Positive Psychology Interventions (Part Three)
Positive Interventions (Part Three)
Positive Psychological Interventions (PPIs) are science-backed techniques that help us improve our health and happiness. Each PPI focuses on at least one idea or theory from positive psychology, and research has shown they are effective.
PPIs aim to bring more positivity into people’s lives and help them handle difficult events, emotions, and moods. Research shows they work best in therapy or coaching, but using them on your own can also improve well-being.
More than 100 positive psychology interventions have been suggested, and most are backed by empirical evidence demonstrating their efficacy in improving people’s well-being and happiness. In this article (PPIs, part three) and the other two parts (PPIs, parts one and two), I briefly introduce the most common PPIs (numbers do not represent importance or priority).
Person-Activity Fit
PPIs can be very helpful, but like any technique, they have limits and may not fit every situation. It’s important to think carefully when using PPIs or other approaches in therapy or coaching.
Meta-analyses, which review many studies, have found that PPIs are generally helpful, though results can vary. Mental health professionals often find them appealing. However, depending on their culture, personality, or health, some people may not benefit from certain interventions and could even be harmed.
Because of this, therapists, counsellors, and coaches should not use PPIs with everyone in the same way. They need to consider each person and whether a specific PPI will help them. This is called the person-activity-fit principle. Below is a summary of the most common PPIs.
Meditations and Mindfulness
Let’s try a simple exercise. Make sure you won’t be distracted for the next five minutes (set a timer if you like). Sit comfortably, close your eyes, and focus on your breathing. Notice your breath coming in and going out, and feel your chest and stomach move. Pay attention only to your breath. Ignore any sounds, thoughts, or other sensations. Keep your focus on your breathing for five minutes.
Did you find this exercise challenging? Did unwanted thoughts pop up? Were you distracted by sounds or your surroundings? Did focusing on your breath make it feel awkward? Were you surprised at how hard it was to concentrate for just five minutes, or how long five minutes felt? Did you feel uncomfortable sitting still, or frustrated by your mind wandering?
Meditation is a way to practice focusing your attention, which can help you feel calmer and more balanced. With practice, you can get better at concentrating on one thing without getting distracted. Meditation can lower tension, help you relax, and bring a sense of peace. It also builds self-discipline, boosts your energy, and improves well-being. By meditating, you become more aware of changes in your body, mind, and emotions, which helps you understand yourself and how these states affect your life.
Difference Between Mindfulness and Meditation
People often use the words “mindfulness” and “meditation” as if they mean the same thing, but they are different. Mindfulness means being deliberately aware of what is happening right now. Meditation is the practice of observing, focusing on, and accepting a chosen object or experience without judging it.
So, “mindfulness meditation” means focusing on what is happening to you right now in a non-judgemental way, paying attention to all your sensations, feelings, and emotions. Other types of meditation focus on different things, such as breathing (to boost energy), loving-kindness (to encourage generosity), or open-hearted meditation (to support forgiveness).
Meditation is a broad term for practices that help you reach a deeper level of awareness and concentration, leading to a clear and calm state of mind. These practices use different techniques to help you manage your body and mind, such as compassion, love, patience, and mindfulness. Mindfulness is just one type of meditation, among others such as Tantra, Bhavana, Samatha, and Yoga.
Meditation Techniques
First, remember that meditation is about focusing your attention on something, like your breath, a sound, or even the taste of food. If you are listening, listen fully; if you are looking, really see. Let your whole self focus on the object of your meditation. Try to become absorbed in it so everything else fades away. Meditation is not about forcing yourself, but gently guiding your attention until you are fully focused.
Second, be kind to yourself. Other thoughts or feelings will come up, and when you notice them, your focus will shift. Don’t be hard on yourself; just gently bring your attention back to your meditation.
Meditation Posture
You don’t need a special position to meditate, but sitting up straight usually works best. Sit with your feet flat on the floor if you’re in a chair, or cross-legged on the floor with a cushion if that’s more comfortable.
Some people prefer a specific hand position, such as touching the tip of the thumb to the forefinger while the other fingers are relaxed. This can serve as a reminder and support meditation. Touching your thumb and forefinger while breathing mindfully can help you recall the calm you find in meditation, even in stressful situations. You can also meditate lying down, especially if you want to relax, reduce stress, or help with sleep.
Mindfulness Meditation
Mindfulness meditation, or mindfulness, means being intentionally aware and accepting of the present moment (Kabat-Zinn, 1990). It involves focusing on something, like your breath, and noticing your thoughts, feelings, and emotions as they come up. Mindfulness is a skill that comes from being open and paying attention. It can help you understand your body, manage your emotions, improve your focus, and see yourself and your surroundings more clearly.
Focusing on the present and what you are doing can help you perform better, feel more engaged, and improve your mental well-being. Mindfulness meditation has been shown to increase positive feelings, empathy, mental flexibility, appreciation, better relationships, hope, energy, and overall well-being. Research over the last twenty years supports the claim that mindfulness meditation improves physical and mental health, lowers stress, and enhances cognitive functioning (Eberth & Sedlmeier, 2012; Tang, Holzel & Posner, 2015).
You can also practice savouring and gratitude during mindfulness meditation.
Essential Attitudes of Mindfulness
No Judging: Mindfulness should be full of compassion and openhearted awareness of our present and recent experiences without judging them.
Patience: The ability to bear difficulty with calm, self-control and mindfulness is about exercising patience.
Beginner’s Mind: To develop a beginner’s mind, we should be open to each moment as if it were happening for the first time.
Trust: An essential part of meditating is learning to trust yourself and your feelings.
No Doing: Meditation is about being, not doing. When you practice mindfulness, try not to control or change anything—just notice what is happening.
Acceptance: The process of acceptance begins with our willingness to see things exactly as they are, rather than how we think they should be.
Letting Go: Letting go, or not getting attached, is vital in mindfulness. Try to let your experiences be as they are, moment by moment. The best way to let go is to allow things to be without trying to change them.
Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction
Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) combines meditation, body awareness, and yoga. MBSR can help you handle stress, pain, and daily challenges. It teaches you to face difficult events calmly and stay present. Professor Jon Kabat-Zinn developed MBSR at the University of Massachusetts Medical Centre in the 1970s. The program lasts eight weeks and provides intensive, research-based mindfulness training for people dealing with stress, anxiety, depression, and pain.
MBSR is not a cure for serious medical problems and should not replace medical treatment. However, research shows it can help people with stress, anxiety, high blood pressure, depression, chronic pain, migraines, heart issues, diabetes, and more. Many people who try MBSR report feeling more energetic and connected to themselves and the world.
Mindfulness-Based Flourishing Program
The Mindfulness-Based Flourishing Program (MBFP) brings together mindfulness and positive psychology to boost well-being (Ivtzan, Young, Martman, Jeffrey, Lomas, Hart, & Eiroa-Orosa, 2016). MBFP has been shown to improve well-being and mental health, and to reduce depression.
Ivtzan, Young, and their colleagues created the program after seeing that most mindfulness programs focused on treating problems like psychosis (Bach & Hayes, 2002), depression (Teasdale et al., 2000), or chronic pain (Kabat-Zinn, 1982). There were not many programs aimed at positive outcomes.
MBFP is an online program with eight video sessions completed over four weeks. The sessions mix mindfulness, positive psychology interventions, and talk about the theories behind the techniques. Each session focuses on a different positive area: self-awareness, positive emotions, self-compassion, strengths, autonomy, meaning, good relationships, and engagement.
Early studies show that MBFP can boost well-being and lower negative feelings like depression. It is especially promising because it is online and accessible to many people.
Loving-Kindness Meditation
Loving-kindness meditation helps you develop love and compassion for yourself and others. At first, you can read from a script, but later you can use your own words to fit your situation. Try to do all five parts in one session if you can, or do them separately if needed.
Body Position: Sit comfortably with your feet flat on the floor and your back straight. Relax your whole body. Keep your eyes closed during the meditation, as this helps you visualise. Bring your attention inward. Relax and follow the instructions. Breathe in deeply, then out, and keep breathing slowly and naturally.
Part One - Receiving Love and Kindness: Think of a person (or persons) close to you who loves (loved) you very much. They could be dead individuals from the past or still alive; They could be your friends, teachers or relatives (parents or grandparents). If you have difficulty remembering such a person, imagine a fictional character vividly, one who treats you with love, kindness, and compassion; imagine the feelings of love and kindness this person has for you (an imagined scenario serves equally well in this meditation). Imagine the person who loves and cares for you is standing before you, sending their love to you. That person is sending you wishes for your safety, well-being and happiness. Take a moment and feel that person’s love and warm wishes towards you. Visualise all the people who love you and have loved you, surrounding you. Imagine all your friends and loved ones are around you, sending you kind wishes of happiness, well-being and health. Take your time and bask in the love and warmth from all sides. Enjoy the feelings of kindness and affection that come to you, and let them fill you with compassion and love.
Part Two - Sending Love and Kindness to Your Loved Ones: Picture a person you love, perhaps a relative or a friend. Begin to send them love and well-wishes. Remember, you and this person are similar. They, like you, wish to be happy and have a good life. Send all your love and warm wishes to them. Repeat the following phrases silently: Just as I wish and want for myself, may you live with ease, may you be happy, may you be safe and healthy (repeat three times – you can replace these phrases with your own words if it feels better for you).
Part Three - Love and Kindness to Other People (whom you neither loved nor hated): Think of your acquaintances, people you don’t know very well, and those you do not have any feelings towards. It could be a neighbour, a colleague or someone you see around but do not know very well. You and this person are alike in your desire for a good life. Like you, this person wishes to experience joy and happiness. Send all your wishes for well-being to that person, repeating the following phrases silently: Just as I wish and want for myself, may you live with ease, may you be happy, may you be safe and healthy (repeat three times).
Part Four - Sending Love and Kindness to Your Enemies: Now think of someone you don’t like. It may be someone with whom you have long-standing difficulties. Call this difficult person to mind and be honest about what you feel. There may well be feelings of discomfort. Notice any tendency you may have to think badly of that person (for example, by getting into imagined arguments with them), and let go of these tendencies. Instead, wish them well, repeating the following phrases silently: Just as I wish and want for myself, may you live with ease, may you be happy, may you be safe and healthy (repeat three times).
Part Five - Sending Love and Kindness to All Living Beings: Now expand your awareness and picture the world before you. Send warm wishes to all people and all living creatures on the globe who, like you, want to be happy. Just as I wish and want for myself, may you live with ease, may you be happy, and may you be safe and healthy (repeat three times).
Take a deep breath in, and breathe out. Notice the state of your mind and how you feel after this meditation. When you’re ready, you may open your eyes.
Breath Counting Meditation
This meditation is a mind-clearing introspection practised (in a sitting position). Sit comfortably with a meditation hand gesture (thumb and forefinger touching), breathe as usual, and mentally count your breath. “Inhale ..., exhale...1, inhale ..., exhale...2, inhale ..., exhale...3, inhale ..., exhale...4.” Then, start again, “inhale ..., exhale...1, ...”; keep counting your breathing and be careful not to alter or control your breathing. Be mindful of your feelings and the physical sensation of each breath (both while inhaling and exhaling) as they pass through your nose or mouth.
If you think about anything except feeling your breath and the number of them, gently return your focus to the sensation of breathing and counting them. Start again if you’re not sure what number you’re on. Try not to judge yourself or become frustrated; simply start again. Consider breathing and counting your breath as your chosen thought. If any other thoughts or mental intrusions happen, gently replace them with “inhale ..., exhale...1, inhale ..., exhale...2, inhale ..., exhale...3, inhale ..., exhale...4.”
Staying focused can be hard at first, but it gets easier with practice. You can try counting up to 8 or 10 breaths to see what works best for you. The best part is that you can do this meditation anywhere—while waiting in line, on the train, or in the park.
Looking-and-Listening Meditation
Another mind-clearing meditation is to watch the clouds, the flames of a fire (or a candle), or the foaming waves at the seaside. Don’t try to make sense of what you see. Don’t try to find patterns or judge what you see. Just see them (or see and hear). When you notice a thought creeping into your mind, gently return to seeing and hearing.
It’s often easier to begin looking-and-listening meditation with natural things like clouds, flames, or waves, since they are less likely to distract you. With practice, you can use anything, like cars or people passing by, and simply listen and look.
When you do listening or looking meditation, try not to think, judge, or make sense of what you see or hear. Just listen. If thoughts come up, notice them and gently bring your focus back. Instrumental music is often a good choice for listening meditation, but once you get the hang of it, any music or sound, like waves or traffic, can work.
Thought Counting (or Observing) Meditation
This meditation is a mind-watching (observing) exercise where your thoughts are the focal point of your attention. Sit comfortably and start observing and counting your thoughts. Later, you can label them instead of counting them, or you may focus on the feelings and sensations that your thoughts produce (without counting or labelling them). But for now, just count your thoughts without paying attention to their content. You can use a timer and set the alarm for 2, 3, or 5 minutes. Close your eyes and begin counting your thoughts. When a thought appears in your mind, count it, but don’t get into its content. If you do that, you may end up with just one thought (or thoughts only about one thing) throughout the meditation.
Let go of each thought after counting it, unless it’s particularly stubborn and so grabby that you cannot. In that case, you may want to delay your meditation to another time and take notice of that thought. The information it gives you could be crucial. Thoughts about our fears and desires are the most difficult for people to let go of. On the other hand, if no thought comes to your mind, just say “no thought” or relax and enjoy a moment of clarity. Otherwise, count your thoughts, including “I didn’t have many thoughts” or “Was that thought number seven or eight?”
Counting meditation can be tough, but keep at it. Some thoughts will come and go quickly, while others may stay longer. Treat your thoughts like objects in a looking meditation: just notice and count them, without judging or analysing. Try to see them as just thoughts, not something important or personal.
Yoga and Tai-Chi
You don’t need to practice mindfulness meditation to practice yoga or tai chi, and these activities aren’t part of mindfulness meditation. However, they work well together and support each other. Practising yoga can help you concentrate and relax, which are essential for meditation. You can also make your yoga or tai chi practice deeper by adding mindfulness meditation.
Yoga is a set of physical and mental exercises that began in ancient India, around the 5th or 6th century BCE. There are many types of yoga, but most people in the West practice hatha yoga. Yoga is a disciplined way to build mental and physical strength and improve self-control, and it is also a school of philosophy.
Tai chi is a gentle, low-impact exercise that mixes deep breathing and smooth movements. It started as a martial art in 13th-century China. Studies show that tai chi can help people, especially those over 65, reduce stress, improve posture, balance, and mobility, and strengthen their legs.
Yoga and tai chi are suitable for almost all ages, and you don’t need to be fit to begin. If you have health concerns, check with your doctor first. Both activities can help you feel calmer, more relaxed, and more energetic. If you’re new, it’s best to join a class and learn from a trained instructor to make sure you practice safely.
Resources and Further Reading
Eberth, J., & Sedlmeier, P. (2012). The effects of mindfulness meditation: a meta-analysis. Mindfulness, 3(3), 174-189.
Tang, Y. Y., Hölzel, B. K., & Posner, M. I. (2015). The neuroscience of mindfulness meditation. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 16(4), 213-225.
Kabat-Zinn, J., Lipworth, L., & Burney, R. (1985). The clinical use of mindfulness meditation for the self-regulation of chronic pain. Journal of Behavioural Medicine, 8(2), 163-190.
Davidson, R. J., Kabat-Zinn, J., Schumacher, J., Rosenkranz, M., Muller, D., Santorelli, S. F., ... & Sheridan, J. F. (2003). Alterations in brain and immune function produced by mindfulness meditation. Psychosomatic medicine, 65(4), 564-570.
Shapiro, S. L., Schwartz, G. E., & Bonner, G. (1998). Effects of mindfulness-based stress reduction on medical and premedical students. Journal of Behavioural Medicine, 21(6).
Shapiro, S. L., Astin, J. A., Bishop, S. R., & Cordova, M. (2005). Mindfulness-based stress reduction for health care professionals: results from a randomised trial. International Journal of Stress Management, 12(2), 164.
Young, T. (2019). The Flourishing Mindfulness Programme: Overview and results from six randomised control trials. In Ivtzan (Ed.), Handbook of Mindfulness-Based Programmes: Mindfulness Interventions from Education to Health and Therapy, London, UK: Routledge.
Ivtzan, I., & Lomas, T. (2016). Mindfulness in positive psychology: the science of meditation and wellbeing. London: Routledge.
Arambula, P., Peper, E., Kawakami, M., & Gibney, K. H. (2001). The physiological correlates of Kundalini Yoga meditation: a study of a yoga master. Applied psychophysiology and biofeedback, 26(2), 147-153.
Schure, M. B., Christopher, J., & Christopher, S. (2008). Mind-body medicine and the art of self‐care: Teaching mindfulness to counselling students through yoga, meditation, and qigong. Journal of Counselling & Development, 86(1), 47-56.
Brown, R. P., & Gerbarg, P. L. (2009). Yoga breathing, meditation, and longevity. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1172(1), 54.
Posadzki, P., & Jacques, S. (2009). Tai Chi and meditation: a conceptual (re) synthesis? Journal of Holistic Nursing, 27(2), 103-114.
Black, D. S., Irwin, M. R., Olmstead, R., Ji, E., Breen, E. C., & Motivala, S. J. (2014). Tai chi meditation effects on nuclear factor-κB signalling in lonely older adults: a randomised controlled trial. Psychotherapy and psychosomatics, 83(5), 315.
Hart, M., & Alexander, S. (2011). The Best Meditations on the Planet: 100 Techniques to Beat Stress, Improve Health, and Create Happiness Just Minutes A Day. Fair Winds Press.
Galante, J., Galante, I., Bekkers, M. J., & Gallacher, J. (2014). Effect of kindness-based meditation on health and well-being: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of consulting and clinical psychology, 82(6), 1101.
