Mindful Senses: A Practice to Help Reduce Food Distress

If you had told me that I would be taking meditation groups as part of working at The Recover Clinic (a private outpatient clinic for Eating Disorders) I would have laughed in your face. I was the most wound-up person you could ever wish to meet. Unhappy in my job, stressed about studying, absolutely zero idea what I wanted to do with my life and the thought of meditating was just another stress that was added to my already overflowing list of things to do.

Now, if you are anything like me, the thought of sitting in a circle with inhaling and exhaling and saying ‘ommm’ with a whole load of strangers might not particularly float your boat, but this is where meditation is portrayed so badly.

Meditation does not have to be about lying in a dark room with incense burning listening to someone called Petal telling you to tune into your chakras (by the way, this sounds like heaven to me now that I have been converted). Meditation can be about creating calm and serenity each day, allowing you to tune-in to your emotions, giving you some much deserved you time, to just sit, be present in the moment and just be. It can also be a tool which you can use day to day, to create some space between you and a distressing event or your eating disorder. Below I’ve given you a really simple meditation practice to help you if you need to calm food thoughts, eating distress or anxiety.

MINDFUL SENSES PRACTICE

Take a deep breath…

Allow your shoulders to relax, move them down away from your ears and feel them and shift down your back…

Close your eyes (if you can) and start to tune into your surrounds…

• Find 5 x things that you can hear, really tune into the sounds, what are they, where are they, how do they sound? Then,

• Find 5 x things you can see. What do they look like, what colour are they, what shade of that colour, what texture do they look like they might be, what size are these objects you have found? Then,

• Find 5 x things you can touch. Again, go into detail. How to they feel to touch? Are they rough or smooth, hard or soft, hot or cold, heavy of light, how do they feel against your skin?

• If you can then find 5 x things to smell. Are these generic smells in your environment (e.g., food cooking in a restaurant) or can you pick up and object and smell it. Perhaps it smells metallic, of soil, fresh or damp.

Take your time doing this, there is no need to rush.

Why?

This exercise can be used anywhere, literally anywhere. On the tube, on the bus, at school, at work at the dining table, you don’t need a dark room and relaxing music. By slowing your breathing and shifting your attention away from whatever is causing you stress, focusing on your surroundings instead, allows your body to calm its nervous system and reduce its fight or flight response, giving you a chance to regain your composure and feel more in control. It’s also just quite fun to do!