Mindfulness Course Participant Experiences
While mindfulness is not therapy, it can provide us with the skills and techniques to support ourselves during, and after, times of difficulty.
Many people participating in our 8 week courses have told us that practicing mindfulness helped them free themselves from constant anxiety, depression and stress, and transformed their day to day lives. Some have told us that in the process they have become less reliant on medication and require considerably fewer visits to their GP for their mental wellbeing.
Some of our mindfulness course participants have been so inspired by their new found freedom, they have also gone on to learn to teach mindfulness, or volunteer with Peer 2 Peer Mindfulness, and are now helping others learn to be mindful and transform their lives also.
The ripple effect is strong.
Peer 2 Peer Mindfulness:
“I didn't think mindfulness could help,
but I feel calmer and more in control of my life now.”
“My husband felt mindfulness might be of help to him and
enrolled in a course. I went with him basically as support.
I didn’t think it could help me as I felt I was possibly too anxious
and too much of a worrier to get any benefit — but I was wrong.
Something shifted that first session that made me want to return
and keep on returning.
I practice daily and will be repeating the course later this month
because I know it is beneficial to my mental health and well-being.
I have gained a greater understanding of how my mind works and how I
can get stuck on beliefs that were imprinted from past events.
Mindfulness has given me the tools to stop negative thoughts from
taking root — I feel calmer and more in control of my life.
Brian is a wonderful teacher and advocate for the life-enhancing
benefits of mindfulness, and his commitment to helping people
achieve this is selfless.”
From suicide attempts to feeling lucky to have found mindfulness and calm
“I lost my handicapped daughter when I was quite young and dropped into a very dark period of my life, which led me to fairly heavy alcohol use.
As my depression deepened, I saw no way forward when I made three attempts on my own life. After the third attempt I was sectioned and admitted to a mental hospital.
I was detained for a month before release. I lost my job and had to sell my home, which presented massive difficulties, as I still had two children but a very helpful wife.
I very quickly found another job which took me away from home, but put me in a position to purchase a new home.
With assistance and medication, I managed to keep going and advanced in my employment. I still had frequent and very dark moments and was assisted with counselling at hospital as an outpatient.
My life continued like this for many more years with my long suffering wife, albeit I had a very successful career. I was in deep despair, with no idea where to turn. The medical professionals were very understanding, but only kept increasing and changing my medication.
I was very fortunate to see an advert for an introductory course to mindfulness, although at my elderly years I was very apprehensive.
I attended the first session and was overwhelmed by the understanding and kindness of this group. After several more sessions I became more and more affected by the meditation within the mindfulness group, and my wife and family could see the massive change in my mental state. I was much more patient and understanding, and did not flare up into tempers.
This improvement has continued, and if I feel myself slipping, I have been shown how to meditate and bring myself back into the present without worrying about the past, which I now realise I can do nothing about.
I have now attended two mindfulness courses with three day retreats, and am now ready to embark on a further more advanced course starting shortly.
I feel so lucky to have found mindfulness which, although toward my latter years, has benefited me so much, making me more calm and understanding. This has affected my friends and family.
The mindfulness group which I attend have generally come from similar backgrounds to myself, suffering from depression and anxiety. They all boast of their improved mental state.
The group is the friendliest, loving and welcoming I have ever met.”
Negative, dark and angry feelings beneficially transformed
“I was introduced to mindfulness approximately 3 years ago by a friend that said it had changed his life. I received that statement with a little scepticism. However, by week 4 of my first 8 week Mindfulness course I had to apologise to my friend for the sceptical opinion. Even at this early stage in the course my life, attitude to life and perception of life had changed for the better.
I have suffered from mental ill health since early teenage years and have had many hurdles to overcome, both physically and mentally. I felt that life was so unfair and dwelled upon the trials and tribulations of life in a negative, dark and angry way. Life was hard going until I was introduced to Mindfulness.
Mindfulness has taught me important lessons about how the human brain works and has empowered me to use an attitude of preference rather than the automatic reaction most of us think is the only way we can respond to situations or thoughts. Who ever knew we had a choice of how to react or to react at all.
Mindfulness teaches us that is never possible to switch off thoughts, but it is possible to choose how to react or not to engage at all with the thoughts at all.
We can neither change to past nor predict the future, the only thing we can be in is the present moment.
My life is so very different now:
• My mental health has never been better.
• I take each moment as it comes, not trying to change the past or predict the future.
• I am calm and empowered in my reactions.
• I give compassion to others
• I give myself compassion.
• Meditations get me through so many demanding situations and trials. Grounding me and ensuring that I live in the moment.
Mindfulness in the community would be invaluable for so many people. Doing things mindfully gives so much more meaning to any activity and ensures that you get the very best out of the activity, whatever that activity be, from eating, moving, walking, crafting and everything in between.
The total focus of the moment learned through mindfulness makes every moment valuable and special.”
"A place on the course at no cost was an absolute godsend, and finding a sense of community made a world of difference"
“After going through a particularly rough patch that left me feeling very disconnected from the world around me, I came across the Peer-2-Peer Mindfulness charity through a local recovery group.
Meeting Brian and being offered a place on their course at no cost was an absolute godsend, especially when money was tight.
The ongoing support and the sense of community they offered made a world of difference, not just in the immediate moment but in the long run.
I’m now proud to be a trustee of the charity, because I wholeheartedly believe in the incredible work they do for people like me.”
"I use mindfulness every day as I create a calm, nurturing space for my pupils"
“I use mindfulness every day as I create a calm, nurturing space for my pupils
As a primary teacher, I use mindfulness every day as I create a calm, nurturing space for my pupils, support dysregulated children and hold restorative conversations. Mindfulness has helped me to establish a culture of kindness, where pupils are able to make mistakes, recognise and talk about their feelings, and use supportive tools to move forward.
Mindfulness is about being in the present, and noticing with kindness the mind’s forays into the past and the future. Mindfulness reminds us to feel the joy in small things, like birdsong, but also provides a support when things feel overwhelming or impossible. By pausing and bringing compassion to the situation, mindfulness helps us to find new perspectives on difficult circumstances, even if nothing else can be changed.
The Peer 2 Peer Mindfulness community is inclusive, non-judgemental and compassionate, and acts as an anchor in my life, reminding me that I am not alone in finding the human experience challenging.”
