Anxiety

Relieve Anxiety following Surgery with Meditation

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Relieve Anxiety following Surgery with Meditation

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“Mindfulness trains you to view your thoughts differently. You learn to recognize and stop “mental time travel” — worrying about the future and ruminating about the past. Instead of following a worrying thought down the path of all possible negative outcomes, you learn to recognize it for what it is — one thought — and then let it go. This trains your brain to be less anxious.” – Deane Alban

 

It’s a normal human response to become anxious when confronted with highly stressful or frightening situations, such as undergoing heart surgery. Being overly anxious, however, can interfere with coping and recovery after surgery. 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 and social anxiety. It has yet to be demonstrated that mindfulness training can relieve the anxiety preceding and following major surgery.

 

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

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5408519/, Kiran and colleagues examine the ability of meditation training to relieve anxiety before and after coronary artery bypass grafting. They recruited patients (average age of 55 years) who were scheduled to undergo coronary artery bypass grafting for coronary artery disease and randomly assigned them to either receive meditation training or counseling about the surgical procedure. The mindfulness training occurred upon admission to the hospital and consisted of three instructional sessions on Rajyoga meditation and 3 10-minute meditations per day, once before breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Meditation continued daily prior to and following surgery. Prior to training anxiety was measured with a self-report and on the day of surgery and 2 and 5 days later anxiety and plasma cortisol levels (to measure stress responding) were measured.

 

They found that before training and right before surgery the groups did not differ in anxiety levels. But, on the 2nd day after surgery the meditation group was significantly less anxious than the control group and on the 5th postoperative day the difference was even greater. Before surgery plasma cortisol levels did not differ between groups but the meditation group had a significantly smaller increase in cortisol immediately after surgery and a return to the normal range on the 5th postoperative day. Hence, meditation appears to lower postsurgical anxiety and stress levels. This may promote faster recovery from the procedure. It is interesting that such a simple and short-term mindfulness intervention can have such a large effect on anxiety and stress responding.

 

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.

 

So, relieve anxiety following surgery with meditation.

 

“We have a bad habit of gathering up dramatic feelings and situations, clutching them to us as if they were prized possessions. We feel we are entitled to our ownership of this anxiety, and we believe we must hold onto it in order to keep ourselves emotionally safe. It takes a little courage, but meditation can help us see and nurture our internal strength, so we can separate ourselves from drama and achieve anxiety relief.” – Ram Das

 

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

 

Kiran, U., Ladha, S., Makhija, N., Kapoor, P. M., Choudhury, M., Das, S., … Airan, B. (2017). The Role of Rajyoga Meditation for Modulation of Anxiety and Serum Cortisol in Patients Undergoing Coronary Artery Bypass Surgery: A Prospective Randomized Control Study. Annals of Cardiac Anaesthesia, 20(2), 158–162. http://doi.org/10.4103/aca.ACA_32_17

 

Abstract

Introduction:

Rajyoga meditation is a form of mind body intervention that is promoted by the Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University. This form of meditation can be easily performed without rituals or mantras and can be practiced anywhere at any time. The practice of Rajyoga meditation can have beneficial effects on modulating anxiety and cortisol level in patients undergoing major cardiac surgery.

Materials and Methods:

A prospective randomized control study was carried out in a single tertiary care center. One hundred and fifty patients undergoing elective coronary artery bypass surgery were enrolled in the study. The patients were randomized in two groups namely, Group 1 (Rajyoga group) and Group 2 (Control Group). Anxiety was measured on a visual analog scale 1–10 before the start of Rajyoga training or patient counseling (T1), on the morning of the day of surgery (T2), on the 2nd postoperative day (T3), and on the 5th postoperative day (T4). The serum cortisol level was measured in the morning of the day of surgery (T1), on the 2nd postoperative day (T2) and on the 5th postoperative day (T3), respectively.

Results:

In the study, it was seen that the anxiety level of the patients before the surgery (T1) and on the day of surgery (T2) were comparable between the two groups. However on the 2nd postoperative day (T3), the patients who underwent Rajyoga training had lower anxiety level in comparison to the control group (3.12 ± 1.45 vs. 6.12 ± 0.14, P < 0.05) and on the 5th postoperative day (T4) it was seen that Rajyoga practice had resulted in significant decline in anxiety level (0.69 ± 1.1 vs. 5.6 ± 1.38, P < 0.05). The serum cortisol level was also favorably modulated by the practice of Rajyoga meditation.

Conclusion:

Mindbody intervention is found to effective in reducing the anxiety of the patients and modulating the cortisol level in patients undergoing wellknown stressful surgery like coronary artery bypass surgery.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5408519/

Improve Social Anxiety Disorder with Mindfulness

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Improve Social Anxiety Disorder with Mindfulness

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“regular and consistent mindfulness meditation will help to strengthen your ability to overcome the initial problems that you experience. If you are suffering with the symptoms of social anxiety disorder (SAD), regular practice will eventually improve your self-concept and ability to handle negative emotions. You will also learn how to better respond to troubling thoughts and treat yourself with more compassion.” – Arlin Cuncic

 

It is 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 and the 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 and it is widespread, occurring in about 7% of the U.S. population. It has a typical onset in late childhood or young adulthood, prior to the age of 25. Hence, it is particularly widespread among young adults. 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. There are a number of psychological therapies for SAD. Although, these therapies can be effective they are costly and only available to a small numbers of sufferers. In addition, about 45% of the patients treated do not respond to the therapy. 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). Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) contains three mindfulness trainings, meditation, body scan, and yoga, and has been shown to be effective in treating anxiety disorders. So, it would be reasonable to expect that MBSR training would improve the symptoms of Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) in young adults.

 

In today’s Research News article “An open trial of mindfulness-based stress reduction for young adults with social anxiety disorder.” (See summary below), Hjeltnes and colleagues perform a pilot study of the effectiveness of a Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program for the treatment of Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) in young adults. They recruited university students, aged 19 to 25 years, who suffered from SAD. The students participated in a standard 8-week MBSR program. They were assessed at the beginning, midway, and at the end of the program for social anxiety, global psychological distress, mindfulness, self-compassion, and self-esteem.

 

They found that the MBSR program produced a large clinically significant reduction in social anxiety and global psychological distress. They also found significant increases in mindfulness, particularly in the non-judging and non-reacting facets of mindfulness, self-esteem, self-compassion, self-kindness, and common humanity. These results are impressive, but, it needs to be recognized that this was an uncontrolled pilot trial and as such the results could have been due to a number of contaminating factors including placebo effects, experimenter bias, attention effects etc. It remains for a randomized controlled clinical trial to verify these findings. But the magnitudes of the effects are impressive and the fact that MBSR has been demonstrated in controlled trials to reduce anxiety, makes it more likely that the MBSR program was responsible.

 

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 school, work and other activities and improve the person’s ability to form relationships.

 

So, improve social anxiety disorder with mindfulness.

 

“When you develop a mindfulness-based relationship with your inner emotions, your anxiety and fear, you set up a completely different inner environment that greatly facilitates transformation, resolution and healing of the emotional constructs of anxiety and fear. The simple fact is that reactivity inhibits change, while mindfulness promotes change and healing.” – Peter Strong

 

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

Aslak Hjeltnes, Helge Molde, Elisabeth Schanche, Jon Vøllestad, Julie Lillebostad Svendsen, Christian Moltu and Per-Einar Binder. An open trial of mindfulness-based stress reduction for young adults with social anxiety disorder. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, Volume 58, Issue 1, February 2017, Pages: 80–90, DOI: 10.1111/sjop.12342.

 

Abstract

The present study investigated mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) for young adults with a social anxiety disorder (SAD) in an open trial. Fifty-three young adults in a higher education setting underwent a standard eight-week MBSR program. Eight participants (15%) did not complete the program. Participants reported significant reductions in SAD symptoms and global psychological distress, as well as increases in mindfulness, self-compassion, and self-esteem. Using intention-to-treat (ITT) analyses, effect sizes ranged from large to moderate for SAD symptoms (Cohen’s d = 0.80) and global psychological distress (d = 0.61). Completer analyses yielded large effect sizes for SAD symptoms (d = 0.96) and global psychological distress (d = 0.81). The largest effect sizes were found for self-compassion (d = 1.49) and mindfulness (d = 1.35). Two thirds of the participants who were in the clinical range at pretreatment reported either clinically significant change (37%) or reliable improvement (31%) on SAD symptoms after completing the MBSR program, and almost two thirds reported either clinically significant change (37%) or reliable improvement (26%) on global psychological distress. MBSR may be a beneficial intervention for young adults in higher education with SAD, and there is a need for more research on mindfulness and acceptance-based interventions for SAD.

Mindfulness Training is Effective when Learned over the Internet.

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Mindfulness Training is Effective when Learned over the Internet.

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“online mindfulness/stress management programs can be as effective as real-world programs, delivered at a fraction of the cost. . . . online programs could make mindfulness more accessible to underserved populations—as long as they have a computer and an Internet connection.” – Hooria Jazaieri

 

Mindfulness training has been shown through extensive research to be effective in improving physical and psychological health and particularly with the physical and psychological reactions to stress. Techniques such as Mindfulness Training, 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 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, however, 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 result, 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 summary below or view the full text of the study at:

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

Fish and colleagues review and summarize the published research literature on the effectiveness of mindfulness therapies delivered online. They identified 9 randomized controlled trials of web-based mindfulness training. “All interventions introduced participants to some form of mindfulness practice including body scans, mindfulness of breathing, mindful movement and loving kindness” meditation.

 

They found that the studies reported that mindfulness training resulted in large improvements in mindfulness, reductions in stress, and clinically significant reductions in depression and anxiety. A large proportion of participants, 83%, continued practice after training ceased and the beneficial effects of the practice were still significant as much as 6-months later. These are impressive results which are comparable to the effects reported for therapist guided mindfulness training for stress, anxiety, and depression.  The studies, however, generally used weak control conditions and there is a need to continue the research with stronger research designs.

 

These are important findings in that mindfulness therapies were successfully implemented on-line. Web-based therapy allows for widespread, inexpensive, and convenient distribution of the treatment programs thereby opening up treatment to individuals who live in remote areas, cannot afford traditional therapist led treatment, or do not have the time to come repeatedly to a clinic during the workday. Hence, mindfulness training can be provided at low cost to widespread communities and individuals at their convenience. This greatly magnifies the potential societal benefits of mindfulness training; improving health and well-being.

 

So, mindfulness training is effective when learned over the internet.

 

“One of the benefits of living in a digital age is that we can pretty much access whatever we want. That is certainly true of meditation. Every major meditation center or university has an online component, offering you virtual courses, guided meditations, information on retreats and workshops. “ – 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

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.

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

 

Reduce Grief with Mindfulness

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Reduce Grief with Mindfulness

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“Releasing the grief we carry is a long, tear-filled process. Yet it follows the natural intelligence of the body and heart. Trust it, trust the unfolding. Along with meditation, some of your grief will want to be written, to be cried out, to be sung, to be danced. Let the timeless wisdom within you carry you through grief to an open heart.” – Jack Kornfield

 

Grief is a normal, albeit complex, process that follows a loss of a significant person or situation in one’s life. This can involve the death of a loved one, a traumatic experience, termination of a relationship, loss of employment etc. Exactly what transpires depends upon the individual and the nature of the loss. It involves physical, emotional, psychological and cognitive processes. Not everyone grieves in the same way but there have been identified four general stages of grief, shock and denial, intense concern, despair and depression, and recovery. These are normal and healthy. But, in about 15% of people grief can be overly intense or long and therapeutic intervention may become necessary.

 

A stillbirth can be a devastating loss as the joyous anticipation of a new baby is replaced by a death. This can produce intense mental challenges. Mindfulness training is known to help with coping with emotions and stress, and is very effective for depression. Hence, mindfulness training may be helpful in coping with the grief following a stillbirth. In today’s Research News article “Mindfulness-based Intervention for Perinatal Grief Education and Reduction among Poor Women in Chhattisgarh, India: a Pilot Study.” See summary below or view the full text of the study at:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5367631/

Roberts and Montgomery recruited women, aged 18 to 35 years, in rural India who had a history of stillbirth. They provided them with a one session per week for 5-weeks of mindfulness training based upon Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR). This included meditation, body scanning, and yoga practices and had additional education materials on risk factors for stillbirth and prevention strategies. The women were measured before and after the intervention and 6-weeks later for grief, anxiety and depression symptoms, satisfaction with life, religious coping, social support, and mindfulness. During the 6-week follow up period the women practiced daily at home.

 

They found, not surprisingly, that at baseline the women had clinically significant levels of anxiety, depression, and grief. After the mindfulness training, there were significant improvements in grief, anxiety and depression, religious coping, and the mindfulness facets of describe and acting with awareness. Hence the mindfulness training appeared to increase mindfulness and help relieve some of the psychological consequences of having a stillbirth. This could be important as the grief and depression after stillbirth can be severe. Relieving these consequences may be very helpful to the women learning to cope with and move past their tragic loss.

 

These are encouraging results, but must be viewed as preliminary pilot data. There was no control condition so, there are a large number of possible other explanations for the results including placebo effects, attentional effects, experimenter bias, etc. The data do support, however, conducting a larger randomize controlled clinical trial. Such research could lead to mindfulness training being used to assist in coping with loss and grief.

 

So, reduce grief with mindfulness.

 

“Mindful grieving informs us to allow ourselves to feel what is there, without judgment. For me, there was sadness there and I needed to nonjudgmentally acknowledge it, feel it, and let it be. It was important in that moment that I didn’t resist it or strive to make it any different, but just feel it as it was. Ronald Pies, M.D. wrote to us, “Having problems means being alive”, and I’d add “Being alive, means grieving loved ones who pass.” Grief is a natural part of the human experience.” – Elisha Goldstein

 

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

Roberts, L., & Montgomery, S. (2016). Mindfulness-based Intervention for Perinatal Grief Education and Reduction among Poor Women in Chhattisgarh, India: a Pilot Study. Interdisciplinary Journal of Best Practices in Global Development, 2(1), 1.

 

Abstract

Introduction

Stillbirth is a significant public health problem in low-to-middle-income countries and results in perinatal grief, often with negative psychosocial impact. In low-resource settings, such as Chhattisgarh, India, where needs are high, it is imperative to utilize low-cost, effective interventions. Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) is an empirically sound intervention that has been utilized for a broad range of physical and mental health problems, and is adaptable to specific populations. The main objective of this pilot study was to explore the feasibility and effectiveness of a shortened, culturally adapted mindfulness-based intervention to address complex grief after stillbirth.

Methods

We used an observational, pre-post-6-week post study design. The study instrument was made up of descriptive demographic questions and validated scales and was administered as a structured interview due to low literacy rates. We used a community participatory approach to culturally adapt the five-week mindfulness-based intervention and delivered it through two trained local nurses. Quantitative and qualitative data analyses explored study outcomes as well as acceptability and feasibility of the intervention.

Results

29 women with a history of stillbirth enrolled, completed the pretest and began the intervention; 26 completed the five-week intervention and post-test (89.7%), and 23 completed the six-week follow-up assessment (88.5%). Pretest results included elevated psychological symptoms and high levels of perinatal grief, including the active grief, difficulty coping, and despair subscales. General linear modeling repeated measures was used to explore posttest and six-week follow up changes from baseline, controlling for significantly correlated demographic variables. These longitudinal results included significant reduction in psychological symptoms; four of the five facets of mindfulness changed in the desired direction, two significantly; as well as significant reduction in overall perinatal grief and on each of the three subscales.

Discussion

The shortened, culturally adapted, mindfulness-based intervention pilot study was well received and had very low attrition. We also found significant reductions of perinatal grief and mental health symptoms over time, as well as a high degree of practice of mindfulness skills by participants. This study not only sheds light on the tremendous mental health needs among rural women of various castes who have experienced stillbirth in Chhattisgarh, it also points to a promising effective intervention with potential to be taken to scale for wider delivery.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5367631/

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/