Anxiety

Improve Anxiety and Work Better with Mindfulness

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Improve Anxiety and Work Better with Mindfulness

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“Being mindful means paying attention to the present moment, exactly as it is. It is really hard to be anxious if you are completely focused on the present moment” – AnxietyBC

 

Anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness in the United States, affecting 40 million adults, or 18% of the population. Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) affects about 3.1% of the U.S. population. GAD involves excessive worry about everyday problems. People with GAD become anxious in anticipation of problems with their finances, health, employment, and relationships. They typically have difficulty calming their concerns, even though they realize that their anxiety is more intense than the situation warrants. Physically, GAD sufferers will often show excessive fatigue, irritability, muscle tension or muscle aches, trembling, feeling twitchy, being easily startled, trouble sleeping, sweating, nausea, diarrhea or irritable bowel syndrome, and headaches. Clearly, GAD will interfere with the performance of normal daily activities including impairing work performance.

 

Anxiety disorders have generally been treated with drugs. It has been estimated that 11% of women in the U.S. are taking anti-anxiety medications. But, there are considerable side effects and these drugs are often abused. So, there is a need to develop alternative treatments. Recently, it has been found that mindfulness training can be effective for anxiety disorders. Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) contains three mindfulness trainings, meditation, body scan, and yoga, and has been shown to be effective in treating anxiety. So, it would be reasonable to expect that MBSR training would improve work performance in people with Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD).

 

In today’s Research News article “.” See summary below or view the full text of the study at:

http://www.sciencedirect.com.ezproxy.shsu.edu/science/article/pii/S0022399917300661

Hoge and colleagues recruited male and female adult patients who were diagnosed with Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) and randomly assigned them to receive either an 8-week program of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) or a comparable stress management program. Participants were measured before and after the 8-week training period and also followed up 24 weeks later for workplace performance, absenteeism, including entire workdays missed and partial workdays missed, healthcare utilization practices, and home meditation practice.

 

They found that at the conclusion of treatment the MBSR group had significantly fewer partial days lost than the control group. In addition, they found that at follow-up the greater the amount of meditation practice the fewer the partial days missed and the fewer the visits to a mental health professional. Hence, MBSR training helps to improve attendance at work and reduce the utilization of mental health care in people with Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD). Hence, MBSR appears to improve GAD sufferers’ ability to function in their occupations.

 

Anxiety is a fear of potential future negative events. It is dependent upon future oriented thought processes. Mindfulness training may counteract this by focusing the individual on the present moment. Since, there are no negative events there in the present moment, anxiety dissipates. In addition, mindfulness training improves the individual’s ability to see the negative future projections as they arise in the mind and recognize that they are not based in present reality. This can lead to reduced anxiety and better performance at work.

 

So, improve anxiety and work better with mindfulness.

 

“The goal of mindful practices is to force us to be present, so we don’t waste precious days worrying. Needless anxiety and stress cannot burden us if the thoughts don’t enter our mind. And fortunately, we are only capable of focusing on one thing at a time. When you’re aware of only what you’re working on and the sensations of your body, conscious worry is not possible.” – Jordan Bates

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

This and other Contemplative Studies posts are also available on Google+ https://plus.google.com/106784388191201299496/posts and on Twitter @MindfulResearch

 

Study Summary

Hoge EA, Guidos BM, Mete M, Bui E, Pollack MH, Simon NM, Dutton MA. Effects of mindfulness meditation on occupational functioning and health care utilization in individuals with anxiety. J Psychosom Res. 2017 Apr;95:7-11. doi: 10.1016/j.jpsychores.2017.01.011.

 

Highlights

  • Individuals that received mindfulness training had a reduction in partial workdays missed.
  • Work loss, specifically partial days missed decreased as patients practiced mindfulness more often at home.
  • Mental health visits decreased more in patients who practiced mindfulness more often at home.

Abstract

Objectives

To examine the effect of mindfulness meditation on occupational functioning in individuals with Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD).

Methods

Fifty-seven individuals with GAD (mean (SD) age = 39 (13); 56% women) participated in an 8-week clinical trial in which they were randomized to mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) or an attention control class. In this secondary analysis, absenteeism, entire workdays missed, partial workdays missed, and healthcare utilization patterns were assessed before and after treatment.

Results

Compared to the attention control class, participation in MBSR was associated with a significantly greater decrease in partial work days missed for adults with GAD (t = 2.734, df = 51, p = 0.009). Interestingly, a dose effect was observed during the 24-week post-treatment follow-up period: among MBSR participants, greater home mindfulness meditation practice was associated with less work loss and with fewer mental health professional visits.

Conclusion

Mindfulness meditation training may improve occupational functioning and decrease healthcare utilization in adults with GAD.

http://www.sciencedirect.com.ezproxy.shsu.edu/science/article/pii/S0022399917300661

Improve Generalized Anxiety Disorder by Decentering and Mindfulness

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Improve Generalized Anxiety Disorder by Decentering and Mindfulness

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“Mindfulness allows us to interrupt automatic, reflexive fight, flight, or freeze reactions—reactions that can lead to anxiety, fear, foreboding, and worry.” – Bob Stahl

 

Anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness in the United States, affecting 40 million adults, or 18% of the population. Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) affects about 3.1% of the U.S. population. GAD involves excessive worry about everyday problems. People with GAD become anxious in anticipation of problems with their finances, health, employment, and relationships. They typically have difficulty calming their concerns, even though they realize that their anxiety is more intense than the situation warrants. A characterizing feature of anxiety disorders is that the suffer overly identifies with and personalizes their thoughts. The sufferer has recurring thoughts, such as impending disaster, that they may realize are unreasonable, but are unable to shake.

 

Anxiety disorders have generally been treated with drugs. It has been estimated that 11% of women in the U.S. are taking anti-anxiety medications. But, there are considerable side effects and these drugs are often abused. So, there is a need to develop alternative treatments. Recently, it has been found that mindfulness training can be effective for anxiety disorders. Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) is targeted at changing unproductive and unreasonable thought patterns and has been shown to be effective for anxiety disorders. Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) has also been shown to be effective. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) combines elements from MBCT and mindfulness training and has also been shown to be effective.

 

These therapies have in common the attempt to decenter thought processes. Decentering changes the nature of experience by having the individual step outside of experiences and observe them from a distanced perspective. The individual learns to observe thoughts and feelings as objective events in the mind rather than personally identifying with the thoughts or feelings which is so characteristic of Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD). The individual, then, sees their thoughts as a constructed reality produced by their self and not as absolute truth. This, in turn, results in an ability to see anxiety provoking thoughts as not true, but simply a construct of the mind’s operation, allowing the individual to begin to change how they interpret experience.

 

In today’s Research News article “Change in Decentering Mediates Improvement in Anxiety in Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction for Generalized Anxiety Disorder.” See summary below or view the full text of the study at:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5354303/

Hoge and colleagues examine the degree to which decentering and mindfulness mediate the effect of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) on Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD). They recruited adult patients who were diagnosed with GAD and randomly assigned them to receive either an 8-week MBSR program or stress management education program which aimed to improve “overall health and wellness through education about diet, exercise, sleep, time management, and resilience.” Before and after the 8-weeks of training the participants were measured for anxiety, worry, mindfulness, and decentering.

 

They found that both groups showed improvements but the MBSR group had significantly greater increases in mindfulness and decentering. In addition, they found that the greater the increase in mindfulness the greater the decrease in anxiety levels and similarly, the greater the increase in decentering the greater the decrease in anxiety. A sophisticated statistical mediation analysis technique revealed that MBSR had its primary effect on anxiety levels through decentering rather than mindfulness. On the other hand, MBSR training reduced worry by increasing the mindfulness facets of acting with awareness and non-reactivity to inner experience.

 

The results are interesting and suggest that Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) reduces anxiety and worry through different mechanisms; anxiety by increasing decentering and worry by increasing mindfulness. This is reasonable as anxiety is highly affected by illogical thought processes and decentering provides a means by which these thoughts can be seen as false. Mindfulness, on the other hand produces a focus on the present moment and thereby reduces worry about the future.

 

So, improve generalized anxiety disorder by decentering and mindfulness.

 

“People with anxiety have a problem dealing with distracting thoughts that have too much power. They can’t distinguish between a problem-solving thought and a nagging worry that has no benefit. If you have unproductive worries, you might think ‘I’m late, I might lose my job if I don’t get there on time, and it will be a disaster!’ Mindfulness teaches you to recognize, ‘Oh, there’s that thought again. I’ve been here before. But it’s just that—a thought, and not a part of my core self,’” – Elizabeth Hoge.

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

This and other Contemplative Studies posts are also available on Google+ https://plus.google.com/106784388191201299496/posts and on Twitter @MindfulResearch

 

Study Summary

Hoge, E. A., Bui, E., Goetter, E., Robinaugh, D. J., Ojserkis, R. A., Fresco, D. M., & Simon, N. M. (2015). Change in Decentering Mediates Improvement in Anxiety in Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction for Generalized Anxiety Disorder. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 39(2), 228–235. http://doi.org/10.1007/s10608-014-9646-4

 

Abstract

Objective

We sought to examine psychological mechanisms of treatment outcomes of a mindfulness meditation intervention for Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD).

Methods

We examined mindfulness and decentering as two potential therapeutic mechanisms of action of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) symptom reduction in patients randomized to receive either mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) or an attention control class (N=38). Multiple mediation analyses were conducted using a non-parametric cross product of the coefficients approach that employs bootstrapping.

Results

Analyses revealed that change in decentering and change in mindfulness significantly mediated the effect of MBSR on anxiety. When both mediators were included in the model, the multiple mediation analysis revealed a significant indirect effect through increases in decentering, but not mindfulness. Furthermore, the direct effect of MBSR on decrease in anxiety was not significant, suggesting that decentering fully mediated the relationship. Results also suggested that MBSR reduces worry through an increase in mindfulness, specifically by increases in awareness and nonreactivity.

Conclusions

Improvements in GAD symptoms resulting from MBSR are in part explained by increased levels of decentering.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5354303/

 

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Relieve Social Anxiety with Mindfulness

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Relieve Social Anxiety with Mindfulness

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“Mindfulness is shown in research to use neural pathways in the brain that cause the nervous system to calm. Using mindfulness, we can begin to notice what happens in the body when anxiety is present and develop strategies to empower clients to “signal safety” to their nervous system. Over time, clients feel empowered to slow down their response to triggers, manage their body’s fear response (fight-or-flight) and increase their ability to tolerate discomfort.“ – Jeena Cho

 

It is almost a common human phenomenon that being in a social situation can be stressful and anxiety producing. This is particularly true when asked to perform in a social context such as giving a speech. Most people can deal with the anxiety and can become quite comfortable. But many do not cope well with the anxiety or the level of anxiety is overwhelming, causing the individual to withdraw. Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) is characterized by a persistent, intense, and chronic fear of being watched and judged by others and feeling embarrassed or humiliated by their actions. This fear may be so severe that it interferes with work, school, and other activities and may negatively affect the person’s ability to form relationships. SAD is the most common form of anxiety disorder occurring in about 7% of the U.S. population.

 

Anxiety disorders have generally been treated with drugs. It has been estimated that 11% of women in the U.S. are taking anti-anxiety medications. But, there are considerable side effects and these drugs are often abused. Although, psychological therapy can be effective it is costly and only available to a small numbers of sufferers. So, there is a need to develop alternative treatments. Recently, it has been found that mindfulness training can be effective for anxiety disorders including Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD). There is a need, however, to investigate the effectiveness of different therapeutic techniques for anxiety disorders.

 

Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) was developed to treat depression but has been found to also be effective for other mood disorders. MBCT involves mindfulness training, containing sitting and walking meditation and body scan, and cognitive therapy to alter how the patient relates to the thought processes that often underlie and exacerbate mood disorders. In today’s Research News article “The Effectiveness of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy on Iranian Female Adolescents Suffering From Social Anxiety.” See summary below or view the full text of the study at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5292141/

Ebrahiminejad and colleagues examine the ability of (MBCT) to relieve Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD).

 

They recruited High School students with SAD and randomly assigned them to receive either and 8-week, 1.5 hours once a week, MBCT program or a no-treatment control condition. The students were measured before and after treatment for Social Anxiety and self-esteem. MBCT sessions were held in a group format with 15 students per group. They found that following the MBCT program the students had a significant, 21%, improvement in Social Anxiety and a significant three-fold improvement in self-esteem, while the control groups showed no improvement in either measure. Hence, the results of this pilot study suggest that Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) is effective in treating Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) in adolescents.

 

Anxiety is a fear of what might happen in the future. Mindfulness training by focusing the individual on the present moment, would tend to counteract anxiety. In addition, the cognitive therapy component of the MBCT program is targeted on changing the thought processes that lead to the anticipation of pending negative consequences. Hence, MBCT both alters the aberrant thinking and the focus on the future, resulting in marked improvement in anxiety disorders.

 

These are potentially important results as SAD is such a common disorder that interferes with the social development of adolescents. It should be pointed out that the control condition received no treatment whatsoever. So, the conclusions must be tempered with the understanding that a number of confounding factors, such as placebo effects, experimenter bias, attentional effects, etc., could be responsible for the outcomes. But, this pilot study demonstrates significant effects and suggests that a randomized controlled clinical trial be conducted that includes an active control condition.

 

“mindfulness meditation training made people with social anxiety disorder feel less anxious and less depressed and improved their self-views.” – Mindful

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

This and other Contemplative Studies posts are also available on Google+ https://plus.google.com/106784388191201299496/posts and on Twitter @MindfulResearch

 

Study Summary

Ebrahiminejad, S., Poursharifi, H., Bakhshiour Roodsari, A., Zeinodini, Z., & Noorbakhsh, S. (2016). The Effectiveness of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy on Iranian Female Adolescents Suffering From Social Anxiety. Iranian Red Crescent Medical Journal, 18(11), e25116. http://doi.org/10.5812/ircmj.25116

 

Abstract

Background

Social anxiety is one of the most common psychological disorders that exists among children and adolescents, and it has profound effects on their psychological states and academic achievements.

Objectives

The aim of this study was to determine the effectiveness of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) on diminishing social anxiety disorder symptoms and improving the self-esteem of female adolescents suffering from social anxiety.

Patients and Methods

Semi-experimental research was conducted on 30 female students diagnosed with social anxiety. From the population of female students who were studying in Tehran’s high schools in the academic year of 2013 – 2014, 30 students fulfilling the DSM-5 criteria were selected using the convenience sampling method and were randomly assigned to control and experimental groups. The experimental group received eight sessions of MBCT treatment. The control group received no treatment. All participants completed the social phobia inventory (SPIN) and Rosenberg self-esteem scale (RSES) twice as pre- and post-treatment tests.

Results

The results from the experimental group indicated a statistically reliable difference between the mean scores from SPIN (t (11) = 5.246, P = 0.000) and RSES (t (11) = -2.326, P = 0.040) pre-treatment and post-treatment. On the other hand, the results of the control group failed to reveal a statistically reliable difference between the mean scores from SPIN (t (12) = 1.089, P = 0.297) and RSES pre-treatment and post-treatment (t (12) = 1.089, P = 0.000).

Conclusions

The results indicate that MBCT is effective on both the improvement of self-esteem and the decrease of social anxiety. The results are in accordance with prior studies performed on adolescents.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5292141/

 

Reduce Anxiety with Mindfulness and Aroma Therapy

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Reduce Anxiety with Mindfulness and Aroma Therapy

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“If you have unproductive worries, you can train yourself to experience those thoughts completely differently. “You might think ‘I’m late, I might lose my job if I don’t get there on time, and it will be a disaster!’ Mindfulness teaches you to recognize, ‘Oh, there’s that thought again. I’ve been here before. But it’s just that—a thought, and not a part of my core self,’” – Elizabeth Hoge.

 

Everyone experiences occasional anxiety and that is normal. But, frequent or very high levels of anxiety can be quite debilitating. These are termed anxiety disorders and they are the most common psychological problem. In the U.S., they affect over 40 million adults, 18% of the population, with women accounting for 60% of sufferers One out of every three absences from work are caused by high levels of anxiety and it is the most common reason for chronic school absenteeism. In addition, people with an anxiety disorder are three-to-five times more likely to go to the doctor and six times more likely to be hospitalized for psychiatric disorders than non-sufferers, making it a major burden on the healthcare system.

 

Anxiety disorders have generally been treated with drugs. It has been estimated that 11% of women in the U.S. are taking anti-anxiety medications. But, there are considerable side effects and these drugs are often abused. Although, psychological therapy can be effective it is costly and only available to a small number of sufferers. So, there is a need to develop alternative treatments. Recently, it has been found that mindfulness training can be effective for anxiety disorders. In addition, aromatherapy, the inhalation of essential oils, has been reported to reduce stress and anxiety, but there has been little systematic scientific study and none combining aromatherapy with mindfulness training.

 

In today’s Research News article “Aromatherapy with two essential oils from Satureja genre and mindfulness meditation to reduce anxiety in humans.” See summary below or view the full text of the study at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5198818/

Soto-Vásquez & Alvarado-García investigated the individual and combined effects of aromatherapy and mindfulness on anxiety in otherwise normal humans. They recruited normal adults between the ages of 25 and 45 years and randomly assigned them to 6 different gender balanced groups; a wait-list control group, mindfulness meditation, aromatherapy with S. brevicalyx essential oil, aromatherapy with S. boliviana essential oil, mindfulness meditation plus aromatherapy with S. brevicalyx essential oil, and mindfulness meditation plus aromatherapy with S. boliviana essential oil. Interventions occurred for 12, 30-minute, sessions over 2 weeks administered Monday through Saturday. Participants were measured for both state and trait anxiety levels before and after treatment.

 

They found that all of the interventions resulted in a significant decrease in both state and trait anxiety levels. The meditation and aromatherapy interventions alone produced and average decrease in state anxiety of 24.1% and trait anxiety of 27.8%. But when meditation and aromatherapy were combined there was, on average, a greater decrease in state anxiety of 34.3% and trait anxiety of 42.4%, although the differences with monotherapy were not statistically significant. All of these effects were of significantly very large magnitude.

 

These are interesting results and suggest that both meditation and aromatherapy effectively reduce anxiety in normal adults. Although not significant the results provide a suggestion that the combination of meditation with aromatherapy produces a greater reduction in anxiety than either alone. This would suggest that they work through different mechanism which can produce additive effects. Unfortunately, the lack of an active control group, greatly reduces confidence in the results. The wait-list control group did not receive any attention, placebo, or active activity. Hence, the results could be due to attentional effects, placebo effects, practice effects, or experimenter bias effects. It remains for future research to investigate these effects with larger groups to improve statistical power and active control conditions to eliminate potential confounds.

 

Regardless, the results are suggestive that aromatherapy and meditation, alone or in combination, may be useful for reducing anxiety in normal humans.

 

“It’s easy to stop noticing the world around us. It’s also easy to lose touch with the way our bodies are feeling and to end up living ‘in our heads’ – caught up in our thoughts without stopping to notice how those thoughts are driving our emotions and behavior. An important part of mindfulness is reconnecting with our bodies and the sensations they experience. This means waking up to the sights, sounds, smells and tastes of the present moment. It’s about allowing ourselves to see the present moment clearly. When we do that, it can positively change the way we see ourselves and our lives.” – Mark Williams

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

This and other Contemplative Studies posts are also available on Google+ https://plus.google.com/106784388191201299496/posts and on Twitter @MindfulResearch

 

Study Summary

Soto-Vásquez, M. R., & Alvarado-García, P. A. A. (2017). Aromatherapy with two essential oils from Satureja genre and mindfulness meditation to reduce anxiety in humans. Journal of Traditional and Complementary Medicine, 7(1), 121–125. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtcme.2016.06.003

 

Abstract

The goal of this study was to verify whether association of aromatherapy with essential oils of Satureja brevicalyx or Satureja boliviana and mindfulness meditation can reduce anxiety levels in humans. A randomized experimental trial was carried out with 108 participants who were divided into 6 groups, comprising a waiting list control group and five experimental groups. Aromatherapy was carried out by inhalation of essential oils while mindfulness intervention program was focused on “flow meditation”. The anxiety index was evaluated by State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). Measures were taken two times: pretest and posttest. State and Trait anxiety scores showed a decrease in posttest study phase in comparison with pretest in all experimental groups (p < 0.005), especially in those where aromatherapy and mindfulness meditation were used together. All Cohen’s d scores were over to 1 that means a large size effect in anxiety variable. Percentages of change showed reductions of anxiety variable ranging between 20% and 47%. All treatments used isolated or associated, may be considered alternative treatment options for anxiety.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5198818/

Reduce Test Anxiety with Mindful Breathing

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Reduce Test Anxiety with Mindful Breathing

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“Mindfulness training for students gives you tools to help you remain calm, sustain your attention, and be able to focus. It does this by helping you to pay attention to the present moment through simple breathing and meditation practices which increase awareness of thoughts and feelings so as to reduce stress and anxiety and boost levels of attention and concentration.” – Mindfulness for Students

 

It’s a normal human response to become anxious while being evaluated by others. In fact, the vast majority of students report that the stress and anxiety associated with being evaluated is greater than that produced by anything else in their lives. The majority of students are able to cope with the anxiety and perform on tests in spite of it. But, for a minority of students, somewhere around 16%-20%, the anxiety level is so high that it causes them to “freeze” on tests and markedly impair their performance. It is estimated that they perform 12 points lower, more than one letter grade, on average than students lower in anxiety. Counselling centers in colleges and universities report that evaluation anxiety is the most common complaint that they treat among students.

 

It has been demonstrated repeatedly that mindfulness counteracts anxiety and mindfulness training is an effective treatment for a variety of forms of anxiety. Mindfulness training has been shown to be effective for anxiety disorders in general and  in relieving test anxiety. But, mindfulness training has not been directly compared to other antianxiety therapies. Cognitive reappraisal is a therapeutic technique that prompts the individual to rethink their interpretations of events and their feelings about them. For example, a student failing a test may think that this demonstrates that they are stupid and unworthy. Cognitive reappraisal of this would result in thinking that anxiety interfered with their studying and their performance. This therapy has also been shown to be effective for anxiety disorders.

 

In today’s Research News article “The Effectiveness of Daily Mindful Breathing Practices on Test Anxiety of Students.” See:

https://www.facebook.com/ContemplativeStudiesCenter/photos/a.628903887133541.1073741828.627681673922429/1459522354071686/?type=3&theater

or see summary below or view the full text of the study at:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5072593/

Cho and colleagues test the effectiveness of both mindfulness training and cognitive reappraisal for test anxiety. They recruited highly anxious university students and randomly assigned them to either 7-days of mindful breathing exercises, cognitive reappraisal, or no treatment. Instruction in mindful breathing and cognitive reappraisal occurred in a 1 hour, therapist guided, training session followed by 7 days of verified daily practice. The students were measured both before and after training for test anxiety, positive thoughts, and positive emotions.

 

They found that both mindful breathing and cognitive reappraisal produced clinically significant decreases in test anxiety in comparison to the control condition. But, only mindful breathing produced increases in positive thoughts. Hence, both mindful breathing and cognitive reappraisal were found to be effective treatments for test anxiety, but, mindful breathing has an additional benefit of increasing the individual’s automatic positive thoughts about themselves. Although not tested here, this would suggest that mindful breathing would have more long lasting effects on test anxiety.

 

These are exciting results in that a brief therapy, only lasting a week, and involving only an hour per student of therapist time, produced a major reduction in test anxiety. This suggests that these therapies can be administered cost effectively to large numbers of test anxiety sufferers. This is important due to the large number of students effected by test anxiety and the limited resources available to treat them.

 

Both mindful breathing and cognitive reappraisal are thought to effect anxiety by producing a distancing and disidentification of themselves from the contents of their conscious thoughts and emotions. This is known as decentering and indicates a reduction in self-criticism, rumination, and anxiety that can arise when reacting to negative thinking patterns. This decentering then counteracts anxiety by depersonalizing the feelings, making them just feelings and not indicative of some problem with the individual. Mindfulness training is known to improve emotion regulation allowing the individual to fully experience the feelings yet react to them more adaptively. This may account for the additional benefit of mindful breathing of increasing positive thoughts.

 

So, reduce test anxiety with mindful breathing.

 

“Often, when you are trying to remember important information, it is natural to tense your body or strain your mind, but this actually impedes your ability to recall information. In fact, a deeply relaxed state can enhance your ability to access memories in the moment. No matter your skill level, going into a standardized test relaxed instead of stressed will probably earn you more points.” – Suzanne Pearman

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

This and other Contemplative Studies posts are also available on Google+ https://plus.google.com/106784388191201299496/posts

 

Study Summary

Cho, H., Ryu, S., Noh, J., & Lee, J. (2016). The Effectiveness of Daily Mindful Breathing Practices on Test Anxiety of Students. PLoS ONE, 11(10), e0164822. http://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0164822

 

Abstract

The present study examined the effectiveness of daily mindful breathing practices on test anxiety of university students. A total of 36 participants were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: a training mindful breathing condition (n = 12), a training cognitive reappraisal condition (contrast group, n = 12), and a non-training condition (control group, n = 12). Each of the participants trained by themselves for 6 days after they had taken one session of education for mindful or cognitive reappraisal practices. They wrote their experiences on daily worksheets and sent it by mobile with taking pictures that were confirmed by the researcher. Before and after training, each of the participants completed a questionnaire to assess: test anxiety, positive thought, and positive affect. The results of the study showed that both mindful breathing practice and cognitive reappraisal practice yielded large effect sizes in reducing test anxiety. In addition, the mindful breathing condition scored significantly higher on positive thoughts than the cognitive reappraisal and control conditions. The findings of this study suggest that both daily mindful breathing and cognitive reappraisal practices were effective in reducing test anxiety; however, mindful breathing increased positive automatic thoughts to a greater extent than cognitive reappraisal.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5072593/

 

Improve Neural Regulation of Negative Emotions with Mindfulness

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Improve Neural Regulation of Negative Emotions with Mindfulness

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“Meditation might help depression, stress and anxiety but it’s not a ‘positive thinking’ tool that pretends everything is fine when it isn’t. It’s a way of being able to be with things as they are, in pain or in grief. It’s a way of being able to experience those inevitable parts of life, without your brain running away with its thoughts and making things worse, or pushing them away and resisting them.  It’s a way of being happy when we are happy, and to be fully present with our happiness, without holding onto that feeling too tightly because we fear the alternative.  And that’s where true peace lives.” – Ruth Rosselson

 

We’re very emotional creatures. Without emotion, life is flat and uninteresting. They are so important to us that they affect mostly everything that we do and say and can even be determinants of life or death. Anger, fear, and hate can lead to murderous consequences. Anxiety and depression can lead to suicide. At the same time love, joy, and happiness can make life worth living. Our emotions also affect us physically with positive emotions associated with health, well-being, and longevity and negative emotions associated with stress, disease, and shorter life spans.

 

There is a prevalent popular notion that to effectively deal with negative emotions such as grief and sadness, they have to be fully expressed and experienced. This is in general true as repression of powerful emotions can have long-term negative consequences. But, overexpressing emotions such that they become a focus of worry and rumination also has negative consequences. So, the key to dealing with powerful negative emotions is the middle way, to allow their expression, but then letting them go and moving on. A method to enhance this middle way is mindfulness. It has been shown to improve emotion regulation. People either spontaneously high in mindfulness or trained in mindfulness are better able to be completely in touch with their emotions and feel them completely, while being able to respond to them more appropriately and adaptively. In other words, mindful people are better able to experience yet control emotions. The ability of mindfulness training to improve emotion regulation is thought to be the basis for a wide variety of benefits that mindfulness provides to mental health.

 

Mindfulness appears to act on emotions by producing relatively permanent changes to the nervous system, increasing the activity, size, and connectivity of some structures while decreasing it for others in a process known as neuroplasticity. So, mindfulness practice appears to affect emotion regulation by producing neuroplastic changes to the structures of the nervous system that underlie emotion. In today’s Research News article “Minding One’s Emotions: Mindfulness Training Alters the Neural Expression of Sadness.” See:

https://www.facebook.com/ContemplativeStudiesCenter/photos/a.628903887133541.1073741828.627681673922429/1456402104383711/?type=3&theater

or see summary below or view the full text of the study at:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5017873/

Farb and colleagues investigate the nervous system’s response to a negative emotion, sadness, in people trained in mindfulness. They recruited participants and randomly assigned them to either receive an 8-week Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program or to a wait-list control group. Before and after training the participants were measured for anxiety, depression, and symptoms of psychopathology. Following training the participants had sadness induced by having them watch 3-min film clips from sad vs. neutral movies. They watched the movies while their brains were scanned with functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (f-MRI).

 

They found that MBSR produced significant decreases in anxiety, depression, and in symptoms of psychopathology that were not apparent in the wait-list control group. Watching the sad movie clips, the sadness induction, produced a significant increase in sadness and in the activity in the brain structures associated with the Default Mode Network (DMN) that normally gets activated by self-reflective and ruminating thinking. Significantly, they found that the group who received MBSR training had a significantly lower neural response in the DMN to the sadness induction. This occurred in spite of the fact that the sadness induction produced equivalent increases in sadness in both groups. At the same time, the MBSR group showed a greater activation of the visceral and somatosensory areas of the cortex.

 

These findings suggest that mindfulness training improves mental health by altering the neural response to negative emotional states, in this case sadness. The fact that the responses of the visceral and somatosensory areas were heightened in the mindfulness trained participants suggests that they felt the emotional state more deeply. At the same time, the reduced activation of the Default Mode Network (DMN) in the mindfulness trained participants suggests that sadness produced less self-reflection, worry, and rumination. This suggests that the brain better regulates the response to the emotions after mindfulness training. Hence the finding suggest that mindfulness training improves the brain’s emotion regulation processes and thereby reduces anxiety, depression and the symptoms of psychopathology.

 

So, improve neural regulation of negative emotions with mindfulness.

 

“When I despair, I remember that all through history the way of truth and love have always won. There have been tyrants and murderers, and for a time, they can seem invincible, but in the end, they always fall. Think of it – always.”- Mahatma Gandhi

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

This and other Contemplative Studies posts are also available on Google+ https://plus.google.com/106784388191201299496/posts

 

Study Summary

Farb, N. A. S., Anderson, A. K., Mayberg, H., Bean, J., McKeon, D., & Segal, Z. V. (2010). Minding One’s Emotions: Mindfulness Training Alters the Neural Expression of Sadness. Emotion (Washington, D.C.), 10(1), 25–33. http://doi.org/10.1037/a0017151

 

Abstract

Recovery from emotional challenge and increased tolerance of negative affect are both hallmarks of mental health. Mindfulness training (MT) has been shown to facilitate these outcomes, yet little is known about its mechanisms of action. The present study employed functional MRI (fMRI) to compare neural reactivity to sadness provocation in participants completing 8 weeks of MT and waitlisted controls. Sadness resulted in widespread recruitment of regions associated with self-referential processes along the cortical midline. Despite equivalent self-reported sadness, MT participants demonstrated a distinct neural response, with greater right-lateralized recruitment, including visceral and somatosensory areas associated with body sensation. The greater somatic recruitment observed in the MT group during evoked sadness was associated with decreased depression scores. Restoring balance between affective and sensory neural networks—supporting conceptual and body based representations of emotion— could be one path through which mindfulness reduces vulnerability to dysphoric reactivity.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5017873/

 

Improve Mental Health with Mindfulness

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By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) is designed to help people who suffer repeated bouts of depression and chronic unhappiness. It combines the ideas of cognitive therapy with meditative practices and attitudes based on the cultivation of mindfulness. The heart of this work lies in becoming acquainted with the modes of mind that often characterize mood disorders while simultaneously learning to develop a new relationship to them.” – MBCT.com

 

About one out of every five people suffers from a mental disorder. In the U.S. that amounts to over 44 million people. For the U.S. adults about 1.1% live with schizophrenia, 2.6% with bipolar disorder.  6.9% with major depression, 18.1% with anxiety disorders, and 3% with substance use disorders. This places a tremendous burden on the individual, their families, and the health care system. Obviously there is a critical need to find safe, effective, and affordable treatments for these disorders.

 

Mindfulness training has been shown to be helpful in treating many of these disorders, including schizophrenia, depression, anxiety, and substance abuse. One form of therapy that includes mindfulness training is Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT). It was developed specifically to treat depression and has been found to reduce depression alone or in combination with antidepressive drugs. MBCT involves mindfulness training, containing sitting and walking meditation and body scan, and cognitive therapy to alter how the patient relates to the thought processes that often underlie and exacerbate depression. It has proved so effective for depression that it has also begun to be applied to a variety of other mental disorders.

 

In today’s Research News article “Effects of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy on mental disorders: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials..” See:

https://www.facebook.com/ContemplativeStudiesCenter/photos/a.628903887133541.1073741828.627681673922429/1444323605591561/?type=3&theater

or see summary below or view the full text of the study at:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5030069/

Galante and colleagues review the published research literature on the effectiveness of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) for a variety of mental disorders. They found 11 published randomized controlled trials 10 of which compared MBCT to treatment as usual. There were only a sufficient number of studies to perform a meta-analysis for depression, depression relapse rates, and anxiety. They found that overall the research has demonstrated significant treatment effects for MBCT for the reduction in anxiety and depression. Importantly, MBCT had long-term beneficial effects as evidenced by a significant lowering of the relapse rates from depression on average by 40%.

 

These are important findings that strongly support the application of MBCT for the treatment of depression and anxiety disorders. The effects were not only robust but lasting, still being significantly better then treatment as usual a year after the end of treatment. It is unfortunate that there were not a greater number of studies of the effectiveness of MBCT for other mental disorders. This underscores the need for more research into the application of MBCT to disorders other than anxiety and depression. It has such powerful and lasting effects on anxiety and depression that it would be predicted that it would also be effective for other disorders.

 

It is not known exactly how MBCT relieves anxiety and depression. But, it can be speculated that MBCT, by shifting attention away from the past or future to the present moment, interrupts the kinds of thinking that are characteristic of and support anxiety and depression. These include rumination about past events, worry about future events, and catastrophizing about potential future events. Mindfulness has been shown to interrupt rumination, worry, and catastrophizing and focus the individual on what is transpiring in the present. By interrupting these forms of thinking that support anxiety and depression, shifting attention to the present moment where situations are actually manageable, mindfulness may disrupt depression. MBCT also improves the ability to see thoughts as objects of awareness and not something personal. This may be the most important change to improve anxiety and depression. This changes the relationship of the patients with their thoughts, making them less personal and thereby easier to cope with and change.

 

So, improve mental health with mindfulness.

 

“People at risk for depression are dealing with a lot of negative thoughts, feelings and beliefs about themselves and this can easily slide into a depressive relapse MBCT helps them to recognize that’s happening, engage with it in a different way and respond to it with equanimity and compassion.” – Willem Kuyken

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

This and other Contemplative Studies posts are also available on Google+ https://plus.google.com/106784388191201299496/posts

 

Study Summary

Galante, J., Iribarren, S. J., & Pearce, P. F. (2013). Effects of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy on mental disorders: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials. Journal of Research in Nursing : JRN, 18(2), 133–155. http://doi.org/10.1177/1744987112466087

 

Key points for policy, practice and research

  • Patients with recurrent depression (three episodes or more) treated with additive MBCT have on average 40% fewer relapses at one year of follow-up compared to patients undergoing treatment as usual.
  • Improvements in depression and anxiety with additive MBCT were significant at one year of follow-up but unstable in sensitivity analyses.
  • More studies with active control groups and long-term follow-ups are needed to better understand the specific effects of MBCT.
  • Depression is a symptom that is present in many conditions. More high quality RCTs are needed to evaluate MBCT in populations with varying depression severity as well as diagnosis with multiple co-morbidities.

Abstract

Objective: Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) is a programme developed to prevent depression relapse, but has been applied for other disorders. Our objective was to systematically review and meta-analyse the evidence on the effectiveness and safety of MBCT for the treatment of mental disorders.

Methods: Searches were completed in CENTRAL, MEDLINE, EMBASE, LILACS, PsychINFO, and PsycEXTRA in March 2011 using a search strategy with the terms ‘mindfulness-based cognitive therapy’, ‘mindfulness’, and ‘randomised controlled trials’ without time restrictions. Selection criteria of having a randomised controlled trial design, including patients diagnosed with mental disorders, using MBCT according to the authors who developed MBCT and providing outcomes that included changes in mental health were used to assess 608 reports. Two reviewers applied the pre-determined selection criteria and extracted the data into structured tables. Meta-analyses and sensitivity analyses were completed.

Results:Eleven studies were included. Most of them evaluated depression and compared additive MBCT against usual treatment. After 1 year of follow-up MBCT reduced the rate of relapse in patients with three or more previous episodes of depression by 40% (5 studies, relative risk [95% confidence interval]: 0.61 [0.48, 0.79]). Other meta-analysed outcomes were depression and anxiety, both with significant results but unstable in sensitivity analyses. Methodological quality of the reports was moderate.

Conclusion: Based on this review and meta-analyses, MBCT is an effective intervention for patients with three or more previous episodes of major depression.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5030069/

 

 

Reduce Anxiety and Depression in Pregnancy with Mindfulness

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By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“research is beginning to show how mindfulness decreases depression and anxiety during pregnancy and boosts positive emotions.” – Mindful

 

Depression occurring after delivery of a baby is well known, documented and discussed. Less well known but equally likely is intense depression and anxiety during pregnancy. But, between 14% and 23% of women suffer from some form of depression and between 5% to 16% of women experience an anxiety disorder during pregnancy. Intense anxiety and depression are difficult to deal with under the best of conditions but in combinations with the stresses of pregnancy can turn what could be a joyous experience of creating a human life into a horrible torment.

 

Without treatment, prenatal depression can pose a serious threat to a mother-to-be, who may stop taking care of herself or, in extreme cases, become suicidal. This can even cause a woman to want to terminate her pregnancy. There are no statistics on the matter but it has been speculated that prenatal depression can lead to abortion. Anxiety during depression is also a serious threat being associated with more health problems during pregnancy, postpartum depression and anxiety, and premature birth.

 

Prenatal depression and anxiety are often not recognized or diagnosed. When it is, the typical treatment is drugs. But these drugs are often ineffective and frequently have troublesome side effects and may not be safe during pregnancy. So, alternative treatments are needed. Mindfulness training may be an answer. Meditation and yoga practices have been shown to help improve mental and physical health during pregnancy. This is encouraging as mindfulness training has many benefits and is completely safe, even during pregnancy. Hence, it is important to further research the potential beneficial effects of mindfulness training during pregnancy.

 

In today’s Research News article “The Effect of Mindfulness-integrated Cognitive Behavior Therapy on Depression and Anxiety among Pregnant Women: a Randomized Clinical Trial.” See:

https://www.facebook.com/ContemplativeStudiesCenter/photos/a.628903887133541.1073741828.627681673922429/1417100888313833/?type=3&theater

or see summary below or view the full text of the study at:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5045953/

Yazdanimehr and colleagues investigate the effectiveness of mindfulness training for anxiety and depression during pregnancy. They recruited women who were 1 to 6 months pregnant and randomly assigned them to receive treatment as usual (control) or Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT). Treatment was delivered over 8 weeks with 1.5 hour sessions occurring once a week. Depression and anxiety were measured before and after treatment and followed up 1 month later.

 

They found that the women receiving MBCT had significant improvements in both depression (46%) and anxiety (45%) at the end of treatment and at one month follow-up while there were no significant change for the control participants. Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) was developed specifically to treat depression. So, its effectiveness with the women is not surprising. It develops mindfulness and works to alter thought patterns to interpret experiences objectively without reference to negative or self-deprecating beliefs. This training is very effective for the relief of depression and also anxiety.

 

The fact that MBCT had such large effects with this vulnerable population is particularly encouraging. By relieving anxiety and depression in these pregnant women it should be helping to insure a better pregnancy, more full term births, and less problems postnatally. This suggests that MBCT could be a very valuable treatment and perhaps a recommended practice for pregnant women.

 

So, reduce anxiety and depression in pregnancy with mindfulness.

 

“Pregnancy and childbirth are great crash-courses for motherhood. For nine months, you are increasingly required to be in your body. Labor and childbirth may be the time when you are most in touch with your body-the most embodied any of us will ever be-though not necessarily in a very comfortable way. This doesn’t end when the baby is born. Learning how to be present and grounded in your body even in the face of discomfort is a great skill to cultivate now and for the rest of your life as a mother.” – Cassandra Vieten 

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

This and other Contemplative Studies posts are also available on Google+ https://plus.google.com/106784388191201299496/posts

 

Study Summary

Yazdanimehr, R., Omidi, A., Sadat, Z., & Akbari, H. (2016). The Effect of Mindfulness-integrated Cognitive Behavior Therapy on Depression and Anxiety among Pregnant Women: a Randomized Clinical Trial. Journal of Caring Sciences, 5(3), 195–204. http://doi.org/10.15171/jcs.2016.021

 

Abstract

Introduction: Pregnancy can be associated with different psychological problems such as depression and anxiety. These problems are often neglected and left untreated. This study aimed to examine the effect of mindfulness-integrated cognitive behavior therapy on depression and anxiety among pregnant women.

Methods: A convenient sample of 80 pregnant women were selected. Participants were randomly allocated to either the experimental or the control groups. Participants in the experimental group received mindfulness-integrated cognitive behavior therapy while women in the control group only received routine prenatal care services. A demographic questionnaire, the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale, and the Beck Anxiety Inventory were used for data collection. Descriptive statistics measures such as frequency, mean, and standard deviation as well as the repeated-measures analysis of variance test were used for data analysis.

Results: After the study intervention, the mean scores of anxiety and depression in the experimental group were significantly lower than the control group.

Conclusion: Mindfulness-integrated cognitive behavior therapy can significantly alleviate pregnant women’s depression and anxiety. So implementation of this method alongside with other prenatal care services is recommended.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5045953/

 

Get Mindful On-Line and Get Feeling Better

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By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“mindfulness exercises delivered in face-to-face settings or remotely via the Internet seem to yield similar changes in symptoms. The remote delivery does not seem to lessen the efficacy of mindfulness interventions.”– Johanna Boettcher

 

Mindfulness training has been shown through extensive research to be effective in improving the physical and psychological condition of otherwise healthy people and also treating the physical and psychological issues of people with illnesses. Techniques such as Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) and Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) as well as Yoga practice and Tai Chi or Qigong practice have been demonstrated to be particularly effective. This has led to an increasing adoption of these mindfulness techniques for the health and well-being of both healthy and ill individuals.

 

The vast majority of the mindfulness training techniques, adopted so far, require a certified trained therapist. This produces costs that many clients can’t afford. In addition, the participants must be available to attend multiple sessions at particular scheduled times that may or may not be compatible with their busy schedules. As a results, there has been attempts to develop on-line mindfulness training programs. These have tremendous advantages in decreasing costs and making training schedules much more flexible. But, the question arises as to whether these programs are as effective as their traditional counterparts. Many believe that the presence of a therapist is a crucial component to the success of the programs and the lack of an active therapist in on-line programs may greatly reduce their effectiveness.

 

In today’s Research News article “Mindfulness Interventions Delivered by Technology Without Facilitator Involvement: What Research Exists and What Are the Clinical Outcomes?” See:

https://www.facebook.com/ContemplativeStudiesCenter/photos/a.628903887133541.1073741828.627681673922429/1362554723768450/?type=3&theater

or see summary below or view the full text of the study at:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5010616/

Fish and colleagues review the published research literature on the effectiveness of technology-based mindfulness training programs that did not include an active facilitator’s participation. They found 10 studies published, 9 of which were web-based programs. They found that, in general, the mindfulness programs produced increases in mindfulness and reductions in perceived stress, depression, anxiety, and rumination and these effects were maintained at follow-ups occurring as much as 6-months later. Unfortunately, compliance was relatively low and drop-out rates were relatively high.

 

These are encouraging findings and suggest that mindfulness can be effectively trained with web-based materials and that this can produce psychologically beneficial results. But, there were no direct comparisons to traditional programs. So, it cannot be determined if the web-based programs are as effective as traditional programs. In addition, there methods need to be developed to help maintain compliance and decrease dropping out of web-based programs. Regardless, the benefits are substantial and the results are sufficiently positive to encourage further research.

 

So, get mindful on-line and get feeling better.

 

“Internet delivery of mindfulness training may be a viable alternative if an evidence base can be established. It can be self-paced, less costly, and more accessible while additionally allowing for participant anonymity. “ – David Messer

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

This and other Contemplative Studies posts are also available on Google+ https://plus.google.com/106784388191201299496/posts

 

Study Summary

Fish, J., Brimson, J., & Lynch, S. (2016). Mindfulness Interventions Delivered by Technology Without Facilitator Involvement: What Research Exists and What Are the Clinical Outcomes? Mindfulness, 7(5), 1011–1023. http://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-016-0548-2

 

Abstract

New cost-effective psychological interventions are needed to contribute to treatment options for psychiatric and physical health conditions. This systematic review aims to investigate the current literature on one potentially cost-effective form of mindfulness-based therapy, those delivered through technological platforms without any mindfulness facilitator input beyond the initial design of the programme. Three electronic databases (Ovid Medline, PsychINFO and Embase) were searched for relevant keywords, titles, medical subject headings (MeSH) and abstracts using search terms derived from a combination of two subjects: ‘mindfulness’ and ‘technology’. Overall, ten studies were identified. The majority of studies were web-based and similar in structure and content to face-to-face mindfulness-based stress reduction courses. Clinical outcomes of stress (n = 5), depression (n = 6) and anxiety (n = 4) were reported along with mindfulness (n = 4), the supposed mediator of effects. All eight studies that measured significance found at least some significant effects (p < .05). The highest reported effect sizes were large (stress d = 1.57, depression d = .95, both ps > .005). However, methodological issues (e.g. selection bias, lack of control group and follow-up) which reflect the early nature of the work mean these largest effects are likely to be representative of maximal rather than average effects. Whilst there are important differences in the construction, length and delivery of interventions, it is difficult to draw firm conclusions about the most effective models. Suggestions of key characteristics are made though, needing further investigation preferably in standardised interventions. Given the existing research and the speed at which technology is making new platforms and tools available, it seems important that further research explores two parallel lines: first, refinement and thorough evaluation of already established technology-based mindfulness programmes and second, exploration of novel approaches to mindfulness training that combine the latest technological advances with the knowledge and skills of experienced meditation teachers.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5010616/

 

Reduce Anxiety and Depression with Mindfulness and Yoga

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mindfulness-yoga-depression-anxiety2-falsafi

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“But for many patients dealing with depression, anxiety, or stress, yoga may be a very appealing way to better manage symptoms. Indeed, the scientific study of yoga demonstrates that mental and physical health are not just closely allied, but are essentially equivalent. The evidence is growing that yoga practice is a relatively low-risk, high-yield approach to improving overall health.” – Harvard Mental Health Letter

 

Many people have fond memories of their college years. It is likely, however, that they forgot about the stress and angst of those years. The truth is that college is generally very stressful for most students, from the uncertainty of freshman year, to the social stresses of emerging adulthood, to the anxiety of launching into a career after senior year. Evidence for the difficulties of these years can be found in college counseling centers which are swamped with troubled students. In fact, it’s been estimated that half of all college students report significant levels of anxiety and depression.

 

In recent years, it has become apparent that contemplative practices are powerful treatment options for depression and anxiety disorders either alone or in combination with other therapies. Both mindfulness training and yoga practice have been found to be effective. But, there has not been a direct comparison. In today’s Research News article “Controlled Trial of Mindfulness Versus Yoga: Effects on Depression and/or Anxiety in College Students.” See:

https://www.facebook.com/ContemplativeStudiesCenter/photos/a.628903887133541.1073741828.627681673922429/1357219097635346/?type=3&theater

or see summary below, Falsafi recruited college students, with a diagnosis of wither anxiety disorder or depression, and randomly assigned them to receive 8 weeks, 75 minutes per week, plus 20 minutes per day of home practice, of either mindfulness training or Hatha yoga practice, or to a no-treatment control condition. All groups also continued their usual treatments of drugs or psychotherapy. The students were assessed for mindfulness, depression, anxiety, stress, and self-compassion prior to treatment, mid treatment (week 4), the end of treatment (week 8) and a follow-up at week 12.

 

They found that in comparison to the no-treatment control condition both the mindfulness training and yoga practice groups had significant decreases in anxiety, depression, and stress, and increases in mindfulness and these improvements were maintained at the 12-week follow-up. There were no significant differences found between the effects of mindfulness training or yoga practice, except that only the mindfulness training groups showed a significant increase in self-compassion. This latter difference was probably due to the fact that the mindfulness training included specific exercises to improve self-compassion including loving-kindness meditation practice.

 

These findings confirm previous findings that both mindfulness training and yoga practice produce clinically significant improvements in mindfulness, anxiety, depression, and stress, and that mindfulness improves self-compassion. The interesting aspect of this study is that comparable amounts of mindfulness and yoga practice did not differ in effectiveness. This is useful as different people prefer mindfulness training or yoga practice. So, individuals with anxiety and depression can choose which practice they are most comfortable with. This should increase participation and compliance and as a result effectiveness.

 

So, reduce anxiety and depression with mindfulness and yoga.

 

 

“People with anxiety have a problem dealing with distracting thoughts that have too much power. They can’t distinguish between a problem-solving thought and a nagging worry that has no benefit. If you have unproductive worries, you can train yourself to experience those thoughts completely differently. You might think ‘I’m late, I might lose my job if I don’t get there on time, and it will be a disaster!’ Mindfulness teaches you to recognize, ‘Oh, there’s that thought again. I’ve been here before. But it’s just that—a thought, and not a part of my core self,’” – Elizabeth Hoge

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

This and other Contemplative Studies posts are also available on Google+ https://plus.google.com/106784388191201299496/posts

 

Study Summary

Falsafi N. A Randomized Controlled Trial of Mindfulness Versus Yoga: Effects on Depression and/or Anxiety in College Students. J Am Psychiatr Nurses Assoc. 2016 Aug 26. pii: 1078390316663307. [Epub ahead of print]

 

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Depression and anxiety disorders are two of the most common mental disorders in the United States. These disorders are prevalent among college students.

OBJECTIVE: The main objective of this study is to compare the effectiveness of two different types of intervention practices (mindfulness vs. yoga) and a noninterventional control group in mitigating the effects of depression and/or anxiety in college students.

METHOD: A sample of 90 students (both genders) over age 18 who had a diagnosis of anxiety and/or depression was recruited from 11,500 undergraduate college students in a mid-size university. The study’s design included stratified-randomized controlled repeated measures with three groups: a mindfulness intervention group, a yoga-only intervention group, and a noninterventional group. Participants were randomly assigned to the aforementioned three groups. Participants in the intervention groups received an 8-week training either in mindfulness or yoga. Depressive, anxiety, stress symptoms, self-compassion, and mindfulness were measured at baseline, Week 4, Week 8, and Week 12.

RESULTS: Depressive, anxiety, and stress symptoms decreased significantly (p < .01) from baseline to follow-up conditions in both the mindfulness and yoga intervention groups. The changes in mindfulness scores were also significant in both groups. However, the changes in self-compassion scores were significant only in the mindfulness intervention group. No significant changes in the control group were demonstrated.

CONCLUSIONS: The findings from this study can provide useful information to nurses and other health care providers. This study may have implications for a cost-effective treatment for depression and anxiety.