Hello there 👋

Welcome back to Mindful Mondays! 🧘

Mondays are, famously, most people’s seventh favorite day of the week. And Mondays where everything is darker, longer, and colder than normal? Thanks, but no thanks.

But don’t panic; we’ve got something to help. It might be small, but it can make a big difference. Just ten minutes of mindfulness can go a long way, and taking some time out to sit down, slow down, and breathe can help center your thoughts and balance your mood. Sometimes, the best things in life really are free.

This year, we have teamed up with the good folks at @nasa. They want you to tune in and space out to relaxing music and ultra-high-definition visuals of the cosmos—from the surface of Mars.  

Sounds good, right? Well, it gets better. Watch more Space Out episodes on NASA+, a new no-cost, ad-free streaming service.

Why not give it a try? Just a few minutes this Monday morning can make all the difference, and we are bringing mindfulness straight to you. 

🧘WATCH: Space Out with NASA: Martian Landscapes, 11/27 at 1pm EST🧘

Mindful Monday-Tips for Bad Days

Useful references for when your having bad mental health days or feeling like you need to rest & recharge.

It’s Mindful Monday! If you haven’t been mindful today, here’s your reminder to breathe deeply and be in deep presence with self.

One mindful activity I did today was some yoga (my shoulders and neck sorely need it!) but a certain someone kept joining in and licking the mat!! So I ended up practicing upstairs. But what a lovely quiet moment this bank holiday to stretch and get in touch with my body 🥰

We don’t have to be “On” every moment of every day. So often we believe that we must be doing something or taking grounded action when in fact resting, caring for yourself, being in nature, and meditating are some of the most important steps you can take to align with and achieve your goals. So remember to take care of yourself throughout the day by stopping for a few minutes to just “be” rather than “do.” By repeating this process, over time, you will begin to see big results in your daily life.

tumblr keeps trying to sell me mindful monday and im sorry but the ship has already sailed on malfeasance monday

Wisdom from Gordon Ramsay:

“I’ve never, ever, ever, ever, met someone I believe in as little as you.”

Mondays can be a whirlwind, but they also offer a chance to practice inner peace. How do you find serenity amidst the hustle and bustle of the start of the week? Share your mindfulness tips and let's inspire one another! #MindfulMonday #InnerPeace

On a cold Tuesday in October 2015 in the Palace of Westminster, I listened to a smartly dressed professor argue that everyone who worked there, ‘from the front-line porter to the secretary of state’ needs support for their mental health. His audience of politicians, peers, and political advisors nodded in recognition as he described his experience of anxiety in real time: ‘So many thoughts going round in our heads, “Is my tie straight?” “Do I seem nervous?” “Are they going to make a judgement about me?” These thoughts are the social conditioning that we respond to and that distract us from the immediate experience of the moment.’ The talk was part of an All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) inquiry into the policy potential of mindfulness as a support for mental health. None of the audience, to my knowledge, had received a mental health diagnosis, but most, if not all, recognised themselves in the characterisation of anxiety with which they were presented.

I conducted long-term anthropological research on mindfulness and mental health with patients, therapists, politicians, and advocates in Britain. What I found is that, in addition to the terrifying prevalence of depression and anxiety, the development of preventative healthcare has radically transformed the category of ‘mental health’ itself. In Britain and America, mental health is increasingly thought of as a transversal issue, as important for psychologists as for patients, probation workers as for prisoners, politicians as for constituents.

In the 1950s, depression was so rare that pharmaceutical companies saw no benefit in investing money in its treatment (Healy 1997)[1]. And yet, by 2020, the national census reported that one third of Americans were showing symptoms of depression, anxiety, or both (Fowers & Wan 2020)[2]. Recently, Taylor Swift became the first artist to ever occupy the entirety of the top 10 spots on the Billboard Hot 100 list with the release of her album ‘Midnights’, heavy with the introspection of a therapy assignment. The situation is similar across the pond; in Britain, everyone from Stormzy[3] to the Football Association (FA) is talking about mental health. In the go-to metaphor of the FA, ‘[l]ife often imitates football: we all experience setbacks from time to time, some big, some small, some you see coming, others come out of the blue, and each setback puts our mental health to the test.’[4]

Whereas earlier categorisations of mental health led to the identification of ‘risky populations’ (Rose 1985)[5], or the treatment of acute episodes of ill health, ‘mental health’ is no longer reserved for those who might qualify for a clinical diagnosis. In this new categorisation, all people are more or less well at different points in their lives. Or, as the Mental Health Foundation says on its website, now ‘[w]e all have mental health.’[6]

My research revealed that the expansion of the category of mental health has led to two distinct but related changes. First, for people from diverse backgrounds in Britain, preventative healthcare is informed by a positive framing of mental health. It’s no longer only about mental illness, though that is still important; it’s also about flourishing, happiness, purpose, and resilience. Second, people across society have increasingly come to think of mental health as something that can be actively cultivated. It is a culturally new phenomenon to think of learning to develop a relationship with one’s own mind as a central constituent of the good life. This matters because, in the transversal shift from the prevention of illness to the cultivation of health, what one does about mental health far exceeds the realms of professional psychological intervention. Mental health practices, like mindfulness, are incorporated into the ‘small moments’ of everyday life (washing up, waiting for a bus), and living well is associated with maintaining a healthy relationship with one’s own mind amidst the ups and downs of everyday life. In the autumn of 2023, the next major update to Apple’s iOS system will see features that encourage users to reflect on their ‘state of mind’ and track their levels of depression and anxiety. Wherever you are in the world, if you have an iPhone, iPad, or Apple Watch, you can ‘stay on top of your mental wellbeing’ on a daily and weekly basis.

The meetings in parliament interested me because they reflect new modes of governance that emphasise evidence-based decision-making and citizen involvement in co-producing policy, but what marked them out from similar participatory fora was the way in which all participants related mental health and mindfulness to their own experience. Listening to testimonials from ex-offenders, probation workers, school children, teachers, patients, and clinical psychologists, as well as members of the House of Commons and the House of Lords, I was struck by how much the assembled group engaged with questions of mental health as emotional creatures themselves. In large wood-panelled meeting rooms overlooking the river Thames, each meeting began with assembled parliamentarians and experts closing their eyes as a mindfulness teacher guided them to bring their awareness to their breath and to notice the quality of their thoughts, emotions, and feelings in the moment. As one member of the House of Lords commented, ‘we’re all really peers in this’.

In my book I interrogate the ways in which the logics of preventative mental healthcare are incorporated into people’s relationships with themselves, therapeutic interventions, structures of governance, and political campaigns. While it may seem like common sense that mental health can be supported by reflection and awareness, much like physical health is supported by exercise and diet, this idea has a strikingly short history. My account of mental health examines the historical development of categories that we take for granted, the wider intellectual trends by which they are informed, the ethics through which they are constituted, and their meaning for people as they navigate the vicissitudes of life. What this illustrates is that preventative healthcare has had a profound influence on people’s efforts to live well, underscoring the significance of our understanding of the mind.

Joanna Cook is a Reader in Medical Anthropology at University College London. She is the author of Meditation in Modern Buddhism: Renunciation and Change in Thai Monastic Life and the coauthor of The State We’re In: Reflecting on Democracy’s Troubles and other books.

Notes

[1] Healy, David. 1997. The Antidepressant Era. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

[2] Fowers, Alyssa & William Wan 2020 ‘A third of Americans now show signs of clinical anxiety or depression, Census Bureau finds amid coronavirus pandemic.’ The Washington Post 26th May, https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2020/05/26/americans-with-depression-anxiety-pandemic/

[3] https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/mar/03/stormzy-depression-grime-mental-illness-black-men

[4] https://www.headstogether.org.uk/heads-up/

[5] Rose, Nikolas. 1985. The Psychological Complex: Psychology, Politics and Society in England, 1869–1939. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.

[6] MHF. 2022. ‘About Mental Health’, https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/explore-mental-health /about-mental-health (accessed 30 November 2022).

Starting my day with mindful meditation to feel centered and set intentions.

Mindful Monday

Sleet today. Freezing tonight. I’d love to share our cool for a bit of Texas warmth.

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Hello again👋

Welcome back to week number FIVE of Mindful Monday. It’s our FINAL week and we are here for a last little slice of quiet time🧘

We are back with some meditative space in space. Where else? This week, we delight in the wonders of the universe observed by the Hubble Space Telescope as you turn on, tune in, and space out to relaxing music and stunning ultra-high-definition visuals of our cosmic neighborhood 🌌

Mysterious and magical, and it’s here for you. You can even watch even more Space Out episodes on NASA+, a new no-cost, ad-free streaming service.

Why not give it a try? Because just a few minutes this Monday morning can make all the difference to your entire week, as @nasa helps to bring mindfulness from the stars and straight to you. 

🧘WATCH: Space Out with NASA: Wonders of the Universe. 12/25 at 1pm EST🧘

Mindful Monday- Changing the Inner Monologue

Our words have power and impact. They can create self-fulfilling prophesies or paradoxically attract the very thing you don’t want.

If you find yourself struggling with negative inner self-talk, I invite you to practice changing the conversation by validating your emotions, avoiding the negation of possible future outcomes and keeping an open mind towards opportunities of personal growth.

If you are experiencing persistent emotional distress, SensibleTips for T Guys advocates for seeking help for mental health concerns.

Mental Health Resources

988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline

24/7, free and confidential support for people in distress, prevention and crisis resources for you or your loved ones, and best practices for professionals. Call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org.

Find a Therapist|PsychologyToday.com

Search results based on the parameters you set

Trans Lifeline

Peer support hotline is run by and for trans people. The line is available daily from 7 a.m.–1 a.m. PST / 9 a.m.–3 a.m. CST / 10 a.m.–4 a.m. EST. Volunteers may be available during off hours. Call 877-565-8860 to speak to someone now.

TrevorLifeline Crisis Intervention and Suicide Prevention

The TrevorLifeline is a crisis intervention and suicide prevention phone service available 24/7 at 1-866-488-7386. TrevorText is available by texting “START” to 678678 .

It’s not Mindful Monday but any day is a good day to be mindful 😌 this morning, I drank my tea mindfully, taking this moment as an opportunity to practice inter-being, all of the conditions that came together for me to sit quietly and drink in the morning. I also remembered the Plum Village gatha- “This cup of tea in my two hands, mindfulness holds perfectly. My mind and body dwell in the very here and now.”

I’ve also been painting outside. Art is a perfect way to express yourself and be mindful, just focusing on the movement, of the warmth outside, and for me, the sounds of birds and water that I can hear ☺️ all wonderful ways to be mindful!

I hope this is a reminder for anyone out there that this is a moment to breathe, to check in with yourself, or a reminder to make space for calmness, quietness, and care during today and any other day of the week 💖 make yourself a priority!

Hi! Wood Pengu here reminding you not to neglect your ears when washing and/or moisturizing your face. And that feet are only as truly disgusting as you let them get by not taking care of them. Thank you and have a great day.

Mindful Monday OK so let me tell you guys if you’re struggling with cervical radiculopathy and you’re at the point that the blue boy is

If you have that kind of swelling, you know if you put very very warm water on your hands for about 30 seconds, it will help it helps loosen the joints from the cervical radiculopathy that pinched nerve. It causes swelling in the hands.

I’m just really sorry to a lot of American people that a lot of these doctors are playing the games they play but at the same time you can thank Ashley Young and Chris Robertson trash like them are definitely pushing buttons in America for many people.

Medical doctors I would like to remind you guys that for one you’re not dogs and you’re not slaves and when you guys actually do your fucking jobs

And you help save lives I think that that is just a stellar that is just beautiful and you can’t let people like Ashley Young or Chris Robertson get to you

I’m gonna work on not letting Teresa Cooper and Rebecca Green get to me

So you guys are gonna have to get a doctor from up there to come down here to help me and you know some of these doctors are going to get pretty pissed off having to travel because you guys don’t wanna do your goddamn jobs I need Kentucky state senate to take the shit seriously

“What senate Rebecca lmao.”

Anatoly is not the state senate. You guys need to stop believing these lies he is slow.

And he basically is attempting to fuck everybody over goddamn piece of shit

Make up cost s money, kids

Ashley, you were would try to threaten any fucking child if you thought it would make me upset you’re a fucking idiot

It’s because she doesn’t even love her own. She’s one of those delusional bags of trash. I’ve seen many many women like her. They are after one thing vanity and that’s it.

She’s extremely narcissistic that’s no secret, though the girls informed me they inform me yeah

No w Ashley I didn’t say which girls

Mindful Monday

I meant to share this way earlier this morning but ya girl got distracted.

It's Monday! Let's be mindful! I have a message for you. You can carry it with you throughout your week if you would like...or not; I'm not here to tell you what to do, just to deliver a message.

Playful

I go about life playfully and take things lightly. I can turn any hard day or heavy burden into a fun adventure. Why spend time upset when there is so much fun to be had?