Self Help Scepticism Part Two - A Change of Heart Perhaps...

I think I may have found a form of self-help that I think I can tolerate or at least do it without burning sandalwood or becoming vegan. 

I still convulsively eye roll every time I read some article or book related to the practice of self-help but I am learning, relaxing and indeed, becoming Mindful.

Mindfulness. Or more specifically Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy. I think this will be my poison...

Wonderfully wise Wikipedia has this to say about Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) and it is really long, a bit complicated, uses far too many acronyms and it a bit dull. So in a nutshell, Mindfulness teaches you to reflect rather than to react. Educating yourself about your problems (depression in my case) and learning about what triggers them and preventing or finding coping strategies. 

Mindfulness is about observation without criticism; being compassionate with yourself. When unhappiness or stress hover overhead, rather than taking it all personally, you learn to treat them as if they were black clouds in the sky, and to observe them with friendly curiosity as they drift past. In essence, mindfulness allows you to catch negative thought patterns before they tip you into a downward spiral. It begins the process of putting you back in control of your life.

Now all this self help isn't all nonsense and it's not all about being a raving hippie. Check out this meditation. I think it's wonderful and soothing and best of all, it's based on chocolate. That's right, CHOCOLATE MEDIATION! (wouldn't that make the best name for a dessert, ever?)

The problem is that I wrote this post weeks ago and have been too busy to publish it...