Since when do we not contemplate something or someone? Today's society overwhelms us and distracts our attention from the present, even affecting our personal relationships. Awareness is a practice that helps us to live better every day.

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Since we woke up we are thinking about what we must do. While we prepare breakfast, we think about what we are going to have lunch and at work we count the days for the payment of the next fortnight. It seems that day by day we are thinking about tomorrow, after, with anguish and anxiety for what will come. Since when do we not live fully one day? The future is uncertain, but every day that we are anguished by his arrival is a day that we lose to live and enjoy with our loved ones. In addition to the above, new technologies play a double role in our affective relationships. On the one hand, they take us away from those we physically have with us and on the other they bring us closer to those who have gone elsewhere. Many grandmothers complain that their grandchildren no longer call them to congratulate them on their birthday, but they only send them a WhatsApp, so this creates a great lament and cravings for physical contact with their loved ones. How can we get closer to ours? Are we really cultivating our affections?

Distractions that take us away and increase stress

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The crisis that affects Venezuela increases the levels of stress and anxiety that influence the deterioration of affective relationships. The latest official data on the main causes of psychiatric consultation in the country date from 2008 and reveal that there are five: anxiety disorders, personality disorders, sexual dysfunctions, attention deficit in adults and children, and depression. Experts say that these disorders are currently maintained, increasing the number of patients who come for family or couple problems.
On the other hand, today's society is called by some sociologists the "multitasking society". Technology and social networks have become the main focuses of daily distraction of modern societies. There are many studies that have evaluated the impact of technologies on interpersonal relationships, increasingly distant from the physical encounter or in place built and maintained through the Internet.
In many cases the attention deficit is due to an unstoppable bombardment of multiple stimuli that our brain is not able to filter. We are overwhelmed by anxious feelings and thoughts and as a result we cannot focus our attention on anything. We cannot fix our attention because anxiety seizes us and consumes us.
As we see, anxiety, depression and attention deficit are disorders that have their origin, among other causes, in stress. Although we do not notice, these personal disorders not only affect us individually, but also harm those around us. Therapy based on the scope of mindfulness, known in English as "mindfulness", can be an alternative for us to learn to live fully each day and to enjoy the moments shared with our affections.

"Mindfulness" or mindfulness

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The first step to know how to live each day and to value each special moment is to learn to be attentive avoiding distractions. Reaching high levels of concentration has been one of the goals of some millenarian religions, such as Buddhism, based on contemplation through meditation and reflection.
The practice of mindfulness is not properly a psychological therapy, although its concepts have been included within cognitive psychology. The concept of mindfulness teaches us to be in the present moment, without making judgments, opening our awareness and attention to what happens to us at that moment. This practice is carried out through a therapy program that lasts eight weeks. During that time, people understand how the mind works through basic concepts and do guided meditation exercises that seek to reduce agitation and quiet the distracted mind.

Exercises to achieve mindfulness

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Although the formal practice of "mindfulness" lasts eight weeks, there are some exercises that we can do daily to reduce distractions and thus appreciate and value better every moment of the day. A basic exercise is conscious breathing, that is, concentrating on the rhythm of our breathing and making it deep and slow, seeking to fill our abdomen first with air and finally our lungs, exhaling the air very slowly. Another exercise that we recommend is to brush our teeth in a conscious way, paying attention to the detail of how toothpaste tastes, how we feel the brush on the gums, etc.
In Venezuela there are no centers specialized in mindfulness therapy, but I know that in other countries yes. However, some activities based on meditation put into practice exercises that seek that people reach a level of full attention and that way they can live their present better.

"Dont leave for tomorrow…"

Without being fatalistic and without thinking that each day is the last of our lives, it is true that paying more attention to our present makes us happier and saves us repentance. Many people learn to live each day and value those around them when something momentous happens to them, such as the news of a serious illness, the death of someone or the separation of a loved one.
Although the current society, increasingly technological, and the specific situation of Venezuela increase our stress levels and overwhelm us, missing the moments of happiness that each day gives us is somehow losing live fully. No crisis or technology matters more than our affections and our own life. The past was left behind, and the future will surely be better if we fully live our present.