In chapter five, Siegel (2009) talks about the aspect of fear in people’s lives siegel begins the chapter by explaining how life is frightening. Siegel explains how people are faced with new threats and new ones in their day to day life. He further argues that people’s minds anticipate more troubles than misfortunes which befall us. Siegel (2009) maintains that fear is the main reason why people feel afraid. According to Siegel (2009), fear is caused by other individuals, our missteps, and other things. Fear can also arise as a result of stress which has symptoms such as insomnia, headache, and back pain which can prompt people to drink or spent a lot of time on the internet. Fear makes people avoid some things, and the avoidance leads to more fear (Siegel, 2009). Overall, the author states that intense fear affects people’s normal functioning in families, social situations, and work. The author also talks about anxiety which is as a result of cognitive, behavioral, and physiological processes. To know that an individual is anxious, he or she exemplifies aspects such as worried thoughts, avoidant behavior, sensations in the body such as shallow breath and restlessness. The author goes further to talk about sadness and depression. According to Siegel (2009), depression is as a result of biological predisposition and environmental factors (Siegel, 2009). Depression interferes with joy, interferes with relationships and work. The point that made the grabbed my attention is the notion that fear can lead to procrastination. I find this so because it relates to my personal life. Whenever I have fear in life, I tend to postpone some activities to avoid fear. Similarly, when it comes to depression, it is interesting how the effects highlighted by the author befall me when I am depressed. For example, I tend to have insomnia, feel restless, bored, and disengaged.
In chapter seven the author talks about transforming pain and stress-related medical symptoms. Siegel states that throughout life, people have attempted to overcome illness by praying, using herbal medicine, and performing rituals. Some illnesses and pain can be avoided whole others cannot. A broad range of pain and illness is caused by people’s efforts to get rid of them. Numerous medical conditions are caused by stress, and as such, they tend to be interrelated because they have almost the same signs and symptoms. Richard further states that people can overcome these conditions by understanding the problem, resuming normal activities, and working with negative emotions. Siegel (2009) concludes the chapter by saying that the medical related conditions can be solved by adopting mindfulness practices (Siegel, 2009).
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Chapter 8 focuses on intimate relationships. From the chapter, Siegel states that most of the problems in the world are as a result of lack of cooperation where most of them are associated with personal conflicts. Personal conflicts can be avoided by changing our view where mindfulness practices help people think more of being part of the wider world rather than feeling like separate self. Mindful practices also assist in appreciating our identity, values, and beliefs and also helps people relate with others at all times. According to Siegel (2009), these mindfulness practices help people evade sorrows and maintain their intimate relationships. Further, people are from a different culture, and thus, people construct their identities differently. Appreciating other people’s culture is the key to maintaining and building relationships (Siegel, 2009). To maintain intimate relationships, people should understand each other; know the sensations, feelings, and thoughts of others. The most interesting part of chapter 8 is where the author explained the practices people can use to enhance their relationships. For instance, the author argued that walking, nature, eating, and driving meditation can help an individual to be present in his or her relationship. I found the four meditations thought-provoking.
Reference
Siegel, R. D. (2009). The mindfulness solution: Everyday practices for everyday problems Guilford Press.
