The Mindfulness Response and Managing Distress
- amindfulnessrespon
- May 27, 2024
- 4 min read
The Mindfulness Response and Managing Distress
The Mindfulness Response recognizes a team approach to a healing process. There are factors bigger than ourselves that can create serious mental illness. Having a serious mental illness is not a choice. One in five people will have it and people don’t just “snap out of it.” (SAMSHA 2023). Finding help and building a team of mental health workers will speed up your recovery process.
The group discussed many symptoms and coping strategies for psychosis. The participants raised many questions that concerned purpose and desire to live.
What makes my life worth living?
Participants talked about how they felt best when they felt safe and had no suicidal, homicidal, or self-injurious behavior thoughts, intent, or plans. They reported having supportive people or a support group in their lives. They cared for themselves, ate healthy balanced meals, exercised, got proper sleep, kept appointments, and connected with friends and family. They said they were able to do things in the community.
I know that my symptoms are getting worse when:
Participants talked about how they question personal safety, can’t concentrate, and can’t sleep well. They noticed changes in sleep such as more nightmares, poor sleep, and more negative thoughts, but no intent or plan to harm myself or others. Participants said they have difficulty doing self-care.
The group agreed that when unsafe, a participant needed to contact a support person and a therapist, a psychiatrist, a Primary Care Physician (PCP), and talk about medications. The group emphasized being open about symptoms to create a safer home environment.
I need help when:
When participants did not feel safe, the group talked about my negative thoughts, self-injurious behaviors, and images of death or violent actions. The group said it was important to be open and honest about symptoms with providers and the support person to get immediate help. Discussions about the need to go to the Emergency Department at a nearby hospital or call 911 to talk about mental health symptoms, suicide, homicide, or self-injurious behaviors helped participants realize their state of mind and reevaluate their actions, thoughts, and feelings.
Safety Concerns
The group discussed early warning signs to notice before trouble starts. Sometimes symptoms return, even when people do their best to stay well. Symptoms can develop over a short time with little or no warning, but most of the time they emerge gradually over several weeks. Experiencing a relapse was considered when warning signs arose. Some warning signs are common, and others are not as common (WHO, June 2017).
Identify Early Warning Signs
Financial
Relationships, arguments, loss of friendships
Job loss
Retirement
Arrests, legal problems
Previous suicide attempt
History of depression, bipolar, schizophrenia
Serious medical problems or the development of a severe mental illness
Recent grief and loss issue (recent death, loss from a natural disaster)
Family history of violence, abuse
Increase in symptoms
Suicide
The Naikan philosophy was used with people who were questioning suicide and wanting to harm themselves or others. The philosophy was used to help them understand that leaving this world, due to their severe symptoms, would impact other people. This is a difficult piece of the puzzle that is not seen when people are in a very dark place in their minds. Reminding them that they influence others in many ways helps them realize their connection to their community.
The Naikan philosophy questions interactions with others and emphasizes that they need to stay alive to continue to have connections and relationships. Without their life on this planet, the interactions, the influence, the education, and the love for others would be weakened, so their duty or their obligation to others would be to continue to live and not commit suicide.
One group member told the others that they thought about suicide and were dealing with angry, critical voices, but couldn’t do it because their nephew would be sad if it happened.
The group reminded the other group members about what would happen to those loved ones if they chose to harm themselves or others and left the earth for good.
You have kids who need you.
Your kids look to you as a parent.
You have family that you see regularly.
You talk to your mom daily.
You have friends who would notice that you are gone.
The Naikan philosophy helped them understand that leaving this world, due to their severe symptoms, would create a hole in the safety net and that it would create a deep sadness for the family that was left behind after the suicide.
Some group therapy members said that they feel that they don’t matter to others and don’t influence others. The group reminded them that they showed up, and their presence in the room is valuable because it can change or influence reactions from others.
One member said to another member that if they weren’t there, some things would be missing, and the results would be entirely different. The fact that the conversation took place on that day helped influence future interactions.
The Wrong Group
One participant tried to go to a suicide support group, but it did not fit into their work schedule and went to the suicide survivor group instead. The group was surprised by the participant’s story, which was opposite to what they knew and experienced.
The participant told the support group about the voices, and the deep depression, that the voices were criticized daily and hourly, and that the voices said the participant should kill themself. The conversation of the group changed from grief and loss to include the subject of suicide. It opened up numerous group members to recall how they lost someone to suicide and didn’t want the participant to commit suicide. The group met weekly, and conversations were full for the entire hour. The group continued to talk about it. Grief and losses are discussed along with severe symptoms of psychosis. The participant realized that it was the wrong group, but I liked this support group and felt supported and safe.
SAMSHA (2023, April) Living well with serious mental illness: What are serious mental
illnesses? April 4, 2023. https://www.samsha.gov
World Health Organization (2019, March) Health topics. Injuries and violence. March 19, 2019.
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