The mindfulness coaching, courses and retreats offered by Mountain Mind Project are personalized to your individual life. Mindfulness meditation can be beneficial in many situations. Similar to physical exercise, however, your practice may require modifications or additional considerations to set you up for success.
In some circumstances we may suggest that you consider waiting to participate, explore other specialist mindfulness-based programs designed for specific difficulties, (such as Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy), or find support from a mental health professional. Of course, everyone’s situation is slightly different, which is why we include an intake discussion with every potential client to understand.
The guidelines below have been adapted from Oxford Mindfulness Centre and are meant to support you in deciding whether it is the right time for you to participate in the upcoming mindfulness program.
Is this the right program and/or the right time for me to attend?
The following situations would indicate the general public programs are not suitable at this time:
Mania, Suicidal Thoughts and Self-Harm
This program is not suitable for you if you have experienced a manic or hypomanic episode in the past six months, if you are currently self-harming or if you are currently experiencing suicidal thoughts. It isn’t that mindfulness will not be helpful for people with these conditions – in fact we know it might very well be, but it would need to be delivered in a more specialist group. If you are feeling suicidal we would strongly recommend you speak to your general provider or another mental health professional. We are unable to give specific advice or support to those experiencing individual mental health issues. If you do need to speak to someone urgently, call 911 or the local emergency number in your country.
Alcohol and Drug Use
Practicing mindfulness through attendance in a training program involves your full participation and engagement and it is essential that this practice takes place when your consciousness is not impaired. If you are drinking a lot of alcohol or using other drugs please consider carefully whether you will be able to participate in the sessions and home practice while not under the influence of alcohol, drugs or their after- effects. If this is likely to be difficult then the program will not be suitable for you at this time.
The following situations will require a conversation with someone on our team to better understand:
Current Depression
If you are currently depressed, to such an extent that it is difficult for you to manage your everyday life, it is probably not the right time for you to do this program with MMP. We know from experience that people attending the program need to be reasonably well. The program involves engaging in practice and discussion, and finding the motivation and energy to do this while feeling very depressed might be too challenging.
Recent bereavement – in the past year
If you are recently bereaved it is helpful to have come to terms with some of the grief before starting this program. It can be difficult to recognize and work with pre-existing and more longstanding habits of mind, when the bereavement is still very preoccupying. The 1 year period is a notional time (and people will differ a great deal in when they feel ready to begin a course), but our experience suggests it is often helpful to have gone through all the ‘significant’ dates of the person who has died before moving on to start something like a mindfulness program.
PTSD
Mindfulness practice offers the opportunity to place attention on thoughts and the body, and we attempt to do so in a way that does not cause additional distress. If you have been living with post-traumatic stress symptoms, we would need to know that you have engaged with a therapy that allows you to self-manage in the case of any possible re-experiencing of trauma.
Other ongoing psychological treatment
Mindfulness practice is not a ‘therapy’ as such. However, it is often confusing or impractical to engage in two ‘interventions’ at the same time. We ask that you discuss your interest in participating in this program with your current therapist and ask their opinion about also engaging with a mindfulness program at this time.
Stressful life events – current
Participating in a mindfulness program, strange though it may sound, can at times be quite stressful. There is a significant time commitment involved in our programs. If you are participating in an online program, there is the need to adapt your home environment to support privacy and learning throughout the duration of the program. If there’s too much going on in your life right now (change of job, job loss, loss of home, moving, relationship breakdown, too many work commitments etc.), or in your home space, you will want to consider if participating in this program may actually increase your stress load to a degree that feels overwhelming.
Insulin-dependent Diabetes
During periods of meditation the body may become relaxed and for some people, over time, meditation reduces stress. This may in turn have an effect on blood glucose and insulin requirements and may potentially result in a need for adjustments to the pattern of insulin administration and dosage. Please let your general provider or other healthcare professional know that you are doing the program and discuss this possibility with them.