Universal Wellbeing – Mindfulness

DGS Mindfulness Poster

Mindfulness is a process of learning how to live our lives more in the present moment, rather than being on ‘auto-pilot’ or living in ‘our heads’ with our thoughts, worrying about the past or the future. Mindfulness was developed by Jon Kabat-Zinn in 1979, and from this time has been developed for improving mental and physical wellbeing.

Becoming more aware of the present moment can help us to enjoy the world around us more and understand ourselves better. When we become more aware of the present moment, we begin to experience afresh things that we have taken for granted. Mindfulness teaches us to pay attention more, to be kind and non-judgmental towards ourselves, and to foster a healthy curiosity in everything we do.

Mindfulness teaches simple forms of meditation to focus on the breath and bodily sensations and uses everyday tasks and activities to help you to focus on present moment awareness.

Sessions are held:

Swanley: St. Peter’s Church, College Road

Monday 10:00—12:00pm

Dartford: St. Anselm’s Parish, 89 West Hill

Wednesday 2:45—4:15pm

Gravesend: Riverside Community Centre,  Dickens Road

Friday 12:00—1:30pm

These sessions help to improve the health and happiness for those 55 and over, or living with complex health conditions.

For further information, please contact NORTH KENT MIND – 01322 291380, select the registration link above or email – wellbeing@northkentmind.co.uk.

Mindfulness and Men’s Group

Here at North Kent Mind, we have lots of different Wellbeing Groups including Men’s Group, which encourages openly speaking about mental health and combining that with different activities. As well as Mindfulness, which teaches techniques for looking after your mental wellbeing.

Check out the attached posters to find out all information on those groups, along with venues and timings.

For information on all of our Wellbeing Groups, please select “Wellbeing Services” on the “Services” drop-down on our menu.

Self-referrals can be made here on the website.

Mindful Moments



See our new ‘Mindfulness’ page. We invite you to use this page to share photos that you feel have a mindful effect on you, and that create opportunities for mindful awareness, in the present moment.  Whatever creates a space for calmness and peace for you that you would like to share with others’

Take notice – take time to be aware of the world around you, whether it’s while exploring your local area for your daily exercise, out in the garden looking at plants and wildlife, while preparing and eating a meal, spending time with your pets, a picture or an object you may find …  Pause to take photos of something beautiful.

If you would like to share your favourite photos of ‘Mindful Moments’ you have had please e-mail them to juliemoss@northkentmind.co.uk



Mindful Moments

Mindful Moments

Welcome to our new ‘Mindfulness’ page. We invite you to use this page to share photos that you feel have a mindful effect on you, and that create opportunities for mindful awareness, in the present moment.  Whatever creates a space for calmness and peace for you that you would like to share with others’

Take notice – take time to be aware of the world around you, whether it’s while exploring your local area for your daily exercise, out in the garden looking at plants and wildlife, while preparing and eating a meal, spending time with your pets, a picture or an object you may find …  Pause to take photos of something beautiful.

If you would like to share your favourite photos of ‘Mindful Moments’ you have had please e-mail them to juliemoss@northkentmind.co.uk

Mindfulness

Mindfulness is a process of learning how to live our lives more in the present moment, rather than being on ‘auto-pilot’ or living in ‘our heads’ with our thoughts, worrying about the past or the future. Mindfulness was developed by Jon Kabat-Zinn in 1979, and from this time has been developed for improving mental and physical wellbeing.

Becoming more aware of the present moment can help us to enjoy the world around us more and understand ourselves better. When we become more aware of the present moment, we begin to experience afresh things that we have taken for granted. Mindfulness teaches us to pay attention more, to be kind and non-judgmental towards ourselves, and to foster a healthy curiosity in everything we do.

Mindfulness teaches simple forms of meditation to focus on the breath and bodily sensations and uses everyday tasks and activities to help you to focus on present moment awareness.

At North Kent Mind the Wellbeing Service provides Mindfulness courses throughout the year.

Mindfulness Meditation Practice Tracks

These Are tracks you can use for Mindfulness. Click on the name of the track to access them.

Mindfulness – Body Scan

Mindfulness – Sounds and Thoughts

Mindfulness – Sitting with the Breath

  1. Play (11:02)

Videos

North Kent Mind Mindfulness Groups

Body Scan

Mindfulness Meditation Breathing Anchor

Mental health Recovery Programme

For referrals to Wellbeing Services (Medway) please use the Self-referral form

Mental Health Recovery Programme

Our Wellbeing Courses help people to learn and develop coping strategies using cognitive behavioural techniques and psychoeducational methods. 2 hours a week over 6 weeks with tasks to complete at home.

Managing Depression

Our 6 week Managing Depression course will focus on understanding depression and its interrelationship with our emotions, thoughts and behaviours, what we can do to challenge our negative thoughts and tips to staying well and maintaining our mental wellbeing.

Managing Anxiety

Over the course of 6 weeks, we will be working to understand anxiety, how  it affects our daily routine and how we can empower ourselves to regain control over our emotions and challenge our anxiety. We will also be looking at ways to improve our self-esteem, improve our problem solving skills and relaxation skills to maintain mental wellbeing.

Improving Self-Esteem, Confidence & Assertiveness

A 6 week course centred around understanding what causes and maintains low self-esteem, how to improve our own self-worth, gain more confidence and teach strategies to become more assertive, such as learning how to say no and not be taken advantage of. Our course teaches participants how low self-esteem can result in poor mental wellbeing, poor decision making and destructive relationships and the skills we need to break that cycle.

Stress Management and Relaxation Techniques

During our 6 week course, we will be looking at practising relaxation techniques, how we can apply strategies into our daily routine and how to identifying the root causes of our stressors, such as work, family, health, finances, the things that affect us all, and how we can manage stress more effectively.

Let’s Be Mindful

Mindfulness is a concept that allows us to pay attention to the present, rather than being stuck in the past or worrying about the future. Over 6 weeks, we will learn how to apply mindfulness into our everyday life, understanding our thoughts and feelings and learning how to pay attention to the world around us.

Mental Wellbeing Matters

We would go to the doctors if we had a poor physical health, so why do we struggle when it comes to our mental health? Mental Wellbeing Matters is a new course focused around our mental wellbeing, how we maintain good mental health, looking into empowerment, resilience, self-care and self-expression.

Resilience

Over the duration of 6 weeks, we will be looking into understanding resilience, the importance of resilience and overcoming challenges in life. By building our resilience, we are building our confidence, our self-worth and having the tools we need to ‘bounce back’.

Group Support

Our Wellbeing Courses help people to learn and develop coping strategies using cognitive behavioural techniques whilst all being in person, developing social inclusion further. All of our courses are 1.5 hours weekly over 6 weeks with tasks to complete at home.

For referrals to Wellbeing Services (DGS) please use this form

Managing Depression

Our 6-week Managing Depression course will focus on understanding depression and its interrelationship with our emotions, thoughts and behaviours, what we can do to challenge our negative thoughts and tips to staying well and maintaining our mental wellbeing.

Managing Anxiety

Over the course of 6 weeks, we will be working to understand anxiety, how it affects our daily routine and how we can empower ourselves to regain control over our emotions and challenge our anxiety. We will also be looking at ways to improve our self-esteem, improve our problem solving skills and relaxation skills to maintain mental wellbeing.

Improving Self-Esteem, Confidence & Assertiveness

A 6-week course centred around understanding what causes and maintains low self-esteem, how to improve our own self-worth, gain more confidence and teach strategies to become more assertive, such as learning how to say no and not be taken advantage of. Our course teaches participants how low self-esteem can result in poor mental wellbeing, poor decision making and destructive relationships and the skills we need to break that cycle.

Stress Management and Relaxation Techniques

During our 6 week course, we will be looking at practising relaxation techniques, how we can apply strategies into our daily routine and how to identifying the root causes of our stressors, such as work, family, health, finances, the things that affect us all, and how we can manage stress more effectively.

Mindfulness

Mindfulness is a concept that allows us to pay attention to the present, rather than being stuck in the past or worrying about the future. Over 6 weeks, we will learn how to apply mindfulness into our everyday life, understanding our thoughts and feelings and learning how to pay attention to the world around us.

Mental Wellbeing Matters

We would go to the doctors if we had a poor physical health, so why do we struggle when it comes to our mental health? Mental Wellbeing Matters is a new course focused around our mental wellbeing, how we maintain good mental health, looking into empowerment, resilience, self-care and self-expression.

Recovery Based Activity Groups

In the Dartford, Gravesend and Swanley areas, we offer 2hr weekly in person groups. Within the 2 hour sessions, attendees will be engaging in activities including creativity and self-expression sessions, Tai Chi, bingo, music sessions and open discussions around our wellbeing over the course of 12 weeks. We will the follow up with a 1 hour ‘wellbeing space’, where we will offer more bespoke support around mental health support needs, how we can signpost into different courses we have available and also provide refreshments such as teas, coffees and sandwiches. Our goal is to help reduce social isolation, provide peer support that promotes connectedness, inclusion and a sense of community.

Our wellbeing space will be open to the public and offer the opportunity for chance to sign up and discuss what our groups consist of and any anxieties they may have.

Virtual Weekend Wellbeing Space

Held weekly for 2 hours, the session is hosted digitally on Saturday mornings to enable engagement for the isolated, paving the way for them to join in-person services. Focusing on peer support, engagement, making connections, developing confidence, task-based activities, and social skills.

Have you ever heard of a breathing wand?

Over the half-term period our Children and Young Persons Service hosted some sessions, including a creative activity for our attendees!

They made some breathing wands as a useful tool for mindfulness.

The focus being to visibly breathe in and blow out onto their wand and to watch it below, to regulate their breaths.

Interested in creating a breathing wand? They can be easily put together using household items. Give it a go!

Things you’ll need:

  • A toilet paper towel roll
  • Anything you’d like to use to decorate
  • Thin ribbon, or anything that is light enough to be moved by breath

How to put together:

  1. Cut a small strip off the top of one toilet paper roll
  2. Stick it to the top of another, shaped like an arch
  3. Attach your ribbons to the arch
  4. Decorate!
  5. Then you can start to use