The Model
The Mindful Mood Model divides human experience into six parts: mind, mood, body, behavior, the environment and a sense of spirit or soul. In the Mindful Mood Workshop, participants use this model to mindfully and skillfully deal with their anxiety and depression.
Mind: The mind consists of all the functions of the mind. This includes thinking, remembering, worrying, regretting, calculating and so on. In the Mindful Mood Workshop we learn to pay attention to these experiences of the mind as mental events that can be noticed and let go of, instead of enslaving us. From this we develop realistic thinking.
Mood: The mood portion of the model consists of all of the emotions that we experience. In the Mindful Mood Workshop we learn how to attend to the waves of emotion as they enter and leave our awareness: we learn how to let go of clinging to emotions.
Body: The body consists of all of our physical sensations. This includes the five senses of seeing, hearing, tasting, touching and smelling. Touch includes both the inner experiences of the body, such as breathing and digestion, as well as the felt senses of our skin. In the Mindful Mood Workshop we learn how to be aware of our bodies to more fully appreciate our lived experiences as humans.
Behavior: The behavior portion of the model consists of all of the activities we do, or don't do. In the Mindful Mood Workshop we learn how to engage in mindful actions to take better care of ourselves. This includes engaging in more pleasurable activities and developing strategies for situations and times that are difficult.
Environment: All of the above parts of the model, body, mind, mood, and behavior- take place in the environment which is the world we live in. The environment includes your home, neighbourhood, country, culture, workplace, socio-economic group, ethnic group and so on. In the Mindful Mood Workshop we learn how to change what we can in our environment and skillful means to live with what we can't change.
Spirit or Soul: This part of the model refers to humans' sense of deeper meaning, purpose, mystery and connection to others and life in general. Mindfulness practice in the Mindful Mood Workshop can help us foster this part of our selves in a non-sectarian way.
Adapted from Mind Over Mood by Dennis Greenberger and Christine A. Padesky. © 1995 The Guildford Press