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October 21, 2024

Are You on Autopilot? How Practicing Mindfulness Can Be Beneficial to Improving Our Health

by Sean Dawson LPA, LCAS

Much of our life is spent on autopilot. Autopilot can be defined as doing habitual or repetitive behaviors with little to no awareness of what we are doing. We spend much of our days on autopilot; however, this is not necessarily a bad thing. Consider the last time you were in the car. What were you thinking about? Likely you were thinking about what you were going to do when you arrived at your destination. Maybe you were reflecting over what happened to you earlier in the day. Or maybe you were just pondering over what you were going to eat for lunch. Being on autopilot allows us to plan and prepare for things in the future which can be both positive and adaptive.

Now imagine your typical routine has changed for that day, and you forgot something important due to being on autopilot. Maybe you were supposed to stop at the store to pick up an ingredient your partner needed for dinner. Perhaps you were planning to text a friend to wish them a happy birthday. When we are not in the present moment, we can neglect important things that are outside of our “norm”. Mindfulness can help us avoid being on autopilot.

What is Mindfulness?

Mindfulness is a skill that involves being aware of the present moment with acceptance. When practicing mindfulness, we are aware of our thoughts, feelings, bodily sensations and surroundings, and we are accepting of and attentive to them. With mindfulness we can pull ourselves out of autopilot to pay attention to what is in front of us.

Mindfulness can be particularly helpful to our health behaviors and overall wellbeing. When we are engaged in behaviors that we would consider unhealthy, we are on autopilot. Have you ever sat down with a snack like a bag of chips and, with little to no awareness, finished the whole snack in one sitting? You likely were not planning on enjoying the snack in this way, and it is unlikely you enjoyed something that you barely remember eating. Imagine now that you had practiced mindfulness and increased your awareness while eating your favorite snack. Do you think you would enjoy it more? Is it also possible that you would be less likely to overindulge in eating behaviors?

Mindfulness is related to our big three health behaviors: diet, exercise, and sleep [1]. This is a gentle reminder to pull yourself out of autopilot a few times this week, practice mindfulness, and align your behaviors with wellness. By doing so, you will set yourself up for success with your goals. Mindfulness is a skill, and with practice you can develop the technique and use it more readily.

Interested in learning more about autopilot and mindfulness? Schedule with one of our Behavioral Health providers by calling our Behavioral Health line at 919-874-5443, or learning more on our website.

Resources:

Roberts, K. C., & Danoff-Burg, S. (2010). Mindfulness and Health Behaviors: Is Paying Attention Good for You? Journal of American College Health, 59(3), 165–173. https://doi.org/10.1080/07448481.2010.484452

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