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Q & A with Dr. B. – Does mindfulness help get rid of the self-deprecating thoughts you describe as being so harmful?

Dr. Larry Berkelhammer

Dr. Larry Berkelhammer

The purpose of this website, my book, and the Community Education course I teach at the College of Marin, is to teach people how to live a vibrant, meaningful life through the cultivation of self-empowerment and self-efficacy. In this weekly Q&A column, I post questions from students and from people who attend my presentations along with my answers.

Here is this week’s question:

QUESTION: Does mindfulness help get rid of the self-deprecating thoughts you describe as being so harmful?

ANSWER: Yes. Mindfulness practice teaches us the skill of objective, non-judgmental self-observation. Through self-observation, which is a practice in mind-watching and mindfulness, students learn to master the mind and no longer be harmed by self-denigrating thought processes. Over time, they learn to become aware of harmful thoughts as they occur and to use new skills to protect themselves from the harm that commonly results from negative thinking. Aside from the course I teach, the In Your Own Hands book, as well as this page (and the rest of this website) can provide a guide you can follow if you don’t happen to live geographically close enough to be able to take the course.

Recommended reading in the book: Read Chapter 7: A Brief Introduction to Mindfulness.

This website is offered as a free public service, supplying information that has been found helpful to certain people living with chronic health challenges or issues related to wellbeing. No treatment is offered on this website. The advice is general, and may or may not apply to your individual situation, and is not a substitute for psychotherapy or medical treatment.

If you would like to ask me something, you can type your question in the comment box below. An answer to your specific question may not necessarily appear in this column. The reason for that is I wait until I get a certain number of related questions, then I pick one that covers them all and I answer that one.

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