A deck prepared for an online talk given to the University of Liverpool students and staff in Feb 2022 Feel Good Month. The talk touched on common psychological issues identified in a recent study in the UK and explained some of the problems that plagued our modern lifestyle. Secular mindfulness is then introduced as a tool to regain control of our declining ability to focus and our stress response that has constantly been put on hyperdrive due to our evolution, neurological wiring, and psychological processes needed for our survival.

1. A
Mindful Way
to
Staying Mentally Healthy at University
by:
Barry Tse
Chief Mindfulness Officer, WA Mindfulness
PhD candidate, James Cook University, Singapore
member of Mindfulness Lab,
AusAsian Mental Health Research Group
MSc (Liverpool), MBA (Queensland), B.Bus (Federation),
MBPsS
for:
University of Liverpool
Feel Good February

2. 1. Life @ University & your stress
 Best time in life
 Stress & Concerns
 Multi-task & Focus
What will we cover?
2. Mechanism of Mindfulness
 What is Mindfulness
 Evolutionary
 Biological
 Psychological
3. Mindfulness Practice
 3-Step Breathing Space
 Mindfulness in daily life

3. Study
Independence Relationship
Work
Money Party
University: Best time but…
Performance

4. Time of Stress and Anxiety

5. Modern way of life
Multi-tasking
Listening to music
Playing mobile games
Reading or Attending Lecture/Tutorial
Running experiments / checking data
Multiple Roles
At university: student / researcher / academic / team member
At home: son / daughter / parent / partner
And more: Friend / BFF / staff / owner
Even: passer-by / consumer / passenger

6. Study of Heavy Multi-taskers has found:
Reduced efficiency
Reduced ability to relate to overall picture
It takes longer time (switch time)
We lose sense of relevance
Lower ability to focus
Consumed more energy
We get distracted more easily
Our brain is wasting energy
Reduced quality of work
Increased stress
The quality of the outcome is lower
The subjective experience of pressure
Ophir, E., Nass, C., & Wagner, A. D. (2009). Cognitive control in media multitaskers. PNAS, 106(37), 15583-
15587. doi:10.1073/pnas.0903620106

7. Wandering Mind = Unhappy Mind
• A Harvard study published in Science
• 2,250 participants
• 3 simple questions
• How are you feeling right now?
• What are you doing right now?
• Are you thinking about something other than what you’re
currently doing?
• 46.9% of the time people Wandered…
• 42.5% to pleasant topics
• 26.5% to unpleasant topics
• 31% to neutral topics
• Mind Wandering is inversely related to happiness
Killingsworth, M. A., & Gilbert, D. T. (2010). A wandering mind is an unhappy mind. Science, 330(6006),
932-932, doi:10.1126/science.1192439.

8. Source: Microsoft (2015). Attention spans. Canada: Microsoft Canada.
Attention! Goldfish!

9. Well… why not try focusing for 1 minute

11. 2：What is Mindfulness?

12. A PURE AWARENESS of all
things mind and matters by
your mind AS IS.
 With intention
 Present Moment
 Non-judgmentally
What is Mindfulness?

13. This guy started the movement
Science-based Mindfulness-Based Interventions
Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn
• Fell in love with meditation since college days
• Learned Buddhist meditations in Zen and Theravada
traditions
• PhD in cellular biology
• Taught meditation to chronic pain sufferers and
demonstrated significant improvements
• Created Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR)
course in 1979
– The 8-week course many other mindfulness programmes
modelled on

14. Mindfulness has its roots in Buddhism
Samma Sati
One of the Eightfold Paths

15. Buddhism
Secular
Mindfulness
Liberation Path - Nibbana
Bodhisattva Path - Buddhahood
Quality of Life
Well-being
Suffering
Arising
Cessation
Path
Mindfulness
Concentration
View
Action
Speech
Resolve
Livelihood
Effort
Psychological Science
Neuroscience
Medical science
Practices
Satipattana
Anapana
Vipassana
Difference between Secular Mindfulness and
Buddhism
Trust
Acceptance
Non-strive
Let-go
Non-judgment
Patient
Beginner’s mind
Attitudes

16. Mindfulness IS NOT
• Sitting still
• Relaxing
• Spacing out
• Conjuring up happy images
• Getting high
• Escaping reality
• Singing Kumbaya
• Supernatural
• Religion

17. Increasing research interest

18. Mindfulness has shown to have
benefits at different levels:
Prevent Depression
relapse
Reduce Anxiety
Improve sleep quality
Stabilize blood pressure
Reduce burnout
Help focus
Decentering
Slow down telomere
shortening
Improve work/study
efficiency
Regulate rumination
Lower Cortisol
Increase Oxytocin
Increase
Serotonin
Increase resilience
Increase stress handling
Help health recovery
Improve cognitive
flexibility
Increase density of white
and grey matters Improve connection with
environment
Neuronal Biopsychological Applied

19. Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT)
• Covered by NHS
• MBCT had No Effect in
Relapse Prevention on
those with two episodes of
relapses (23% of sample)
• Significant effect on those
with 3 or relapses (77% of
sample)
• TAU: 66% relapse in 12
months
• MBCT: 37% relapse in 12
months
MBCT
TAU
Teasdale, J. D., Segal, Z. V., Williams, J. M. G., Ridgeway, V. A., Soulsby, J. M., & Lau, M. A. (2000). Prevention of relapse/recurrence
in major depression by mindfulness-based cognitive therapy. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 68(4), 615-623.
doi:10.1037/0022-006x.68.4.615

20. Mindfulness is EVERYWHERE

21. How it works

22. Evolution: passing on our Gene
Enables = Good = Like
Threatens = Bad = Dislike

23. Human Evolution Lags behind
Technology and Societal Changes
• Hunter-gatherers
– Predators/ Famine
• Livestock husbandry – Writing and Cognition
– Predators/ Famine/ Livestock
• Agricultural – Society
– Weather/ Infestation/ Relationship/ Health/ Harvest
• Industrial – Knowledge Strata
– Relationship/ Career/ Industrial hazards/ Health/ Knowledge/ Goals/
Wealth
• Information/Technological – Cognitive Explosion
– Relationship/ Career/ Info/ Speed/ Skills/ Breadth of knowledge/
Goals/ Wealth/ Self-value/ FOMO

24. A not so good brain our ancestors left us with
(weighs 1.4 kg but consumes 20% energy)

25. • A core component of our ancient brain
• The “guard dog” of emotions
• Responsible for fight/flight/freeze
• An ancient self-protection mechanism
Here’s the problem
Mistaking ordinary things as danger signals
Those with more active amygdala feel anxious and fear. If you
have emotional regulation problems, not only you would feel
anxious, but you will also exaggerate the issues.
Amygdala

26. We think to our demise
• Hippocampus (memory) – Amygdala (emotions) –
Hypothalamus (source of stress) are located closely
• We often scare ourselves with our thoughts
• Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal Axis,
(HPA) controls distress responses,
releasing cortisol, regulates
digestion, immune system, energy
intake and consumption.
• When under stress all the time, it
remains active

27. Cortex:
• Latest in our brain’s evolution
• Executive memory, think, conversation, and
attention
Prefrontal Cortex:
• Our rational brain: thinks, plans, logic, problem
solving and making choices
• Emotional regulation: prevent you from engaging
in dangerous acts when emotionally charged.
Cerebral Cortex

28. • The prefrontal lobe of the brain does not fully develop until
we roughly 23-25 years of age and are controlled by a variety
of hormones. The rebellious adolescent phase occurs
because the brain is heavily altered by hormones but lacks a
mature prefrontal lobe to regulate emotions.
• Neuro-pruning: what is not used will gradually recede (like
pruning a plant)
• Neuro-plasticity: Repetitive practice promotes the formation
and consolidation of neural connections, which can foster an
emotionally regulated response to negative stimuli, increase
positive emotions, etc.
Hormones & Neurotransmitters

29. A network of areas in the brain which includes PCC/Precuneus, mPFC, Bilateral AG,
Bilateral LTC, Bilateral hippocampus:
• Active when our mind is not focused, but quiet when paying attention
• Active during:
• Introspection: spontaneous mental activity, hypothesising and processing,
nostalgia for the past, and fantasy for the future
• Reflects calmness of the mind
• Mindfulness meditation has shown to quiet down DMN
Berkovich-Ohana, A., Glicksohn, J., & Goldstein, A. (2012). Mindfulness-induced changes in gamma band activity - implications for the default mode network, self-
reference and attention. Clinical Neurophysiology Official Journal of the International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology, 123(4), 700.
Brewer, J. A., Worhunsky, P. D., Gray, J. R., Tang, Y. Y., Weber, J., & Kober, H. (2011). Meditation experience is associated with differences in default mode network
activity and connectivity. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 108(50), 20254.
Raichle, M. E., Macleod, A. M., Snyder, A. Z., Powers, W. J., Gusnard, D. A., & Shulman, G. L. (2001). A default mode of brain function. Proceedings of the National
Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 98(2), 676.
李雨, & 舒华. (2014). 默认网络的神经机制、功能假设及临床应用. 心理科学进展, 22(2), 234-249.
Default Mode Network (DMN)

30. Mindful Practice
3：

31. Mindful Attitudes and Modes
7 Attitudes
1. Non-judging
2. Patience
3. Beginner’s mind
4. Trust
5. Acceptance
6. Non-striving
7. Letting-go
1 Mode
From
Doing Mode
Being Mode

32. Doing Being
Automatic
Conceptual
Past & future
Avoidant
Striving
Thoughts as real
Depleting
Intentional
Direct experience
Present moment
Approach (open)
Allowing
Thoughts as mental events
Nourishing

33. DOING
“Mindless autopilot”
“Thoughts as real”
Avoidance
BEING
“Mindful
awareness”
“Thoughts as
thoughts”
“Acceptance”
Thoughts
Behaviors
Past & future
Planning
Evaluating
etc.
Fast & slow
Hard & soft
etc.
Emotions
Happy & sad
etc.

34. BEING
“Mindful
awareness”
“Thoughts as
thoughts”
“Acceptance”
Thoughts
Behaviors
Past & future
Planning
Evaluating
etc.
Fast & slow
Hard & soft
etc.
Emotions
Happy & sad
etc.

35. Living in our head
Audio
Olfactory
Visual
Taste
Tactile
Cognition
Emotion
Processes
Memory
Reactions
Responses
Ears
Nose
Eyes
Tongue
Body

36. Three Pillars of Mindful Practices
Mindfulness
Focus
Attention
Open
Monitoring
Loving-Kindness /
Compassion

37. 3-Step Breathing Space
Sit / Stand
Step 1:
Sensation
Body Emotion
Thoughts
Step 2:
Breathe
Step 3:
Expand to
Whole-body
sensations

38. Mindful Practices for Daily Life
Foundation:
• Mindful Breathing
• Mindful Body Scanning
Weaving into your day:
• Mindful Walking
• Mindful Eating
• Mindful Drinking
Anytime, anywhere:
• Mindful Seeing
• Mindful Hearing
• Mindful Smelling
• Mindful Touching
All you need to do is to set aside some time daily, let’s start from
10 minutes a day and slowly increase when you are comfortable.

39. Some Resources:
brown.edu/public-health/mindfulness/
mindfulness-solution.com
oxfordmindfulness.org
www.nhs.uk/mental-health/self-help/tips-and-support/mindfulness/
www.studentminds.org.uk/lookingafteryourmentalwellbeing.html
Apps:
Calm Headspace Insight Timer Smiling Mind (my personal favourite)
THANK
YOU