The Mindful Way through Depression: Freeing Yourself from Chronic Unhappiness

by J. Mark G. Williams

For David, the realization that he could change his experience by changing the way he paid attention in each moment was immensely empowering. He threw himself into bringing mindfulness to each aspect of his day. Over time he learned to prioritize giving attention to physical sensations as a way to stay connected with the immediacy of his experience. As soon as he awoke, he took three deliberate, mindful breaths, sensing his abdomen rise and fall with each one, using the sensations in his body as a focus to gather his attention before it became entangled and dispersed in anticipating and planning the day ahead. In the shower, he used the first contact of the water as a reminder to enter fully into the present moment, to tune in to the sensations in his body—the tingling on his skin where the water splattered, the movements in his limbs as he rubbed soap over his body.