Mindfulness Booklet

The eight-week Mindfulness course was my first experience of a Manchester Mind service. This course had a real impact on me. It is the first time that I understood that ‘thoughts are not facts’. It felt like a breakthrough moment, recognising that my thought cycle had some power over me and how I was feeling. This realisation has made a huge difference to my day-to-day life. I can now recognise when negative thoughts are descending and sometimes I can even choose to let them pass on rather than get trapped within them. I have chosen page 44 from the course handbook as this page introduces the idea of taking care of ourselves. I observed how difficult it was for people attending the course to make time for themselves and their own wellbeing and how much of a positive impact it had on people to be encouraged to look after themselves, and be a bit kinder to themselves. The poem ‘Perfection Will Be Built’ encouraged me to accept that ‘the ducks will never be in a row’. As a result of attending this course, I am now more accepting of the fact that life is unpredictable and, it is the nature of ducks to fly about.