Mindfulness and Year-End Reflection: A Mental Health Perspective

The end of the year often invites reflection—a pause that brings achievements, losses, and the subtle patterns of everyday life into sharper focus. From a mental health perspective, mindfulness-based reflective practices emphasize present-moment awareness rather than evaluative judgment (Keng et al., 2011). In an annual review, noticing spontaneously arising thoughts and emotions may reveal recurring patterns—such as stress responses, habitual coping strategies, or sources of satisfaction—without the need to pass judgment on those observations (Keng et al., 2011; Teasdale et al., 2000).

Mindful reflection involves noticing both positive and difficult experiences with balance (Keng et al., 2011). This perspective can illuminate how transitions and routines relate to mood and energy over time (Keng et al., 2011; Teasdale et al., 2000; Van der Velden et al., 2015). Research suggests that greater awareness of emotional experience has been associated with clearer distinctions between activities or states experienced as draining and those experienced as restorative, while also highlighting how vulnerability and resilience can coexist (Fredrickson, 2001; Gross & John, 2003; Keng et al., 2011; Van der Velden et al., 2015; Williams et al., 2014).

This perspective also recognizes that memory can be inherently selective, with recollections shaped by current affective states and situational contexts (Van der Velden et al., 2015). Mindfulness-based approaches have been associated with changes in how individuals process the cognitive and emotional components of autobiographical memories (Keng et al., 2011; Van der Velden et al., 2015). Research further suggests that attending to internally generated responses is associated with increased awareness of present thoughts and feelings (Keng et al., 2011; Van der Velden et al., 2015). This heightened experiential awareness may foster a nonreactive acknowledgment of internal states, allowing for observation without the need for immediate action or interpretation (Keng et al., 2011; Fredrickson, 2001; Teasdale et al., 2000).

Viewing the year from a mindfulness perspective has, in some research contexts, been associated with kinder self- and other-understanding. For some, this type of awareness may inform how future choices and help-seeking are understood, and how decisions are experienced as more thoughtful rather than reactive.

References

Fredrickson, B. L. (2001). The role of positive emotions in positive psychology: The broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions. American Psychologist

Gross, J. J., & John, O. P. (2003). Individual differences in two emotion regulation processes: Implications for affect, relationships, and well‑being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology

Keng, S. L., Smoski, M. J., & Robins, C. J. (2011). Effects of mindfulness on psychological health: a review of empirical studies. Clinical Psychology Review

Teasdale, J. D., Segal, Z., Williams, J. M. G., Ridgeway, V. A., Soulsby, J. M., & Lau, M. A. (2000). Prevention of relapse/recurrence in major depression by mindfulness‑based cognitive therapy. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology

Van der Velden, A. M., Kuyken, W., Wattar, U., Crane, C., Pallesen, K. J., Dahlgaard, J., ... & Piet, J. (2015). A systematic review of mechanisms of change in mindfulness-based cognitive therapy in the treatment of recurrent major depressive disorder. Clinical Psychology Review

Williams, J. M., Crane, C., Barnhofer, T., Brennan, K., Duggan, D. S., Fennell, M. J., Hackmann, A., Krusche, A., Muse, K., Von Rohr, I. R., Shah, D., Crane, R. S., Eames, C., Jones, M., Radford, S., Silverton, S., Sun, Y., Weatherley-Jones, E., Whitaker, C. J., Russell, D., … Russell, I. T. (2014). Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for preventing relapse in recurrent depression: a randomized dismantling trial. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology