Introduction to Mindfulness - Dean Amory

Week 4
When this session began, it was evident that energy was very low. It
may have been perhaps because only six people turned up. It also
became clear from their discussion of experiences with homework –
recognising and writing down their thoughts and feelings in
“unpleasant situations” (what also became clear from this? Maybe it’s
just the phrasing here, but I don’t get the point…).
Members described some objectively difficult situations and how
being aware of their reactions had helped them to cope (or not).
“My unpleasantness was over a funeral… there’s nothing more
unpleasant than that – there was regret, anger, sadness, pacing back
and forward and all that… like I didn’t know what to do”
We explored this further with him and his notes showed that he felt
“angry (100%), regret (60-70%)”.
Noticing he felt that way and allowing himself to be upset had helped
him to get through it without doing anything self-destructive.
Death, anniversaries, feelings of loss and guilt were very common
experiences recorded by the group. There was a keen sense in the
room that recovery for each of them was a “life or death” matter.
And if mindfulness could help them stay alive, they wanted to give it
every chance.
“The way I look at it, once I stay clean they didn’t die in vain… Even
now, I don’t call them by their names cause that gets closer to the
emotions… I’d do anything to recover – for me it’s even recover or
die – I’ve already relapsed twice…”
While some of the participants found the homework difficult, the
positive impact that this simple journaling exercise had on some
participants came through in the follow-up interviews. As one
participant stated:
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