Tue, Aug 17, 2021 page14

• One good reason to eat a raisin 吃一粒葡萄乾的好理由

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  When people find out that they have cancer, they can easily start wallowing in negativity, wondering what made them ill and obsessing about their condition. This makes them feel anxious and worried, which is not good for their physical well-being. Chen Ko-chia, director of the Dalin Tzu Chi Hospital’s clinical psychology center, shared a post about a “raisin exercise” which involves eating a raisin in such a way as to shift one’s attention onto something less emotional, practice positive thinking and not get stuck in the doldrums, to relieve the suffering that cancer can cause.

  Chen said that when sick people feel upset, it is actually because they dwell on their illness. Worry leads to more worry and the suffering drags on and on, so they need to find some way of cutting off those negative emotions. Mindfulness does not mean having correct ideas, it means staying centered and living in the present moment. However, when people are doing things they often let their thoughts drift and find it difficult to concentrate on remaining in the here and now. If that happens to you, you can eat a raisin and practice appreciating its appearance, weight, sound and flavor. You can use your lips and tongue to experience its taste and shape, with no need to think about the past or the future. By just concentrating on tasting it, you can temporarily set your emotions aside.

  Chen recommends spending about five to 10 minutes each day on feeling your present emotions or physical state. Regardless of whether you are sick or not, if you can spend five to 10 minutes less each day on worrying about things and a little more time on caring for yourself, your body will respond in a positive way.

  

  A woman shows how to practice mindfulness by nibbling a raisin. 一名女子示範用細咬葡萄乾的方式練習正念。

  Photo courtesy of Dalin Tzu Chi Hospital 照片：大林慈濟醫院提供

  (Translated by Julian Clegg, Taipei Times)

  罹癌患者得知病況後，容易陷入尋求罹病原因、擔心病情的負面情緒，因而感到焦慮、擔憂進而影響生理，大林慈濟醫院臨床心理中心主任陳可家分享「葡萄乾練習法」，透過吃葡萄乾將注意力轉移到沒有情緒的事物上，練習正念思考、不再沉浸於負面情緒，減緩罹癌的痛苦。

  陳可家表示，生病的人會感到困擾，其實是因一直去想它、擔憂它，煩惱帶出更多煩惱，痛苦便不斷延續，因此需要找方法把負面情緒切開；正念指的不是正確的觀念，而是不偏不倚、當下的心，但人們做事情常想東想西，無法專注與當下的自己同在，此時可以吃葡萄乾練習，從葡萄乾的外觀、重量、聲音、味道去感受，用嘴唇、舌頭體會它的味道、形狀，不需要想過去、未來，只要專注品味它，就可暫時將情緒放在一旁。

  

  Director Chen Ko-chia of the clinical psychology center at Dalin Tzu Chi Hospital in Chiayi County tends to a patient. 嘉義縣大林慈濟醫院臨床心理中心陳可家主任關懷病患。

  Photo courtesy of Dalin Tzu Chi Hospital 照片：大林慈濟醫院提供

  陳可家建議，每天花約五到十分鐘時間，感受當下的情緒或身體狀態，無論生病的患者或一般大眾，每天就可少五到十分鐘的擔憂，多一點時間關心自己，身體就會給予好的回應。

  （自由時報記者王善嬿）
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