Improve Mental Health in the Elderly with Mindfulness

July 19, 2017 psyjdc Leave a comment

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

“The interconnectedness of mind and body lies at the heart of mindfulness and this makes it highly relevant to older people who are more likely to experience physical health problems with associated psychological issues such as reduced mobility and depression. It is thought that mindfulness can be particularly empowering to older people as it focuses on abilities rather than difficulties which may help older people to feel more engaged in decisions about their care.” – MyAgingParent.com

Human life is one of constant change. We revel in our increases in physical and mental capacities during development, but regret their decline during aging. As we age, there are systematic progressive declines in every system in the body, the brain included. This includes our mental abilities and results in impairments in memory, attention, and problem solving ability. It is inevitable and cannot be avoided. Aging also results in changes in mental health. Depression is very common in the elderly. The elderly cope with increasing loss of friends and family, deteriorating health, as well as concerns regarding finances on fixed incomes. All of these are legitimate sources of worry. In addition, many elderly experience withdrawal and isolation from social interactions. But, no matter how reasonable, the increased loneliness, worry and anxiety add extra stress that can impact on the elderly’s already deteriorating physical and psychological health.

Mindfulness appears to be effective for an array of physical and psychological issues that occur with aging. It appears to strengthen the immune system and reduce inflammation. It has also been shown to be beneficial in slowing or delaying physical and mental decline with aging. and improve cognitive processes. It has also been shown to reduce anxiety, worry, and depression and improve overall mental health. Since the global population of the elderly is increasing at unprecedented rates, it is imperative to investigate safe and effective methods to slow physical and mental aging and improve mental health in the elderly.

In today’s Research News article “Meditation in Stressed Older Adults: Improvements in Self-Rated Mental Health Not Paralleled by Improvements in Cognitive Function or Physiological Measures.” (See summary below). Oken and colleagues recruited health elderly between the ages of 50-85 (average age = 60 years) who did not evidence cognitive decline and who were at least mildly stressed. They were randomly assigned to either receive 6 weeks of mindfulness meditation practice or to a wait-list control condition. Mindfulness meditation practice included one-on-one instruction in body scan, sitting meditation, and breathing exercises. The participants were measured before and after training for mindfulness, perceived stress, positive and negative emotions, neuroticism, fatigue, quality of life, self-efficacy, sleep, executive function, memory, attention, physiological vital signs, and salivary cortisol levels.

They found that the mindful meditation group in comparison to the wait-list group and the baseline measures showed significant reductions in negative emotions, neuroticism, and perceived stress following training and significant increases in mindfulness, vitality, self-efficacy, agreeableness and conscientiousness. Hence, mindfulness meditation produced significant improvements in the overall mental health of the participants, but did not alter physical health or cognitive abilities.

These are important results that suggest that mindfulness meditation practice produces major improvements in the mental health of the elderly. The participants, however, were relatively young elderly with an average age of 60 and only one participant over 75. They were all in good health and demonstrated no cognitive issues. Hence, the failure to demonstrate any effects of mindfulness meditation on the physical health or cognitive ability of this group may have been due to the fact that they were high functioning at the beginning making it difficult to produce further improvements. Regardless, the results clearly show large and important effects of mindfulness meditation on the overall mental health of these young elderly. This suggests that mindfulness meditation should be incorporated into the lives of the elderly to improve their psychological state during their declining years.

So, improve mental health in the elderly with mindfulness.

“Mindfulness practice has a definite positive impact on issues such as recurrent depression, stress, anxiety, chronic physical pain and loneliness. For elderly people, loneliness is a major risk factor for health problems-such as cardiovascular disease and Alzheimer’s. Mindfulness meditation training can be used as a novel approach for reducing loneliness and the risk of disease. Research suggests that mindfulness meditation training is a promising intervention for improving the health of older adults.” – Bláthnait Ní Mhurchú

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

Oken, B.S., Wahbeh, H., Goodrich, E. et al. Meditation in Stressed Older Adults: Improvements in Self-Rated Mental Health Not Paralleled by Improvements in Cognitive Function or Physiological Measures. Mindfulness (2017) 8: 627. doi:10.1007/s12671-016-0640-7

Abstract

To determine if mindfulness meditation (MM) in older adults improves cognition and, secondarily, if MM improves mental health and physiology, 134 at least mildly stressed 50–85-year olds were randomized to a 6-week MM intervention or a waitlist control. Outcome measures were assessed at baseline and 2 months later at visit 2. The primary outcome measure was an executive function/attentional measure (flanker task). Other outcome measures included additional cognitive assessments, salivary cortisol, respiratory rate, heart rate variability, Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS), Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression (CESD), Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), Neuroticism-Extraversion-Openness (NEO) personality traits, and SF-36 health-related quality of life. One hundred twenty-eight participants completed the study though visit 2 assessments. There was no significant change in the primary or other cognitive outcome measures. Even after statistical adjustment for multiple outcomes, self-rated measures related to negative affect and stress were all significantly improved in the MM intervention compared to waitlist group (PANAS-negative, CESD, PSS, and SF-36 health-related quality of life Vitality and Mental Health Component). The SF-36 Mental Health Component score improved more than the minimum clinically important difference. There were also significant changes in personality traits such as Neuroticism. Changes in positive affect were not observed. There were no group differences in salivary cortisol or heart rate variability. These moderate-sized improvements in self-rated measures were not paralleled by improvements in cognitive function or physiological measures. Potential explanations for this discrepancy in stress-related outcomes are discussed to help improve future studies.

Improve Veteran Health with In-Person and Telehealth Yoga

June 5, 2017 psyjdc Leave a comment

Improve Veteran Health with In-Person and Telehealth Yoga

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

“The fact that veterans are embracing yoga and realizing its benefits speaks directly to the stigmas attached to both yoga and PTSD. Veterans practicing yoga illuminate the value of the practice for any person, from any walk of life, not just “new-age hippies.” It also demonstrates that suffering trauma that affects our mental health does not break us or make us any less human.” – Dana Santas

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 and particularly with the physical and psychological reactions to stress. 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, 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 alternative distance education approaches such as on-line mindfulness training programs and videoconferencing. 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 physically present in on-line or videoconferencing programs may greatly reduce their effectiveness. It is not known if yoga practice can be successfully delivered through distance videoconferencing programs.

In today’s Research News article “Results from a clinical yoga program for veterans: yoga via telehealth provides comparable satisfaction and health improvements to in-person yoga.” See summary below or view the full text of the study at:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5381127/

Schulz-Heik and colleagues compared the effectiveness of yoga classes provided to veterans with a wide variety of physical and mental health problems. The classes were either in-person or the same class delivered via videoconferencing to a remote site. The classes were offered 13 times per week. The participants were free to attend whichever classes and how many they wanted on their own schedules. All participants who attended any classes during a two-week period were asked to complete a questionnaire on their satisfaction with the classes, global health, and 16 different health symptoms. Satisfaction with classes was demonstrated as 82% rated them excellent and 98% stated that they enjoyed the classes and 98% would recommend them to a friend.

They found that the veterans reported significant improvement in a wide range of physical and mental health symptoms, including overall pain, back pain, headache, upset stomach, sleep problems, energy level, irritability, concentration, anger, depression, anxiety, jumpiness, disturbing memories, and other symptoms. Importantly, the in-person and videoconferencing programs demonstrated equal improvements with no significant differences found between them.

These are very interesting results but must be interpreted with caution. There was no active control condition. So, the reported benefits might be due to placebo effects, experimenter bias, demand characteristics, etc. The results though are similar to those reported for yoga practice in randomized controlled trials and it is reasonable to conclude that the current yoga program produced similar benefits. Regardless, it is striking that the videoconferencing program was equally effective as the in-person program. This is important as it suggests that inexpensive mindfulness training can be offered to widespread audiences. In addition, videoconferencing training is convenient for the participants, as they do not have to go to a practitioners site on a particular schedule. This, in turn, allows for the application of yoga training for the prevention and treatment of psychological and physical disorders with busy people, low income people, and even people in remote locations, thus greatly expanding the numbers of people who can benefit.

“yoga is being increasingly embraced by Veterans Affairs and the military looking to move veterans off addictive painkillers and offer them alternative treatments for pain.” – Emily Wax-Thibodeaux

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

Schulz-Heik, R. J., Meyer, H., Mahoney, L., Stanton, M. V., Cho, R. H., Moore-Downing, D. P., … Bayley, P. J. (2017). Results from a clinical yoga program for veterans: yoga via telehealth provides comparable satisfaction and health improvements to in-person yoga. BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 17, 198. http://doi.org/10.1186/s12906-017-1705-4

Abstract

Background

Yoga is increasingly popular, though little data regarding its implementation in healthcare settings is available. Similarly, telehealth is being utilized more frequently to increase access to healthcare; however we know of no research on the acceptability or effectiveness of yoga delivered through telehealth. Therefore, we evaluated the feasibility, acceptability, and patient-reported effectiveness of a clinical yoga program at a Veterans Affairs Medical Center and assessed whether these outcomes differed between those participating in-person and those participating via telehealth.

Methods

Veterans who attended a yoga class at the VA Palo Alto Health Care System were invited to complete an anonymous program evaluation survey.

Results

64 Veterans completed the survey. Participants reported high satisfaction with the classes and the instructors. More than 80% of participants who endorsed a problem with pain, energy level, depression, or anxiety reported improvement in these symptoms. Those who participated via telehealth did not differ from those who participated in-person in any measure of satisfaction, overall improvement (p = .40), or improvement in any of 16 specific health problems.

Conclusions

Delivering yoga to a wide range of patients within a healthcare setting appears to be feasible and acceptable, both when delivered in-person and via telehealth. Patients in this clinical yoga program reported high levels of satisfaction and improvement in multiple problem areas. This preliminary evidence for the effectiveness of a clinical yoga program complements prior evidence for the efficacy of yoga and supports the use of yoga in healthcare settings.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5381127/

Improve Mental Health with On-line Mindfulness Training

May 17, 2017May 17, 2017 psyjdc Leave a comment

Improve Mental Health with On-line Mindfulness Training

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

“Mindfulness meditation is known to improve symptoms of many physical and mental health conditions. However, the group settings in which mindfulness meditation typically is taught can be problematic for many participants, either because of inconvenient scheduling or because people are averse to sharing in public.” – eMindful

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 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 “The Efficacy of Internet-Based Mindfulness Training and Cognitive-Behavioral Training With Telephone Support in the Enhancement of Mental Health Among College Students and Young Working Adults: Randomized Controlled Trial.” See summary below or view the full text of the study at:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5382258/

Mak and colleagues recruited college students and young working adults and randomly assigned them to receive an 8-week on-line therapy program of either mindfulness training or Cognitive Behavioral Therapy aimed at improving physical and psychological health. Treatments were delivered in 8, 30-45 minute, on-line modules and included home practice. To help insurance compliance, all participants were phoned weekly by a trained treatment support specialist to answer questions and encourage compliance. They completed measurements before and after training and 3 months later of mental well-being, psychological distress, satisfaction with life, energy, sleep, pain, and their expectancies regarding the treatments.

They found that both the on-line mindfulness training and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy groups showed significant improvements in mental well-being, psychological distress, satisfaction with life, energy, sleep, and pain after training that was maintained at the 3-month follow-up. Hence, they did not find a difference between the therapies with participants in both groups showing significant improvements in mental and physical health.

The weakness of the study is that regardless of treatment all participants improved and there was not a no-treatment control condition. So, it is impossible to determine if the results were due to the therapy or to a placebo effect, the passage of time, experimenter bias, etc. In other words, it is clear that the participants improved but it is not clear that the therapies were responsible.

On the other hand, the strength of the study is that it involved therapies implemented on-line. This 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. In addition, the study found benefits to the physical and mental health of otherwise healthy young adults. So, the treatment is not just for the sick, but also produces benefits for the healthy.

So, improve mental health with on-line mindfulness training.

“there is emerging evidence that online MBIs have the potential to improve mental health outcomes, most notably stress.” – M.P.J. Spijkerman

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

Winnie WS Mak, Floria HN Chio, Amy TY Chan, Wacy WS Lui, Ellery KY Wu. The Efficacy of Internet-Based Mindfulness Training and Cognitive-Behavioral Training With Telephone Support in the Enhancement of Mental Health Among College Students and Young Working Adults: Randomized Controlled Trial. J Med Internet Res. 2017 Mar; 19(3): e84. Published online 2017 Mar 22. doi: 10.2196/jmir.6737

Abstract

Background

College students and working adults are particularly vulnerable to stress and other mental health problems, and mental health promotion and prevention are needed to promote their mental health. In recent decades, mindfulness-based training has demonstrated to be efficacious in treating physical and psychological conditions.

Objective

The aim of our study was to examine the efficacy of an Internet-based mindfulness training program (iMIND) in comparison with the well-established Internet-based cognitive-behavioral training program (iCBT) in promoting mental health among college students and young working adults.

Methods

This study was a 2-arm, unblinded, randomized controlled trial comparing iMIND with iCBT. Participants were recruited online and offline via mass emails, advertisements in newspapers and magazines, announcement and leaflets in primary care clinics, and social networking sites. Eligible participants were randomized into either the iMIND (n=604) or the iCBT (n=651) condition. Participants received 8 Web-based sessions with information and exercises related to mindfulness or cognitive-behavioral principles. Telephone or email support was provided by trained first tier supporters who were supervised by the study’s research team. Primary outcomes included mental and physical health-related measures, which were self-assessed online at preprogram, postprogram, and 3-month follow-up.

Results

Among the 1255 study participants, 213 and 127 completed the post- and 3-month follow-up assessment, respectively. Missing data were treated using restricted maximum likelihood estimation. Both iMIND (n=604) and iCBT (n=651) were efficacious in improving mental health, psychological distress, life satisfaction, sleep disturbance, and energy level.

Conclusions

Both Internet-based mental health programs showed potential in improving the mental health from pre- to postassessment, and such improvement was sustained at the 3-month follow-up. The high attrition rate in this study suggests the need for refinement in future technology-based psychological programs. Mental health professionals need to team up with experts in information technology to increase personalization of Web-based interventions to enhance adherence.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5382258/

Improve Mental and Physical Health with Yoga

April 3, 2017 psyjdc 1 Comment

Improve Mental and Physical Health with Yoga

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

“As an osteopathic physician, I focus a lot of my efforts on preventive medicine and practices, and in the body’s ability to heal itself. Yoga is a great tool for staying healthy because it is based on similar principles.” – Natalie Nevins

Yoga practice has been repeated demonstrated in research studies to be beneficial for the psychological and physical health of the practitioners. But, yoga is a complex of practices including postures, movements, breathing practices and meditation. In addition, there are a wide variety of practices including Vinyoga, Iyengar, Ashtanga, Bikram, Power, Kundalini, Sivananda, Kripalu, Anusara, and Hatha, and others. To better utilize yoga practice for particular issues, it would be useful to examine which components of yoga practice benefits which areas of mental and physical health.

In today’s Research News article “Cross-sectional analysis of health-related quality of life and elements of yoga practice.” See summary below or view the full text of the study at:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5282804/

Birdee and colleagues recruited a national sample of yoga practitioners and asked them to complete measures of yoga practice characteristics, including adherence, length of practice, the perceived importance, practice of breathing, movement, and meditation practice, and also health related quality of life, which included measures of global mental and global physical health. They then performed correlational analysis to investigate the relationships between the characteristics of the practice and mental and physical health.

They found that the greater the inclusion of meditation in the yoga practice and the more the practice was in a group, the better the mental health of the practitioners. On the other hand, the longer they were practicing, the greater the teacher training, Viniyoga style, and practicing in a yoga studio, the greater the physical health of the practitioners. These are, of course, correlational findings and thus causal connections cannot be concluded. But the relationships are interesting and suggestive that how yoga is practiced makes a difference. In addition, the results only apply to yoga practitioners and there was no comparison to non-practitioners. So, the overall benefits were not assessed only the relative benefits within practitioners only.

Yoga has been well established to promote physical health. The findings, though, suggest that it is personalized instruction by experienced, and certified instructors, practiced in yoga studios that produces optimum health benefits. Vinyoga is an individualized practice where the instructor develops a personalized yoga program for the student based on such factors as health, age, and physical condition, including past or current injuries or illnesses. This suggests that when it comes to physical health, one size does not fit all. Tailoring the practice to the specific needs of the student is very important. In addition, the more years spent practicing, the greater the health benefits. These results indicate that learning to do yoga properly is a key to better health. Hence, for optimum physical benefit yoga need to be individualized, professionally taught, and practiced over a long period.

The mental health benefits of yoga, on the other hand, are more related to the meditative and social aspects of the practice. It is not surprising that the meditative aspect of yoga was related to mental health as meditation has been demonstrated repeatedly to improve mental health. It is interesting, though, that only this aspect along with practicing socially was associated with better mental health. Perhaps, putting one in greater contact with their inner life is a key.

So, improve mental and physical health with yoga.

“Workout fads come and go, but virtually no other exercise program is as enduring as yoga. It’s been around for more than 5,000 years. Yoga does more than burn calories and tone muscles. It’s a total mind-body workout that combines strengthening and stretching poses with deep breathing and meditation or relaxation.” – WebMD

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

Birdee, G. S., Ayala, S. G., & Wallston, K. A. (2017). Cross-sectional analysis of health-related quality of life and elements of yoga practice. BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 17, 83. http://doi.org/10.1186/s12906-017-1599-1

Abstract

Background

Mind-body practices such as yoga have been studied for their generally positive effects on health-related quality of life (HRQOL). The association between how a person practices yoga and the person’s HRQOL is not known.

Materials and methods

Yoga practitioners were sent invitations to participate in an online survey via email. Yoga characteristics, HRQOL, and other sociodemographics were collected. Analyses of data from 309 consenting responders evaluated associations between yoga practice characteristics (use of yoga tools, length of practice, location, method, etc.) and the 10-item PROMIS Global Health scale for both physical and mental health components.

Results

Multivariable regression models demonstrated higher mental health scores were associated with regular meditation practice, higher income, and the method of practicing in a community group class (versus one-on-one). Higher physical health scores were associated with length of lifetime practice, teacher status, Krishnamacharya yoga style, and practicing in a yoga school/studio (versus at home).

Conclusions

Meditation practice in yoga is positively associated with mental health. Length of lifetime yoga practice was significantly associated with better physical health, suggesting yoga has a potential cumulative benefit over time. Different locations and methods of practice may be associated with varying effects on health outcomes. Comparative cross-sectional and longitudinal studies on the variations in yoga practice are needed to further characterize health benefits of yoga.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5282804/

Improve Mental Health in Disadvantaged Populations with Mindfulness

March 22, 2017 psyjdc Leave a comment

Improve Mental Health in Disadvantaged Populations with Mindfulness

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

“Mindfulness training could be integrated into educational settings on a city, state, or national level, thus promoting health and mental health. Integrating mindfulness-based practices into educational settings could offer the potential to promote a more positive path for our children, something that would be particularly beneficial for disadvantaged urban youth like the kids in our studies.” – Tamar Mendelson

Disadvantaged populations have a disproportionate share of mental health issues. Indeed, the lower the socioeconomic status of an individual the greater the likelihood of a mental disorder. It is estimated that major mental illnesses are almost 3 times more likely in the disadvantaged, including almost double the incidence of depression, triple the incidence of anxiety disorders, alcohol abuse, and eating disorders. These higher incidences of mental health issues occur, in part, due to mental health problems leading to unemployment and poverty, but also to the stresses of life in poverty.

The disadvantaged are much more likely to be uninsured, not have mental health services available, and less likely to seek treatment. In addition, when they are treated it is almost exclusively with drugs. These often do not work, have adverse effects, or are not taken as prescribed and are thus ineffective. Most psychotherapies were developed to treat disorders in affluent populations and are not affordable or sensitive to the unique situations and education levels of the disadvantaged. So, very few disadvantaged people with mental health problems are treated with psychotherapies.

Hence, there is a great need for alternative treatments for the mentally ill disadvantaged. One increasingly popular alternative is mind-body practices. These include meditation, tai chi, qigong, yoga, guided imagery, etc. In today’s Research News article “Mind–Body Approaches to Treating Mental Health Symptoms Among Disadvantaged Populations: A Comprehensive Review.” See summary below or view the full text of the study at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4761814/

Burnett-Zeigler and colleagues review the published research literature on the effectiveness of mind-body practices for the treatment of mental health issues in disadvantaged populations.

They found that in general mind-body techniques are feasible, acceptable, and efficacious with disadvantaged populations. The published research reports than Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) programs produced significant improvements in disadvantaged populations in general health, social functioning, vitality, physical and emotional role functioning, stress, mindfulness, anxiety, self-compassion, life satisfaction, depression, relationships, awareness, self-acceptance, and self-empowerment, nonreactivity, improved self-care, and decreased distress. The research also reports that yoga practice results in significant improvements in distressed mood, depression, emotional well-being, body weight, depression, and disease-specific quality of life. Other mind-body techniques were also reported to have similar benefits.

Hence the published research studies are fairly uniform in finding that mind-body practices can be successfully implemented with disadvantaged populations and produce significant mental health benefits. Although much more research is needed, these are exciting findings. Mind-body techniques show tremendous promise for the mental health needs of the disadvantaged. They can be implemented cost-effectively and many of these practices can be employed at home on convenient schedules. Hence mind-body practices, if implemented broadly, may be major contributors to improved mental health in disadvantaged populations. This, in turn, may lead to better employment possibilities and a route out of poverty.

So, improve mental health in disadvantaged populations with mindfulness.

“Research and experience have shown that meditation-based or contemplative practices have proven to be beneficial with populations that are considered at risk, marginalized, or oppressed and with those who are incarcerated.” – Sadye Logan

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

Burnett-Zeigler, I., Schuette, S., Victorson, D., & Wisner, K. L. (2016). Mind–Body Approaches to Treating Mental Health Symptoms Among Disadvantaged Populations: A Comprehensive Review. Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 22(2), 115–124. http://doi.org/10.1089/acm.2015.0038

Abstract

Mind–body approaches are commonly used to treat a variety of chronic health conditions, including depression and anxiety. A substantial proportion of individuals with depression and anxiety disorders do not receive conventional treatment; disadvantaged individuals are especially unlikely to receive treatment. Mind–body approaches offer a potentially more accessible and acceptable alternative to conventional mental health treatment for disadvantaged individuals, who may not otherwise receive mental health treatment. This review examines evidence for the efficacy of mind–body interventions for mental health symptoms among disadvantaged populations. While rates of utilization were relatively lower for racial/ethnic minorities, evidence suggests that significant proportions of racial/ethnic minorities are using complementary health approaches as health treatments, especially prayer/healers and natural or herbal remedies. This review of studies on the efficacy of mind–body interventions among disadvantaged populations found evidence for the efficacy of mind–body approaches for several mental and physical health symptoms, functioning, self-care, and overall quality of life.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4761814/

Improve Attitudes and Mental Health at Work with Mindfulness

March 8, 2017 psyjdc 1 Comment

Improve Attitudes and Mental Health at Work with Mindfulness

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

“Mindfulness is, above all, about being aware and awake rather than operating unconsciously. When you’re consciously present at work, you’re aware of two aspects of your moment-to-moment experience—what’s going on around you and what’s going on within you. To be mindful at work means to be consciously present in what you’re doing, while you’re doing it, as well as managing your mental and emotional state.” – Shamash Alidina

Stress is epidemic in the western workplace with almost two thirds of workers reporting high levels of stress at work. In high stress occupations burnout is all too prevalent. It frequently results from emotional exhaustion. Burnout is the fatigue, cynicism, emotional exhaustion, sleep disruption, and professional inefficacy that comes with work-related stress. Sleep disruption is an important consequence of the stress. This exhaustion produces a loss of enthusiasm, empathy, and compassion. Regardless of the reasons for burnout or its immediate presenting consequences, it is a threat to the workplace. From a business standpoint, it reduces employee efficiency and productivity and increases costs. From the worker perspective, it makes the workplace a stressful, unhappy place, promoting physical and psychological problems. Hence, preventing burnout in the workplace is important. One technique that is gaining increasing attention is mindfulness training. It has been demonstrated to be helpful in treating and preventing burnout in a number of work environments.

In today’s Research News article “Mindful2Work: Effects of Combined Physical Exercise, Yoga, and Mindfulness Meditations for Stress Relieve in Employees. A Proof of Concept Study.” See summary below or view the full text of the study at:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5241323/

de Bruin and colleagues performed a pilot study of the effectiveness of a program of exercise, meditation, and yoga for the relief of work related stress symptoms. They recruited

workers who were referred by physicians who diagnosed them with work related stress issues. The workers received training in six weekly 2-hour sessions and a follow-up session, consisting of 20 minutes of aerobic exercise, 20 minutes of Hatha restorative yoga, and 80 minutes of mindfulness meditation including psycho-education. The participants were encouraged to practice at home. They were measured before and after the intervention, 6 weeks and 6 months after the completion of the program for workability, perceived stress, anxiety, depression, emotions, and sleep.

They found that the participants liked the program rating it at 8.1 on a 10-point scale. Following the intervention work-related fatigue and exhaustion (burnout) was markedly and significantly reduced while motivation, activation, focus and concentration, and energy were significantly increased. The employees became significantly less likely to leave their job, worked a significantly greater proportion of their contract hours, and found the work environment to be significantly better. Hence, the employees showed markedly improved attitudes and behavior toward their jobs. The employees’ psychological health was also greatly improved, with significant reductions in anxiety, depression, perceived stress, and increases in sleep quality and positive emotions. These effects all had very large effect sizes and were still strong and present 6 months after the conclusion of training. Hence, work-related psychological issues were improved in a lasting way with the intervention.

These results of this pilot study were impressive. But, the lack of a control group or condition markedly limits the conclusions that can be reached. Also, since the intervention contained meditation, yoga, and aerobic exercise, it cannot be determined which, or which combination of components are necessary for the benefits. But, the results certainly suggest that a large randomized controlled clinical trial should be conducted. With the intense stresses of the modern work environment, a program that reduced stress and improved attitudes and emotions, would be extremely valuable both to the employer and the employees.

So, improve attitudes and mental health at work with mindfulness.

“Many corporations and employees are realizing that the benefits of mindfulness practices can be dramatic. In addition to supporting overall health and well-being, mindfulness has been linked to improved cognitive functioning and lower stress levels.” – Carolyn Gregoire

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

De Bruin, E. I., Formsma, A. R., Frijstein, G., & Bögels, S. M. (2017). Mindful2Work: Effects of Combined Physical Exercise, Yoga, and Mindfulness Meditations for Stress Relieve in Employees. A Proof of Concept Study. Mindfulness, 8(1), 204–217. http://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-016-0593-x

Abstract

Work-related stress and associated illness and burnout is rising in western society, with now as much as almost a quarter of European and half of USA’s employees estimated to be at the point of burnout. Mindfulness meditation, yoga, and physical exercise have all shown beneficial effects for work-related stress and illness. This proof of concept study assessed the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary effects of the newly developed Mindful2Work training, a combination of physical exercise, restorative yoga, and mindfulness meditations, delivered in six weekly group sessions plus a follow-up session. Participants (n = 26, four males), referred by company doctors with (work-related) stress and burnout complaints, completed measurements pre and post the intervention, as well as at 6-week (FU1) and 6-month (FU2) follow-up. Results showed very high feasibility and acceptability of the Mindful2Work training. The training and trainers were rated with an 8.1 and 8.4 on a 1–10 scale, respectively, and training dropout rate was zero. Significant improvements with (very) large effect sizes were demonstrated for the primary outcome measures of physical and mental workability, and for anxiety, depression, stress, sleep quality, positive and negative affect, which remained (very) large and mostly increased further over time. Risk for long-term dropout from work (checklist individual strength [CIS]) was 92 % at pre-test, reduced to 67 % at post-test, to 44 % at FU1, and 35 % at FU2, whereas employees worked (RTWI) 65 % of their contract hours per week at pre-test, which increased to 73 % at post-test, 81 % at FU1 and 93 % at FU2. Intensity of home practice or number of attended sessions were not related to training effects. To conclude, the newly developed Mindful2Work training seems very feasible, and acceptable, and although no control group was included, the large effects of Mindful2Work are highly promising.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5241323/

Help Reduce Psychopathology with Severe Skin Conditions with Spirituality

February 5, 2017April 28, 2022 psyjdc Leave a comment

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Help Reduce Psychopathology with Severe Skin Conditions with Spirituality

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

“Spiritual practices tend to improve coping skills and social support, foster feelings of optimism and hope, promote healthy behavior, reduce feelings of depression and anxiety, and encourage a sense of relaxation. By alleviating stressful feelings and promoting healing ones, spirituality can positively influence immune, cardiovascular (heart and blood vessels), hormonal, and nervous systems.” – University of Maryland Medical Center

Spirituality is often confused with being religious and attending services. Even though spiritual people often are religious, spirituality refers to a sense of connection to something bigger than ourselves, and it typically involves a search for meaning in life. It involves a subjective experience of a sacred dimension. People vary in their depth of spirituality. But It appears to be an almost universal human belief that there is something more to life than just the physical.

Even though spirituality refers to something metaphysical, it has consequences in the physical realm. In particular, spirituality has been found to be associated with better psychological and physical health. Spirituality has been shown to improve psychological well-being and mental health, particularly anxiety. Spirituality has been shown to be negatively associated with depression with the higher the level of spirituality the lower the level of depression. In addition, high levels of spirituality are associated with successful drug treatment for depression. This appears to lead to spirituality being negatively associated with suicidality with the higher the level of spirituality the lower the level of suicidality.

Spirituality appears to help the individual cope with adversity, with people who are high in spirituality less likely to be distressed following negative events. To some extent this results from the fact that spirituality appears to reduce the negative consequences of stress and thereby improve well-being. Individuals at the end of life with high levels of spirituality have significantly higher levels of well-being and are less likely to be depressed or suicidal. Spirituality has also been shown to be helpful in treatment for alcoholism and generally for substance abuse treatment and relapse prevention. Spiritual meditation has also been shown to reduce the frequency of migraine headaches.

These findings lead to the conclusion that spirituality may help with the psychological responses to disease. In today’s Research News article “Spirituality and mood pathology in severe skin conditions: a prospective observational study.” See:

https://www.facebook.com/ContemplativeStudiesCenter/photos/a.628903887133541.1073741828.627681673922429/1476015799089008/?type=3&theater

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

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4982877/

Unterrainer and colleagues studied the relationship of spirituality to the mental problems surrounding severe skin disease. They recruited patients with severe and potentially life threatening dermatological diseases of systemic sclerosis, lupus erythematosus, and early stages malignant melanoma. They measured spiritual well-being including hope immanent, forgiveness, experiences of sense and meaning, religious well-being, general religiosity, connectedness, and hope transcendent. In addition, they measured a variety of psychiatric symptoms.

They found that hope for a better future, hope transcendent and forgiveness were the spirituality components that were most negatively associated with psychiatric symptoms, with high levels of hope and forgiveness associated with low levels of mental health issues. In general, the existential dimensions of spirituality were better predictors of low psychopathology than the religious dimensions of spirituality.

These results are interesting and suggest that spirituality is positively associated with the mental health of patients with severe dermatological diseases. Due to the fact that the study was correlational, it cannot be concluded that spirituality caused better mental health, or that better mental health caused spirituality, or some third factor was responsible for both. But, nevertheless, the findings clearly demonstrate that spirituality and mental health are positively related.

How might spirituality promote mental health. Obviously, it provides goals and meaning to life. In addition, virtually all spiritual practices and religious belief systems promote acceptance of one’s strengths and weaknesses, the need to maintain a principled life, and having harmonious relationships with others. All of these consequences of spirituality could contribute to mental health.

So, help reduce psychopathology with severe skin conditions with spirituality.

“Associations between spirituality and Eastern religious practices and lower blood pressure, lower levels of stress hormones and lower oxidative stress have been found. Moreover, associations between Judeo, Christian, and Islamic religious practices and lower blood pressure, protective effect against cardiovascular disease, increased immune function, lipid levels and protective effect against all-cause mortality were found.” –Iulia Basu-Zharku

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 Twitter @MindfulResearch

Study Summary

Unterrainer, H.-F., Lukanz, M., Pilch, M., Scharf, S., Glawischnig-Goschnik, M., Wutte, N., … Aberer, E. (2016). Spirituality and mood pathology in severe skin conditions: a prospective observational study. Archives of Dermatological Research, 308, 521–525. http://doi.org/10.1007/s00403-016-1672-5

Abstract

Although the association between spirituality and parameters of psychological health and disease has been investigated extensively, little evidence is available for its potential role in dermatology. In a single-centre observational prospective study, 149 outpatients (107 women) with systemic sclerosis (SSc; n = 44), lupus erythematosus (LE; n = 48), or early stage malignant melanoma (MM; n = 57) were investigated using the multidimensional inventory for religious/spiritual well-being together with the Brief Symptom Inventory for psychiatric symptoms (BSI-18). SSc patients reported the highest amount of Somatization in comparison with LE and MM patients (p < 0.05). Furthermore, in line with the previous research, spiritual dimensions, such as Hope for a better future (p < 0.01) or Hope for a better afterlife (p < 0.01), proved to be especially negatively predictive for the global amount of psychiatric symptom burden in these dermatological patient groups. Our findings suggest that greater attention should be given to spiritual issues, such as encouraging patients, imbuing them with optimism, and offering interventions that address spiritual well-being.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4982877/

Improve Mental Health with Spirituality

January 8, 2017 psyjdc Leave a comment

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By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

“As we learn more and more about the connections between the mind and body, it becomes clear that spirituality, religion and faith can help some individuals live well with mental health conditions. Some individuals and families turn to faith in times of crisis to help in their recovery while others find that spiritual practices help them continue to manage their mental health.” – National Alliance on Mental Health

Psychological well-being is sometimes thought of as a lack of mental illness. But, it is more than just a lack of something. It is a positive set of characteristics that lead to happy, well-adjusted life. These include the ability to be aware of and accept one’s strengths and weaknesses, to have goals that give meaning to life, to truly believe that your potential capabilities are going to be realized, to have close and valuable relations with others, the ability to effectively manage life issues especially daily issues, and the ability to follow personal principles even when opposed to society.

Religion and spirituality have been promulgated as solutions to the challenges of life both in a transcendent sense and in a practical sense. What evidence is there that these claims are in fact true? The transcendent claims are untestable with the scientific method. But, the practical claims are amenable to scientific analysis. There have been a number of studies of the influence of religiosity and spirituality on the physical and psychological well-being of practitioners mostly showing positive benefits, with spirituality encouraging personal growth and mental health. Research from this body of work has shown that spirituality and religiosity serve as protective factors against a variety of psychiatric conditions, including depressive disorders, anxiety disorders, suicide, burnout, eating disorders, substance-related disorders and addiction recovery. But there is a need for more research into the influence of spirituality on mental health.

In today’s Research News article “Phenotypic Dimensions of Spirituality: Implications for Mental Health in China, India, and the United States.” See:

https://www.facebook.com/ContemplativeStudiesCenter/photos/a.628903887133541.1073741828.627681673922429/1445184095505512/?type=3&theater

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

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5082226/

McClintock and colleagues examine the spirituality and mental health of a very large cross-cultural sample in China, India, and the United States. Participants completed 14 validated scales of spirituality and religiosity and 3 different scales of mental health. It took approximately 2 hours for the participants to complete all of the measures. The answers on all of the spirituality measures were lumped together and analyzed with sophisticated statistical techniques to uncover the underlying common factors of spirituality.

The analysis uncovered “five dimensions of universal spiritual experience, specifically: love, in the fabric of relationships and as a sacred reality; unifying interconnectedness, as a sense of energetic oneness with other beings in the universe; altruism, as a commitment beyond the self with care and service; contemplative practice, such as meditation, prayer, yoga, or qigong; and religious and spiritual reflection and commitment, as a life well-examined.” The five factors were labelled as Religious and Spiritual Reflection and Commitment, Contemplative Practice, Unifying Interconnectedness, Love, and Altruism.

The five factors were then examined to observe their relationships with mental health. McClintock and colleagues found that there were some cultural differences but universally, high levels of Love, Interconnectedness, and Altruism were associated with lower levels of mental health problems. That is the more the individuals expressed the spiritual characteristics of love, altruism, and a sense of interconnectedness with everything and everyone, the greater their mental health. Hence, these results clearly suggest that across diverse cultures containing diverse religious and spiritual practices, that spirituality is associated with positive psychological health.

It has to be acknowledged that this study was correlational and as such can only uncover relationships. It cannot determine causation. Hence, it cannot be concluded that spirituality causes improvements in mental health. It is equally likely that good mental health produces a greater likelihood of spirituality or that some other factor, such as family upbringing is responsible for both the levels of spirituality and mental health. It will remain for manipulative research in the future to determine the nature of the causal connections.

“Spirituality can help people maintain good mental health. It can help them cope with everyday stress and can keep them grounded. Tolerant and inclusive spiritual communities can provide valuable support and friendship. There is some evidence of links between spirituality and improvements in people’s mental health, although researchers do not know exactly how this works.” – Mental Health Foundation

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

McClintock, C. H., Lau, E., & Miller, L. (2016). Phenotypic Dimensions of Spirituality: Implications for Mental Health in China, India, and the United States. Frontiers in Psychology, 7, 1600. http://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01600

Abstract

While the field of empirical study on religion and spirituality in relation to mental health has rapidly expanded over the past decade, little is known about underlying dimensions of spirituality cross-culturally conceived. We aimed to bridge this gap by inductively deriving potential universal dimensions of spirituality through a large-scale, multi-national data collection, and examining the relationships of these dimensions with common psychiatric conditions. Five-thousand five-hundred and twelve participants from China, India, and the United States completed a two-hour online survey consisting of wide-ranging measures of the lived experience of spirituality, as well as clinical assessments. A series of inductive Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and cross-validating Exploratory Structural Equation Modeling (ESEM) were conducted to derive common underlying dimensions of spirituality. Logistic regression analyses were then conducted with each dimension to predict depression, suicidal ideation, generalized anxiety, and substance-related disorders. Preliminary EFA results were consistently supported by ESEM findings. Analyses of 40 spirituality measures revealed five invariant factors across countries which were interpreted as five dimensions of universal spiritual experience, specifically: love, in the fabric of relationships and as a sacred reality; unifying interconnectedness, as a sense of energetic oneness with other beings in the universe; altruism, as a commitment beyond the self with care and service; contemplative practice, such as meditation, prayer, yoga, or qigong; and religious and spiritual reflection and commitment, as a life well-examined. Love, interconnectedness, and altruism were associated with less risk of psychopathology for all countries. Religious and spiritual reflection and commitment and contemplative practice were associated with less risk in India and the United States but associated with greater risk in China. Education was directly associated with dimensions of spiritual awareness in India and China but inversely associated with dimensions in the United States. Findings support the notion that spirituality is a universal phenomenon with potentially universal dimensions. These aspects of spirituality may each offer protective effects against psychiatric symptoms and disorders and suggest new directions for treatment.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5082226/

Increase Mindfulness to Improve Mental Health

December 14, 2016December 14, 2016 psyjdc Leave a comment

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By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

“Meditation gives you the wherewithal to pause, observe how easily the mind can exaggerate the severity of a setback, and resist getting drawn back into the abyss.”— Richie Davidson

Mindfulness practice has been shown to produce improved emotion regulation. Practitioners demonstrate the ability to fully sense and experience emotions, but respond to them in more appropriate and adaptive ways. In other words, mindful people are better able to experience yet control emotions. This is a very important consequence of mindfulness. Humans are very emotional creatures and these emotions can be very pleasant, providing the spice of life. But, when they get extreme they can produce misery and even mental illness. 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 and the treatment of mental illness especially depression and anxiety disorders.

It has been shown that repeated writing about upsetting experiences (narrative disclosure) can be beneficial for the individual’s physical and mental health. This narrative disclosure is thought to produce benefits by interrupting experiential avoidance. That is, the process of writing about difficult experiences forces the individual to face them and stop avoiding dealing with the experiences and the emotions evoked by them. Hence, it is reasonable to further explore the roles of mindfulness and experiential avoidance in the effects of narrative disclosure on mental health.

In today’s Research News article “Mindfulness and Experiential Avoidance as Predictors and Outcomes of the Narrative Emotional Disclosure Task.” See:

https://www.facebook.com/ContemplativeStudiesCenter/photos/a.628903887133541.1073741828.627681673922429/1418454504845138/?type=3&theater

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

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4821161/

Moore and colleagues recruited college students and randomly assigned them to receive 3 daily 20-minute sessions of either writing about traumatic or upsetting events (narrative disclosure) or a neutral control condition of witting about their day. Before writing and 3 months afterwards both groups completed self-report scales of mindfulness, experiential avoidance, depression, psychological distress, and self-acceptance.

Contrary to expectations, they did not find any difference in mental health, mindfulness, or experiential avoidance as a result of narrative disclosure in comparison to control writing. But, they found that for both conditions, decreases in experiential avoidance were associated with decreases in both depression and psychological distress and increases in self-acceptance. On the other hand, for the narrative disclosure but not control condition, increases in mindfulness were associated with significant decreases in depression and psychological distress, and increases in self-acceptance. Hence, regardless of condition reduced experiential avoidance was associated with improved mental health. But, only within the narrative disclosure condition was increased mindfulness associated with improved mental health.

These are interesting results that defy simple interpretation. It is clear that regardless of writing condition low experiential avoidance contributes to mental health. So, facing up to and not avoiding troubling experiences contributes to mental health. In the case with mindfulness, however, the case is more complex. The results suggest that those individuals for whom narrative disclosure produces changes in mindfulness, there is a resultant improvement in mental health. It is interesting to note that within the control condition, high mindfulness at baseline was associated with improved mental health. So, it would appear, as has previously been demonstrated that mindfulness is associated with better mental health and that further increases in mindfulness produced by narrative disclosure results in further improvements in psychological well-being. So, being more mindful contributes to mental health and increasing mindfulness will further improve mental health.

So, increase mindfulness to improve mental health.

“Working with emotions during our meditation sessions sharpens our ability to recognize a feeling just as it begins, not 15 consequential actions later. We can then go on to develop a more balanced relationship with it—neither letting it overwhelm us so we lash out rashly nor ignoring it because we’re afraid or ashamed of it.” – Sharon Salzberg

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

Moore, S. D., Brody, L. R., & Dierberger, A. E. (2009). Mindfulness and Experiential Avoidance as Predictors and Outcomes of the Narrative Emotional Disclosure Task. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 65(9), 971–988. http://doi.org/10.1002/jclp.20600

Abstract

This randomized study examined whether narrative emotional disclosure improves mindfulness, experiential avoidance, and mental health, and how baseline levels of and changes in mindfulness and experiential avoidance relate to mental health. Participants (N = 233) wrote repeated traumatic (experimental condition) or unemotional daily events narratives (control condition). Regression analyses showed neither condition nor gender effects on mental health or experiential avoidance at a 1-month follow-up, although the control condition significantly increased in one component of mindfulness. Decreased experiential avoidance (across conditions) and increased mindfulness (in the experimental condition) significantly predicted improved mental health. Narrative disclosure thus did not improve outcomes measured here. However, increasing mindfulness when writing narratives with traumatic content, and decreasing experiential avoidance regardless of writing content, was associated with improved mental health.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4821161/

Increase Overall Mindfulness and Mental Health with Mindfulness Practice

August 10, 2016 psyjdc Leave a comment

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

“Studies show that the ways we intentionally shape our internal focus of attention in mindfulness practice induces a state of brain activation during the practice. With repetition, an intentionally created state can become an enduring trait of the individual as reflected in long-term changes in brain function and structure.” – Daniel Siegel

“Mindfulness is awareness that arises through paying attention, on purpose, in the present moment, non-judgementally. It’s about knowing what is on your mind.” (Jon Kabat-Zinn). It has been shown to be highly related to the health and well-being of the individual. Mindfulness training has also been found to be effective for a large array of medical and psychiatric conditions, either stand-alone or in combination with more traditional therapies. As a result, mindfulness training has been called the third wave of therapies. In fact, though, little is known about how training improves mindfulness.

It is amazing that so little is known about the development of mindfulness, given its effectiveness and increasing popularity. It is important to understand how it develops and what affects that development in order to optimize its use. In today’s Research News article “From a state to a trait: Trajectories of state mindfulness in meditation during intervention predict changes in trait mindfulness.” See:

https://www.facebook.com/ContemplativeStudiesCenter/photos/a.628903887133541.1073741828.627681673922429/1291374517553138/?type=3&theater

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

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4404745/

Kiken and colleagues study the development of mindfulness during 8-weeks of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) training. MBSR includes meditation, body scan, and yoga training. They measured the enduring tendency toward being mindful, called trait mindfulness, and also psychological distress before and after the 8-weeks of training. They also measured the individuals’ immediate states of mindfulness each week.

They found that mindfulness significantly increased in a linear fashion over the 8-weeks of training and simultaneously psychological distress decreased. In addition, trait mindfulness increased from the beginning to the end of training indicating that the training increased the enduring tendency to be mindful. This is important as it indicates that MBSR training doesn’t just produce momentary changes in mindfulness but produces lasting changes. Individual participants differed in how rapidly they increased mindfulness during training. Kiken and colleagues used a sophisticated statistical technique called Latent Growth Curve Analysis to investigate if these differences were responsible for differences in the change in trait mindfulness. They found that participants who increased in state mindfulness fastest over the 8-weeks ended up having the greatest increase in trait mindfulness and decrease in psychological distress.

These results are significant and interesting. They clearly show that Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) training increases mindfulness weekly over the program and these increases are significantly related to increases in the enduring tendency to be mindful, trait mindfulness, and to decreases in psychological distress. In other words, the momentary changes in mindfulness are translated over time into more permanent changes in mindfulness and psychological health.

So, increase overall mindfulness and mental health with mindfulness practice.

“There is more than one way to practice mindfulness, but the goal of any mindfulness technique is to achieve a state of alert, focused relaxation by deliberately paying attention to thoughts and sensations without judgment. This allows the mind to refocus on the present moment. All mindfulness techniques are a form of meditation.” – Harvard Health Guide

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

Kiken, L. G., Garland, E. L., Bluth, K., Palsson, O. S., & Gaylord, S. A. (2015). From a state to a trait: Trajectories of state mindfulness in meditation during intervention predict changes in trait mindfulness. Personality and Individual Differences, 81, 41–46. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2014.12.044

Abstract

Theory suggests that heightening state mindfulness in meditation practice over time increases trait mindfulness, which benefits psychological health. We prospectively examined individual trajectories of state mindfulness in meditation during a mindfulness-based intervention in relation to changes in trait mindfulness and psychological distress. Each week during the eight-week intervention, participants reported their state mindfulness in meditation after a brief mindfulness meditation. Participants also completed pre- and post-intervention measures of trait mindfulness and psychological symptoms. Tests of combined latent growth and path models suggested that individuals varied significantly in their rates of change in state mindfulness in meditation during the intervention, and that these individual trajectories predicted pre-post intervention changes in trait mindfulness and distress. These findings support that increasing state mindfulness over repeated meditation sessions may contribute to a more mindful and less distressed disposition. However, individuals’ trajectories of change may vary and warrant further investigation.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4404745/