An event on ‘Mindfulness and Stress Management’ was organized by the Department of Perfusion, Faculty of Health Sciences, Üsküdar University. At the online event, Research Assistant Ece Dereağzı from the Department of Perfusion gave a presentation. Dereağzı, emphasizing that Mindfulness is effective as a support against stress, stated; “We cannot train our minds not to think about anything, but we can choose where to direct our attention. Mindfulness is consciously directing attention to a specific place.”
“We have internal or external resources”
Ece Dereağzı, Research Assistant at the Department of Perfusion, Faculty of Health Sciences, Üsküdar University, spoke about stress being positive or negative; “We have internal or external resources. Our mental resilience, how we perceive the world, these determine our internal resources. Our external resources can be the place we are in, our living environment, people we can get support from, people we love. If the situation we are experiencing and our resources are roughly similar, we see it as manageable. If there is a huge gap, and it's a problem far beyond our resources, we see it as an insurmountable problem.”
“While in difficult situations, the body gives us concrete data”
Research Assistant Ece Dereağzı noted that many diseases are related to stress; “While in difficult situations, the body gives us concrete data. When we are very scared, our heart starts beating fast. Perhaps sometimes this also happens when we are very stressed. For this reason, we can say that many diseases are related to stress. Therefore, it is important to see what happens in the body when we are stressed.”
Mindfulness is consciously directing attention to a specific place…
Dereağzı, speaking about how a person can choose where to direct their attention, said; “Mindfulness is effective as a support against stress. Mindfulness is consciously directing attention to a specific place. It is a program directly adopted from similar practices involving meditation but westernized. Our brain is programmed to work continuously. We cannot train our minds not to think about anything, but we can choose where to direct our attention. In our practices, we try to be non-judgmental and present in the moment, wherever we are.”
The event concluded after a Mindfulness practice.