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Mindfulness

exercises - RAIN and STOP

By Shanie WalkerPublished 3 years ago 11 min read
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My Anchor for Mindfulness

Mindfulness-integrated Cognitive Behavior Therapy offers a practical set of evidence-based techniques derived from mindfulness training together with principles of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) to address a broad range of psychological disorders and general stress conditions. Valuable mindfulness exercises of both RAIN and STOP embeds central principles and mechanisms of mindfulness to include equanimity and impermanence. Mindfulness involves paying attention to each event experienced in the present moment within our body and mind, with a non-judgmental, non-reactive and accepting attitude (Cayoun and Elbourne, 2019). Depression, anxiety and stress disorders are among the most common illnesses in the community and in primary care. The mental health practitioner is well placed to identify and take a primary role in treatment of these illnesses, to facilitate better mental health outcomes (Zarcone, 2009). In learning to be mindful, through RAIN and STOP, the patient can begin to counter many of their everyday sufferings or symptoms of stress, anxiety and depression. Both mindfulness practices aid with peoples doubts, fears or difficult emotions to mitigate negative effects with a healing presence.

Mindfulness can alleviate the level of depression, anxiety and stress calculated on the dimensional elements of a psychological disorder. The Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale assumes the difference between depressive disorders, anxiety and stress is just a degree or two, proven by clinical research. With respect to depressive disorders, the therapist is looking for; feeling hopeless, having no value for life, lack of self-worth, and limited interest in activities. In assessing anxiety, it looks at autonomic arousal, and situational anxiety (Zarcone, 2009). Stress takes in account; difficulty relaxing, nervousness, irritability and levels of impatience. Hofmann, Sawyer, Witt, and Oh, (2010) suggest it is these maladaptive contributors that aid the maintenance of many if not all emotional disorders. Importantly, understanding depressive disorders, anxiety and stress disorders accounts longer periods of time and other factors such as family history, medications, drug and alcohol use, prior diagnosis or other contributors can influence the patient and disorder (Zarcone, 2009). Cayoun and Elbourne, (2009) propose mindful skills of equanimity gives the patient the ability to remain less reactive and less judgmental no matter what is experienced, thereby giving the patient a feeling of ease, self-control and composure in their daily lives. Mindfulness training teaches the ubiquitous reality of impermanence, through changing the nature of things, including the patients mental and emotional experiences. Experiencing the changing nature of internal experiences, the patient can learn to see themselves in a more flexible and objective way. They can detach themselves from rigid views and habits occurring which can lead to stress and unhappiness (Cayoun and Elbourne, 2019). Tiller, (2013) offers comorbid depression and anxiety disorders occur in up to 25% of general practice patients. And about 85% of patients with depression have significant anxiety, and 90% of patients with anxiety disorder have depression. Remarkably, anxiety disorders developmentally with onset usually occurring from childhood or adolescence.

Hofmann, Sawyer, Witt, and Oh, (2010) highlights mindfulness-based therapy is a popular treatment among individuals with disorders other than anxiety disorders or depression. This evidence based research offer participants receiving mindfulness-based therapy for a range of conditions, including cancer, generalized anxiety disorder, depression, and other psychiatric or medical conditions may benefit. MBT research shows a possible link with a general reduction in stress, perhaps by encouraging patients to relate differently to their physical symptoms so that when they occur their consequences are less disturbing. Hofmann, Sawyer, Witt, and Oh, (2010) edifies, in fact, slow and deep breathing involved in mindfulness meditation can alleviate bodily symptoms of distress by balancing sympathetic and parasympathetic responses. Cayoun and Elbourne, (2019) proposes mindfulness used in MiCBT has its roots in Vipassana meditation with insightful meanings of seeing things as they truly are. Mindful meditation enables the patient to reprocess their internal experiences, including painful memories, with more awareness, neutrality and acceptance. MiCBT assists the person in learning to develop control over the processes that maintain unrealistic thoughts and beliefs through mindfulness training. This approach suggests can change the process of thinking, not just the content of our thoughts. The acronym RAIN is an MiCBT tool used for practicing mindfulness and compassion. RAIN is used in mindfulness with a four-step process used in challenging times to support clients working with intense and difficult emotions. In therapy, the R.A.I.N exercise is contributed when mindfulness is needed. RAIN’s mindfulness practice can be used with any content of mind, but is typically applied to unpleasant, uncomfortable, or upsetting material. Using R.A.I.N unites core teachings of mindfulness, and instructs the individual to Recognize, Accept, Investigate, and Not-identify with difficult thoughts, feelings, desires and so forth. The patient can approach painful emotions in a way that transforms them into more workable, revealing experiences. Practicing RAIN can also prevent unhelpful responses, such as cogitation or acting out (OBrien, 2018).

The acronym R.A.I.N, created by Michele McDonald, is an easy-to-remember tool for practicing mindfulness. It has four steps:

1. Recognize what is going on

2. Allow the experience to be there, just as it is

3. Investigate with kindness

4. Natural awareness, which comes from not identifying with the experience.

Recognize. The individual should take a moment to recognize the strong emotion present and softly move towards what they are experiencing in an open and non-judgmental way. Then, tune to the direct present moment experience of what is happening with their body and mind, the emotions, thoughts and sensations present. It can be helpful for the client to mentally name it, perhaps, “I am feeling stressed” or “I am feeling overwhelmed.” The recognition of what they are feeling, opens inner space and brings the person into full contact with themselves and the actuality of the present moment (Obrien, 2018).

Allow. Allowing means to; ‘let it be as it is.’ This step is the acknowledgement and acceptance of one’s present moment reality. The purpose is to soften, or drop, our mental resistance to what is happening. Therefore, not accepting the unconscious impulse to push away, suppress or ignore difficult emotions. Often inner struggles, unknowingly creates more suffering and tension, whereby the person tends to get caught up in their thoughts and emotions, and is more likely to react rather than being able to choose a conscious response (Obrien, 2018).

Investigate. The client has recognized and allows the emotion they choose to investigate. When investigating, use mental enquiring questions like “Why do I feel the way I do?” “Are there events that happened before the emotion which might be an influence?” “Are there any physiological factors, i.e.; enough sleep, affecting the emotion?” “What do I really need right now?” “What actions could I take to nurture and support myself (and/or others) in this challenging time?” These questions promote wiser relationship with emotions and thoughts. The process of investigation gives a conscious response which fosters a more meaningful life (Obrien, 2018).

Non-identification. Means the sense of who the client is, the person is not fused with or defined by their thoughts and emotions. This brings about a natural sense of freedom and ease. Giving the individual a sense of peace no matter the intensity or emotional turmoil. The client can become still, silent and untouched, with the simple realization they are not their mind nor are they their emotions. The client is the awareness that is always there underneath every thought, emotion and sense perception (Obrien, 2018).

Brach, (2019) suggests there are other variations to the RAIN model, this method of RAIN can be used anytime the client is feeling stressed, overwhelmed or out of touch. It’s a powerful way of revisiting in a challenging time. A patient can take the time and explore RAIN as a stand-alone meditation or move through the steps in a more abbreviated way that challenge feelings when they arise. Several people have the conditioning to live for long stretches of time imprisoned by a sense of deficiency, cut off from realizing their intrinsic intelligence, aliveness, and love. The greatest blessing, is to recognize their pain and regularly offer a cleansing rain of self-compassion to awaken their emotions.

American Psychological Association clarify statistics of a sizeable proportion of Americans claim they are likely to seek help for stress and over 19 million Americans alone suffer from anxiety (Goldstein, 2009). However, it isn’t just the problem of stress but how the person relates to stress. The stress reaction works by a person’s experience or life-threatening situations, where the blood circulates throughout the body and muscles to either trigger a fight or flee situation. This critical survival stress response is a mechanism to save lives or enable extreme circumstances. However, these types of stressors and threats are not everyday occurrences, still instead a stress reaction is often created in response to a thought, emotion or physical sensation. For instance, if a person is actively worried about whether they have enough money to put food on the table or their exam results, the reaction will be activated. If the body systems don’t slow down and normalize, the effects could be disastrous, resultant to a variety of illnesses such as; high blood pressure, muscle tension, anxiety, insomnia, gastro-digestive complaints, and a suppressed immune system which compromises the ability to fight disease (Goldstein, 2009).

When the therapist and patient knows what the issues are, they can collaboratively work towards a plan to alleviate and cultivate a strength of hope. Mindfulness-based stress reduction is developed to treat patients struggling with life’s difficulties and physical and/or mental illness (Ackerman, 2019). Although it was initially created to aid hospital patients it has since been used effectively by a wide range of people. Stress brings a host of inescapable and distracting or uncomfortable symptoms. It isn’t just a feeling or a mental state, and if the patient doesn’t address it, stress can seep into every aspect of their life. One way to cope with stress is through mindfulness-based stress reduction, or MBSR. In people’s everyday lives there are a variety of different situations. Sometimes these situations can be quite stressful and a range of coping mechanisms are needed to deal with it. STOP is a short mindfulness practice used in Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction. This mindfulness exercise is used throughout the day to support a person in becoming more present, reducing stress, and being more effective every day (Tanhane, 2013). The acronym STOP; a proven way to help deal with the stressors of daily life (Ackerman, 2019). Stress is inevitable in life, but people should remind themselves that succumbing to the negative symptoms of stress is not inevitable. Patients can treat stress as an opportunity instead of a threat, by changing their mindset and meet challenges head-on, thus, can contribute to their own growth and development (Ackerman, 2019).

The acronym S.T.O.P. can lessen the negative effects of a stress response.

1. S – Stop what you are doing, put things down for a minute.

2. T – Take a breath. Breathe normally and naturally and follow the breathing coming in one’s nose. The client can say out loud “in” and then breath “out” as they practice their breathing to help with concentration.

3. O – Observe one’s thoughts, feelings, and emotions. The person can reflect about what is on their mind and by noticing these thoughts are not facts and they’re impermanent. If the thought that arises is negative to place the person as inadequate, just notice the thought, let it be, and continue. Notice the emotions that are there and name them, i.e.; “I feel, “Sad”. Proven research, by UCLA explains naming one’s own emotions can have a calming effect. Then, now, notice your body. Are you standing or sitting? How is your posture? Any aches and pains.

4. P – Proceed with something which supports you in the moment. Whether talking to a friend or just rubbing one’s own shoulders.

a. (Goldstein, 2013).

This short practice, STOP is weaved into a person’s day to step into a space between stimulus and response. It is important for the client to create a space in the day to stop, come down from the worried mind, and come back to the present moment. This has shown to be enormously helpful in easing the negative effects of a person’s stress response. By dropping into the present, one is more likely to gain a perspective with a power to regulate their own response to pressure (Goldstein, 2013).

Overall, STOP and RAIN are effective tools used to promote mindfulness with a scientific-based perspective derived from traditional Buddhist principles (Ackerman, 2019). Mindfulness and meditation are flexible approaches which allows a person to focus on awareness by viewing their mental activity in an objective way to reduce stress, depression and anxiety symptoms or existing medical conditions to assist psychological treatments. Mindfulness practices of awareness emphasizes the external, whereby focusing can accentuate on the internal. Both these mindfulness exercises of RAIN and STOP bring the person into awareness by looking at one’s thoughts and feelings from the outside of their individual usual self-centred experience. Thereby, the patient can observe their own mind with a stream of consciousness without attaching judgment to establish better well-being Ackerman, 2019).

References

Ackerman, C. (2017). MBSR: 25 mindfulness-based stress reduction exercises and courses. Positive Psychology Program. Retrieved from https://positivepsychologyprogram.com/mindfulness-based-stress-reduction-mbsr/

Brach, T. (2019). Feeling overwhelmed? remember “RAIN”. Foundation for a Mindful Society. Retrieved from https://www.mindful.org/tara-brach-rain-mindfulness-practice/

Brach, T. (2019). Resources - RAIN: Recognize, allow, investigate, nurture. Retrieved from https://www.tarabrach.com/rain/#rainchange

Cayoun, B., & Elbourne, K. (2019). What is mindfulness-integrated cognitive behaviour therapy? The MiCBT Institute. Retrieved from https://mindfulness.net.au/what-is-micbt.html

Goldstein, E. (2009). Stress got you down? Try this tip to balance throughout the day. Psych Central. Retrieved from https://blogs.psychcentral.com/mindfulness/2009/01/stress-got-you-down-try-this-tip-to-balance-throughout-the-day/

Goldstein, E. (2013). Stressing out? S.T.O.P. Foundation for a Mindful Society. Retrieved from https://www.mindful.org/stressing-out-stop/

Hofmann, S.G., Sawyer, A.T., Witt, A.A., & Oh, D. (2010). The effect of mindfulness-based therapy on anxiety and depression: A meta-analytic review. U.S. National Library of Medicine, J Consult Clin Psychol. 78(2), 169–183. doi: 10.1037/a0018555

Obrien, M. (2018). R.A.I.N: A four-step process for using mindfulness in difficult times. Retrieved from https://mrsmindfulness.com/r-n-four-step-process-using-mindfulness-difficult-times/

Tanhane, A. (2013). The practice of STOP. Mindfulness Meditation. Retrieved from http://mindfulnessmeditation.net.au/the-practice-of-stop/

Tiller, J.W.G, (2013). Depression and anxiety. The Medical Journal of Australia,

199 (6): S28-S31. doi: 10.5694/mja12.10628

Zarcone, D. (2009). Take the depression anxiety and stress scale. Retrieved from https://www.depression-test.net/depression-anxiety-and-stress-scale.html

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About the Creator

Shanie Walker

Shanie Walker is a Holistic Behavioural Therapist, awards, and honours in Art Therapy, Dialectic and CBT. Shanie is a Psychologist and Registered Professional Hypnotherapist. Accredited Nutritionist, and Master Degree in Fitness.

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