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Mindfulness
in OT School
We can benefit from employing adaptive coping strategies, such as mindfulness. Mindfulness encourages full attention and awareness of the present moment without judgment or distraction, ultimately promoting successful academic achievement.
Mindfulness
Advantages
Mindfulness
As we learn to trust our innermost thoughts, we come to trust that we are capable of belonging, whether it is among peers, faculty members, or during our fieldwork experience. Practicing mindfulness allows us to acknowledge our individual perspectives and appreciate that others may have different viewpoints than our own.
Research suggests that a poor sense of belongingness has been associated with poorer psychosocial functioning, including a lower sense of self-adequacy and self-integrity, greater perceived stress, and symptoms of depression.
Mindfulness offers a powerful means to help students struggling with stress and depression associated with academic life. Utilizing this tool can improve studies and perceived belonging.
A quick mindfulness tip to practice
@ Karen M. Allen
Growth Mindset Speaker
For those short on time or unfamiliar with mindfulness, try this tip.
Also, think about trying Mindful Engagement
Coined by Dr. Wendy Lucas Wood and OT Dr. Thais Mazur, the concept includes foundations of
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Authenticity — Know Yourself
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Skillful Communication — Open & receptive, without bias or judgement
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Mindfulness — Balanced awareness of thoughts & emotions
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Compassion — Engaging with the best interest of others in mind
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Love — Ushers in the hope that anything is possible
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Equanimity — Doing no harm with equal regard for all people
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Responsibility — What happens to me happens to you, and what happens to you happens to me.
Mobile Apps with Mindfulness
As unique individuals, we all have different preferences for our development of mindfulness. Various mobile device applications allow students to practice mindfulness daily in the hopes of improving their perceived sense of belonging. The following are all apps that can be useful in during an OT school educational journey.
Click the images to be directed to the sites
Calm App helps users relax, sleep well, and breathe mindfully. It includes stories from world-renowned meditation, wellness, and relaxation experts and guided meditations for all ages and skill levels. The App can customize a meditation program to your needs and is easy to use for first-time users. The Calm app's trial run is seven days free, with an annual fee of 69.99 for premium.
Headspace lets newcomers to meditation and mindfulness start slowly. The app's user-friendly interface offers a variety of guided or unguided meditations that can be customized to your time and mood. Professional instructors voice Headspace audio recordings to help users connect with their mental and emotional health. Headspace also offers articles, videos, and stress, anger, and anxiety management tips. Offers a 14-day free trial and a 69.99 annual fee.
Insight Timer is an innovative app that provides a comprehensive way to practice mindfulness. Insight Timer offers customized programs for stress reduction, relaxation, sleep quality, and overall wellness. It has an extensive library of guided meditations, soothing music, and tracking tools to monitor your progress. The app is free however, it requires a 69.99 premium subscription.
Balance customizes meditation for beginners and advanced meditators. Balance offers an incredible selection of courses and singles to teach users everything they need to know about mastering mediation techniques at a great price: $69.99 per year with a free one-year trial!
Smiling Mind, an Australian mindfulness app, provides accessible and evidence-based tools for emotional wellbeing. For over 10 years, they have worked to simplify mental health care. The app offers programs for adults, children, teens, classrooms, and organizations to help users develop positive, thoughtful habits. Smiling Mind offers non-judgmental meditation solutions to help users be more creative and productive. This innovative platform helps users worldwide manage stress, anxiety, and positivity. The free app is recommended for 10 minutes a day.
Liberate Meditation is revolutionizing how we address health disparities in people of color caused by racism and systemic discrimination. Through targeted series, this unique meditation app directly addresses those risks. Specialized meditations help liberate personal growth, such as ancestry, sleep hygiene, and anxiety, to assist with help reflection and connection. Starts at $9.99 a month with three free meditations to trial before purchase.
The Ten Percent Happier app is becoming a go-to for stress reduction and self-awareness. Meditation and guided resources help users relax and improve their mental health. The various courses, interactive content, and user-friendly interface make it accessible to all experience levels and lifestyles.
Loóna's award-winning app helps people relax before bed. It's your personal stress-buster and sleep aid. Playlists, immersive stories, and personalized bedtime rituals help you gain perspective at night. Unique sleepscapes combine enjoyable activities, captivating stories, and soothing sounds for the perfect sleep companion. Monthly subscriptions cost $12.99, while annual memberships (with a 7-day free trial) cost $39.99.
BetterSleep app helps users fall asleep by creating a user-centered environment. Users can track their sleep patterns and make informed decisions to improve their nights and mornings by analyzing sleep quality based on bedtime. The app has 300 soothing sounds and music, 110 calming stories, 200 meditations, and new content every two weeks.
One Sec offers a novel way to reduce social media use as it becomes more widespread. The app's unique approach encourages users to take a deep breath before opening distracting apps with added friction that makes them less appealing, breaking the exacting cycle of instant gratification found on these platforms and combating dopamine release each time we check our devices, setting us up for success rather than failure.
1 Second Everyday, an inspirational video diary app, lets users record and share life's special moments. It's a great alternative to journaling, letting you store all your positive experiences and reflections. This intuitive app creates lasting memories with simple filming and editing tools, automatic reminders, and an elegant design.
Do You Have Recommendations?
We would love to hear more Mindfulness Apps that offers information on sense of belonging and education