When we are fixated on healing ourselves and breathing life back into our souls, we may potentially be fraying our behaviour towards helping and being there for others
Is too much of a good thing bad for you? Recent studies by psychologists and research from universities are showing an increase in selfishness which comes as a negative side effect from practising mindfulness. With the whole world currently riding the wellness, well-being, mindfulness train, it does make you wonder how and why we are getting this wrong. When we are fixated on healing ourselves and breathing life back into our souls, we may be fraying our prosocial behaviour towards helping and being there for others.
See also: How to Cultivate Mindful Moments to Improve Your Well-Being
Before exploring the research on how mindfulness potentially creates a little selfish core within us, it is important to understand what mindfulness is, how we do it, and the beautifully life-changing, positive benefits the practice can bring to your life.
Mindfulness is an ancient practice dating back thousands of years with links to Buddhism which now loosely connotates with yoga, meditation and an attainment for a Zen-like state of living. According to the founder of modern Western mindfulness, Jon Kabat-Zinn, mindfulness is a state of awareness, that arises from paying attention, on purpose to the present moment, and non-judgmentally.
When we are able to practice mindfulness, be it in the form of meditation or slowing down and savouring what you are eating and being fully present in the moment, we bring about psychological and physical benefits that can help us tremendously. Some benefits can include:
- Decrease in stress and anxiety levels, increased awareness, attention span and focus. Lowered blood pressure, heart rate, and increase in immune function and higher brain functioning. It gives us more clarity when thinking and making decisions and makes us feel internally still and calm.
- Enhanced ability to deal with illness and recovery—studies show that people that practice mindfulness can recover from medical procedures faster than those who don’t.
- Decrease in depressive symptoms which comes about when practising mindfulness and where you gain an enhanced perception of self-worth, and love and care towards yourself. With children, enhanced mindfulness can aid in increasing mental resilience, helps regulate emotions, mood, empathy, confidence and self-esteem.
Studies show that children who practise mindfulness have a direct correlation with improved academic results and ability to handle stress, and in the workplace for adults, similarly, it helps boost productivity and can foster reciprocal behaviour.
Where does it go wrong?
Over the last decade, the multibillion-dollar wellness industry has taken age-old traditions like meditation and mindfulness and contextualised them for the modern person by making them relatable to the current generation. What’s perhaps happened is that the simple organic techniques of slowing down and being intently and acutely aware of yourself have led to a generation of people that are perhaps more self-centred and less adequate in interacting, helping and being part of the collective “we”.
For people who are inherently interdependent, mindfulness can make you aware of others, their feelings and also how you react and want to behave. Yet, for individuals who are independent, an increase in mindfulness practice causes a decrease in social connection and ability to reach out, help and assist others.
According to a research paper conducted by the University at Buffalo, cultural context also plays a part in determining how prosocial you inherently are. In the East, the community and society and the importance of “we” is far greater than in the West where the “individual” plays a more key role than that of the entire community.
See also: Re:Qi Retreat: How This Wellness Retreat in Singapore Can Help You Achieve Mindfulness