Javier García Campayo: "Mindfulness is here to stay, because it has enormous scientific evidence".

We spoke with one of the leading experts in Mindfulness to learn more about this technique.

There is a lot of talk nowadays about Mindfulness or mindfulnessa practice of Eastern origin that is being successfully applied in the field of psychology. Scientific studies claim that it brings many benefits to the mental and physical health of people, and therefore we wanted to know exactly what it is and how it can help us live better and enjoy greater well-being.

Interview with Javier García Campayo

Today we talk to Javier García Campayoa psychiatrist at the Miguel Servet University Hospital (Zaragoza), accredited Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Zaragoza and author of numerous books on Mindfulness such as Mindfulness and science, Mindfulness Manual y Mindfulness and compassionto tell us more about this practice and give us some tips to get started in the experience of mindfulness.

Jonathan García-Allen: Good morning, Javier! Mindfulness has been gaining popularity in recent years; however, there are still people who do not know the meaning of this practice. How would you define Mindfulness?

Javier García Campayo: Mindfulness defines two aspects.

On the one hand, it is a state of mind consisting of remaining attentive to the present moment with acceptance, without wishing that what is happening is otherwise. It is a state that we all have in greater or lesser intensity, but that can be trained. This state is associated with great psychological and physical well-being, which is why its practice is spreading so much internationally.

On the other hand, Mindfulness is also the set of psychological techniques that allow us to develop this state.

When did you come into contact with the practice of Mindfulness?

Around the age of 18, I became deeply interested in meditation, especially as practiced in the Tibetan and Zen Buddhist tradition. However, I have been trained in different schools from Christian contemplation to Hindu advaita or pre-Columbian contemplative practices.

And on a professional level, when did you start applying Mindfulness?

I did a postdoctoral stay at McGill University in Montreal, Canada, in 1997 and then I received my first training in Mindfulness. I always say that when I finished, I didn't bother to pick up the degree. At that time, if a psychologist or psychiatrist used meditation as a therapy, his professional prestige was at stake.

About 10 years ago, when Mindfulness began to make its appearance in Spain, I felt that the time had come to combine my professional practice with my deepest spiritual beliefs.

What are its benefits in the field of mental health?

Mindfulness is useful in the treatment of mental illness. It is considered the psychotherapy of choice in recurrent depression, but it is also very effective in anxiety, addictions, chronic pain, insomnia and stress-related illnesses. It is also very effective in people who do not have a mental disorder because it decreases stress, prevents professional burnout and increases psychological well-being.

In what other areas can Mindfulness be applied? The main ones are health, education, work, sports, and the judiciary. There is controversy about whether it is ethical to apply it to the security forces and the military, but it is also being done.

You talk about Mindfulness in education. Can Mindfulness be taught to children and in schools? Does it also have benefits for teachers?

Children can practice Mindfulness from the age of 6. It is easy to establish it in schools at that age, because students live it as another activity and normalize it and even demand it when it is not given to them. In education should be to train teachers, first to practice them and when they take a while to apply mindfulness to their students. And the circuit is completed by offering mindfulness to parents of students.

Is meditation the same as Mindfulness?

Not exactly. Mindfulness is a state of mind as we have said and is also the technique used to achieve that state of mind. Usually what we use is meditation. But not all meditations increase the levels of Mindfulness, only attentional meditations.

There are many other meditations that do not necessarily increase mindfulness but are used for other functions. On the other hand, Mindfulness is closely related to acceptance, so developing acceptance through psychoeducational means, for example, increases mindfulness without the need to meditate.

You do Mindfulness courses in different cities in Spain such as Zaragoza, Madrid or Barcelona. Is it easy to learn to practice it?

It is simple, yes. Mindfulness courses are usually structured in 7 or 8 sessions of about two hours. With that one learns the basics of the practice and theory of mindfulness and, from there, you can function on your own. Such a course allows to modify psychological parameters (stress for example) but even modifies brain structures when the brain is studied with functional magnetic resonance imaging.

To notice the benefits of this practice, is it necessary to practice it daily? How much time should be dedicated to each session?

The ideal is to practice daily, or at least 4-5 days per week. The effective daily dose is about 20 minutes, which can be divided into two sessions of 10 minutes for example, being highly recommended that one of them is in the morning, just after waking up. With this level of practice in a few weeks the benefits are very evident.

You have written many books on Mindfulness, one of them called "Mindfulness eating: the taste of attention". What is mindful eating?

It is the part of Mindfulness that is dedicated to observing the sensations, emotions and thoughts related to the process of eating. More than 70% of the time we do not eat out of hunger but to calm our negative emotions, what we call "emotional hunger".

When we are sad, worried, tired, we have discovered that eating food (especially hypercaloric or fatty food) relieves us. This is one of the reasons why 50% of the Western population is overweight. Mindfulness reconciles us with food and makes us enjoy it thoroughly, we eat only what we need and it is not necessary to diet to maintain an adequate weight.

Nowadays there is a lot of talk about Mindfulness, do you think it is dangerous for it to become a fleeting fad or to be used to cure all ills?

Objectively, Mindfulness is now in fashion and, therefore, it is overrated. In about 5 years the "boom" will have subsided and will be in its true dimension, but mindfulness has come to stay, because it has a huge scientific evidence (or had other similar movements) and is effective in many environments.

However, it is not a panacea for all diseases but has very precise indications and is not always the most effective technique.

We have already talked about the benefits of Mindfulness. But what would you say to someone skeptical about this practice?

The only thing we can tell them is to try the Mindfulness experience. Any description of its benefits or explaining what it consists of is a pale attempt to put into words a sublime experience. It is like trying to explain the taste of watermelon to someone who has never tasted it.

We can spend hours describing the taste, but eating a piece resolves all doubts. Having some experience of Mindfulness is more useful than any lesson on the subject.