fully manage your anxiety.
Every, species on our planet has a stress response, BUT humans are the ONLY species that can trigger their own stress response by thought alone!
A cat has a stress response, which will be triggered if it is chased by a dog.
BUT a cat cannot trigger its’ stress response by THINKING about being chased by a dog.
Your stress response would be triggered if you were confronted by a roaring nine-foot tall polar bear.
BUT it could also be triggered if you sat THINKING about being confronted by an aggressive polar bear.
However, there is yet another key thing you MUST understand about your brain regarding anxiety.
The part of your brain that deals with this stress response is not an intellect.
This means it can react in the same way to very different potential threats.
For example, if you are worried about your health or money or your job or a relationship or an exam or interview or pretty much anything else you worry about….
Your brain can react as if it were facing a real life polar bear attack!
And if you doubt this, try it out now. Notice how you’re feeling then THINK about something that you’re worried about.
So, you see it’s not actually the events, people or situations in your life that create the anxiety, it’s how you choose to think about them.
Which brings us back to the question; will mindfulness help my anxiety.
If you’re suffering from an excess of anxiety it means you are THINKING too much about either past events or possible future events.
Mindfulness teaches you to be more present and live more in the moment.
Which means of course that your mind will be quieter as you’ll be thinking less.
And if you’re thinking less, there will be less anxiety.
And with enough practice, you can even live free of anxiety completely!
6. Mindfulness for children
I’m often asked about mindfulness for children by their parents, carers or teachers.
The question is can mindfulness help children or can children learn mindfulness.
The answer to both questions is absolutely yes; mindfulness helps children in the same way that mindfulness helps adults.
Whilst people are pleased to hear this, they are often less happy with what I explain next.
You see studies show that there are two really key aspects to consider for a child’s well-balanced development.
These are self-regulation and modelling.
Self-regulation is where we learn to calm ourselves when we become upset, which is a central aspect of mindfulness.
Modelling is where children learn from the behaviour of their parents, carers and teachers etc.
As a child, I remember being told, “Do as I say, not as I do!”
Well guess what, that doesn’t work.
We ALL learn by modelling the behaviours of those around us which means there is often truth to the saying, “The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree”
So, if you are a parent, carer or teacher responsible for a child that is suffering in some way, here is my suggestion.
As well as getting professional help for the child, YOU need to learn mindfulness and ensure that you behave mindfully whenever you are around the child concerned.
Talk with them mindfully, respond to them mindfully, always behave mindfully and they WILL respond by modelling you!
And remember, if you are stressed, anxious, angry or depressed they will model these behaviours instead.
The question is can mindfulness help children or can children learn mindfulness.
The answer to both questions is absolutely yes; mindfulness helps children in the same way that mindfulness helps adults.
Whilst people are pleased to hear this, they are often less happy with what I explain next.
You see studies show that there are two really key aspects to consider for a child’s well-balanced development.
These are self-regulation and modelling.
Self-regulation is where we learn to calm ourselves when we become upset, which is a central aspect of mindfulness.
Modelling is where children learn from the behaviour of their parents, carers and teachers etc.
As a child, I remember being told, “Do as I say, not as I do!”
Well guess what, that doesn’t work.
We ALL learn by modelling the behaviours of those around us which means there is often truth to the saying, “The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree”
So, if you are a parent, carer or teacher responsible for a child that is suffering in some way, here is my suggestion.
As well as getting professional help for the child, YOU need to learn mindfulness and ensure that you behave mindfully whenever you are around the child concerned.
Talk with them mindfully, respond to them mindfully, always behave mindfully and they WILL respond by modelling you!
And remember, if you are stressed, anxious, angry or depressed they will model these behaviours instead.
7. Can mindfulness cure depression
Increasingly people want to cure depression without medication and so wonder can mindfulness cure depression.
The quick answer is yes absolutely, mindfulness helps with depression, but read on to discover how and why!
You see depression is spoken about as a disease or illness but whilst it’s true that many people these days suffer from what is termed depression, just like anxiety, it’s actually an evolutionary survival mechanism.
In order to overcome depression therefore, we need to understand what it is and how it works.
Let’s imagine again one of your ancestors a few thousand years ago, waking up in their cave.
They throw off the animal skin rug and look outside ready to begin their day.
Now imagine that the world outside their cave that day is not a place they want to interact with.
Maybe there’s a drought or a tribal war or dangerous wild animals or maybe everything is covered in snow so there is no food to gather.
Whatever the situation, when the world seemed unsafe, they would go back in the cave and hide under their animal skin rug until the world outside changed.
They would effectively hibernate in order to keep themselves safe and conserve their strength until it was once again safe to find food.
They would effectively ‘depress’ their systems as part of a survival strategy!
Today when the world seems a scary or dangerous place, we often want to do the same; not engage with the world and simply hide until things change.
So how can mindfulness help with depression?
Well, this mechanism evolved to help us survive potentially life-threatening situations.
But whilst some people today are sadly facing deadly situations, most people suffering with depression are not.
Depression may be caused by any number of life situations from health or money concerns to relationship issues or loneliness.
So we must understand why a primitive survival mechanism designed to help us survive extreme situations thousands of years ago, affects us so much with modern day issues.
There are four key aspects to this part of your brain you must be aware of:
1. It does not differentiate between the issues that you perceive as unsafe, meaning it will react to money worries the same as a primitive famine.
2. It always looks at the worst-case scenario, meaning whatever you think, you expect the worse.
3. It cannot tell the difference between a real life event in the outside world and a well imagined thought.
4. It is trying to keep you safe, so the more you think the thoughts, the more you get the feelings, then the more you get the feelings the more you think the thoughts.
So, in reality, it is not in fact your life situations that are the issue, it is actually how you choose to think about those life situations.
Long term negative thinking, means that you get trapped in a cycle of moving between anxiety and depression.
When you are anxious, you produce an excess of stress hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol.
When you slump into depression, you are not really producing any worthwhile neuro chemicals.
In either case, you are not producing sufficient serotonin, which ultimately is the cause of what is termed depression.
So, how does mindfulness help with depression?
Well, as you learn mindfulness you become more aware of your thoughts.
You then learn how to select your thoughts in the same way you might select your clothes.
You begin to let go of negative thinking patterns and replace them with more optimistic thinking patterns.
This then changes the neuro chemical balance in your brain.
You produce less stress hormones and more serotonin.
When producing a healthy consistent flow of serotonin you may still have the same life challenges, but you will find yourself able to deal with them much better.
So, that is how mindfulness can help with depression!
The quick answer is yes absolutely, mindfulness helps with depression, but read on to discover how and why!
You see depression is spoken about as a disease or illness but whilst it’s true that many people these days suffer from what is termed depression, just like anxiety, it’s actually an evolutionary survival mechanism.
In order to overcome depression therefore, we need to understand what it is and how it works.
Let’s imagine again one of your ancestors a few thousand years ago, waking up in their cave.
They throw off the animal skin rug and look outside ready to begin their day.
Now imagine that the world outside their cave that day is not a place they want to interact with.
Maybe there’s a drought or a tribal war or dangerous wild animals or maybe everything is covered in snow so there is no food to gather.
Whatever the situation, when the world seemed unsafe, they would go back in the cave and hide under their animal skin rug until the world outside changed.
They would effectively hibernate in order to keep themselves safe and conserve their strength until it was once again safe to find food.
They would effectively ‘depress’ their systems as part of a survival strategy!
Today when the world seems a scary or dangerous place, we often want to do the same; not engage with the world and simply hide until things change.
So how can mindfulness help with depression?
Well, this mechanism evolved to help us survive potentially life-threatening situations.
But whilst some people today are sadly facing deadly situations, most people suffering with depression are not.
Depression may be caused by any number of life situations from health or money concerns to relationship issues or loneliness.
So we must understand why a primitive survival mechanism designed to help us survive extreme situations thousands of years ago, affects us so much with modern day issues.
There are four key aspects to this part of your brain you must be aware of:
1. It does not differentiate between the issues that you perceive as unsafe, meaning it will react to money worries the same as a primitive famine.
2. It always looks at the worst-case scenario, meaning whatever you think, you expect the worse.
3. It cannot tell the difference between a real life event in the outside world and a well imagined thought.
4. It is trying to keep you safe, so the more you think the thoughts, the more you get the feelings, then the more you get the feelings the more you think the thoughts.
So, in reality, it is not in fact your life situations that are the issue, it is actually how you choose to think about those life situations.
Long term negative thinking, means that you get trapped in a cycle of moving between anxiety and depression.
When you are anxious, you produce an excess of stress hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol.
When you slump into depression, you are not really producing any worthwhile neuro chemicals.
In either case, you are not producing sufficient serotonin, which ultimately is the cause of what is termed depression.
So, how does mindfulness help with depression?
Well, as you learn mindfulness you become more aware of your thoughts.
You then learn how to select your thoughts in the same way you might select your clothes.
You begin to let go of negative thinking patterns and replace them with more optimistic thinking patterns.
This then changes the neuro chemical balance in your brain.
You produce less stress hormones and more serotonin.
When producing a healthy consistent flow of serotonin you may still have the same life challenges, but you will find yourself able to deal with them much better.
So, that is how mindfulness can help with depression!
8. Are mindfulness and meditation the same thing
If you’re wondering if mindfulness and meditation are the same thing, I would say the answer is yes…. And also no, not really!
Now obviously that’s not particularly helpful so lets dig a bit a deeper and see if we can make things a bit clearer.
First we need to understand why there might be some confusion, which is because different people, schools and organisations may have slightly varying approaches and opinions based on tradition and beliefs etc.
I don’t believe that a single dictionary definition for either would completely satisfy all practitioners, so as I’m the one writing this, I’ll give you my view of the purpose of mindfulness and meditation and how I practice them in my own life.
My clients all share at least one thing in common; they think too much!
Their minds wander and they constantly think about things that make them feel anxious, angry or depressed. Sound familiar?
Learning mindfulness helps them to quieten down their busy minds and focus on one thing at a time throughout their day.
So think about it like this; you become ‘mindful’ of one thing at a time instead of your mind being all over the place.
And as you practice mindfulness throughout the day, you become more aware of your thoughts and feelings.
And you learn how to accept feelings and also manage them without feeling overwhelmed.
With meditation, you tend to stop what you are doing and sit down with the specific intention of meditating.
Meditation is simple but can be very difficult, or almost impossible to do effectively if you haven’t learnt some basic techniques or if your mind is too busy.
Ultimately the goal of meditation is to still the mind and to have a single pointed focus without the mind wandering.
It takes time and discipline to get to that point, but when you do, the benefits can be truly amazing.
In my own life I have learnt to live mindfully all day everyday and it has transformed my life.
I am aware of every thought and feeling as they arise and can now quickly and easily manage my emotions.
This means that whilst I still have challenges and difficulties in my life, I no longer suffer with any anxiety, anger or depression.
In fact, I honestly feel happy, relaxed and content pretty much the whole time.
So whilst I practice mindfulness all day everyday, I set aside time every morning and every night to sit and practice meditation.
My goal in these formal meditations is to deeply connect with my higher self or soul or what many call Christ consciousness.
What I can assure you is that when I approach these meditations in the correct way, and give myself sufficient time to simply sit and go deep, I feel amazing!
Now obviously that’s not particularly helpful so lets dig a bit a deeper and see if we can make things a bit clearer.
First we need to understand why there might be some confusion, which is because different people, schools and organisations may have slightly varying approaches and opinions based on tradition and beliefs etc.
I don’t believe that a single dictionary definition for either would completely satisfy all practitioners, so as I’m the one writing this, I’ll give you my view of the purpose of mindfulness and meditation and how I practice them in my own life.
My clients all share at least one thing in common; they think too much!
Their minds wander and they constantly think about things that make them feel anxious, angry or depressed. Sound familiar?
Learning mindfulness helps them to quieten down their busy minds and focus on one thing at a time throughout their day.
So think about it like this; you become ‘mindful’ of one thing at a time instead of your mind being all over the place.
And as you practice mindfulness throughout the day, you become more aware of your thoughts and feelings.
And you learn how to accept feelings and also manage them without feeling overwhelmed.
With meditation, you tend to stop what you are doing and sit down with the specific intention of meditating.
Meditation is simple but can be very difficult, or almost impossible to do effectively if you haven’t learnt some basic techniques or if your mind is too busy.
Ultimately the goal of meditation is to still the mind and to have a single pointed focus without the mind wandering.
It takes time and discipline to get to that point, but when you do, the benefits can be truly amazing.
In my own life I have learnt to live mindfully all day everyday and it has transformed my life.
I am aware of every thought and feeling as they arise and can now quickly and easily manage my emotions.
This means that whilst I still have challenges and difficulties in my life, I no longer suffer with any anxiety, anger or depression.
In fact, I honestly feel happy, relaxed and content pretty much the whole time.
So whilst I practice mindfulness all day everyday, I set aside time every morning and every night to sit and practice meditation.
My goal in these formal meditations is to deeply connect with my higher self or soul or what many call Christ consciousness.
What I can assure you is that when I approach these meditations in the correct way, and give myself sufficient time to simply sit and go deep, I feel amazing!
9. When mindfulness doesn’t work
I have met a lot of people who have told me that mindfulness doesn’t work or mindfulness didn’t work for them.
In response, I would ask you to consider this analogy:
Imagine that you were dying of thirst and you were given a few sips of water.
Would you expect that after a few sips of water you’d be fine?
No, of course not, you would understand that you would need to take in small amounts of water consistently for a long time before you started to feel better.
Mindfulness works but it must be done properly and consistently over a long period of time.
So, if you believe that mindfulness doesn’t work I would suggest there are three possible reasons.
1. You simply haven’t practiced well enough for long enough. In my experience this is VERY common.
2. You may not have learnt how to practice mindfulness correctly. Also very common.
3. You may have an expectation of what you think mindfulness can achieve that it simply can’t.
So, if you have tried mindfulness and believe it doesn’t work or if you haven’t tried it yet but are worried that it might not work for you.
I promise you, if you take the time to understand what it is and what it can and can’t do, and if you learn from a specialist and practice everyday, it WILL work for you!
In response, I would ask you to consider this analogy:
Imagine that you were dying of thirst and you were given a few sips of water.
Would you expect that after a few sips of water you’d be fine?
No, of course not, you would understand that you would need to take in small amounts of water consistently for a long time before you started to feel better.
Mindfulness works but it must be done properly and consistently over a long period of time.
So, if you believe that mindfulness doesn’t work I would suggest there are three possible reasons.
1. You simply haven’t practiced well enough for long enough. In my experience this is VERY common.
2. You may not have learnt how to practice mindfulness correctly. Also very common.
3. You may have an expectation of what you think mindfulness can achieve that it simply can’t.
So, if you have tried mindfulness and believe it doesn’t work or if you haven’t tried it yet but are worried that it might not work for you.
I promise you, if you take the time to understand what it is and what it can and can’t do, and if you learn from a specialist and practice everyday, it WILL work for you!
10. Mindfulness or meditation
If you are wondering whether to choose to practice either mindfulness or meditation I would say your goal ought to be both!
However, I would say that if your mind is really very active and you have not yet learnt how to quiet it down you are likely to find traditional meditation a bit challenging.
So, I would suggest starting with mindfulness and learning how to bring greater stillness to your body and mind.
Then when you can sit still for longer periods without a restless body or restless mind you can start to learn traditional meditation.
It’s important to look at both mindfulness and meditation as a way of life, rather than a quick fix for issues like anxiety, anger and depression.
However, I would say that if your mind is really very active and you have not yet learnt how to quiet it down you are likely to find traditional meditation a bit challenging.
So, I would suggest starting with mindfulness and learning how to bring greater stillness to your body and mind.
Then when you can sit still for longer periods without a restless body or restless mind you can start to learn traditional meditation.
It’s important to look at both mindfulness and meditation as a way of life, rather than a quick fix for issues like anxiety, anger and depression.
Links to trials and studies about mindfulness.
Effectiveness of a meditation-based stress reduction program in the treatment of anxiety disorders. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1609875/
Mechanisms of mindfulness: emotion regulation following a focused breathing induction https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16460668/
Effects of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) on Emotion Regulation in Social Anxiety Disorder https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4203918/
Intensive Meditation Training Improves Perceptual Discrimination and Sustained Attention https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3132583/pdf/nihms300783.pdf
Mindfulness practice leads to increases in regional brain grey matter density https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3004979/pdf/nihms-232587.pdf
Examining workplace mindfulness and its relations to job performance and turnover intention https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0018726713487753
Meditate to create: the impact of focused-attention and open-monitoring training on convergent and divergent thinking https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2012.00116/full
Stepping out of history: mindfulness improves insight problem solving https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22483682/
Meditation promotes insightful problem-solving by keeping people in a mindful and alert conscious state https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22038009/
The Efficacy of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy as a Public Mental Health Intervention for Adults with Mild to Moderate Depressive Symptomatology: A Randomized Controlled Trial https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0109789
Antidepressant Monotherapy versus Sequential Pharmacotherapy and Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy, or Placebo, for Relapse Prophylaxis in Recurrent depression https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3311113/
Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy with older adults: an exploratory studyhttps://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24329497/
Mechanisms of mindfulness: emotion regulation following a focused breathing induction https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16460668/
Effects of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) on Emotion Regulation in Social Anxiety Disorder https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4203918/
Intensive Meditation Training Improves Perceptual Discrimination and Sustained Attention https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3132583/pdf/nihms300783.pdf
Mindfulness practice leads to increases in regional brain grey matter density https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3004979/pdf/nihms-232587.pdf
Examining workplace mindfulness and its relations to job performance and turnover intention https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0018726713487753
Meditate to create: the impact of focused-attention and open-monitoring training on convergent and divergent thinking https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2012.00116/full
Stepping out of history: mindfulness improves insight problem solving https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22483682/
Meditation promotes insightful problem-solving by keeping people in a mindful and alert conscious state https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22038009/
The Efficacy of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy as a Public Mental Health Intervention for Adults with Mild to Moderate Depressive Symptomatology: A Randomized Controlled Trial https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0109789
Antidepressant Monotherapy versus Sequential Pharmacotherapy and Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy, or Placebo, for Relapse Prophylaxis in Recurrent depression https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3311113/
Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy with older adults: an exploratory studyhttps://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24329497/
