Mental Health

Improve Mental Health with Spirituality

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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

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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

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Mindfulness growth2 Kiken

 

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/

 

Religion-Spirituality Improve Mental Health

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Spirituality Mental Health Goncalves2

 

“Happiness cannot be traveled to, owned, earned, worn or consumed. Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace, and gratitude.” – Denis Waitley

 

Religion and spirituality have been promulgated as solutions to the challenges of life both in a transcendent sense and in a practical sense. On a transcendent level western religions promise a better life in an afterlife while eastern practices promise an escape from suffering and the cycle of birth and death. On a more mundane level western religions promise feelings of self-control, compassion, and fulfillment while eastern practices promise greater happiness and mindfulness.

 

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 (see http://contemplative-studies.org/wp/index.php/category/spirituality/religiosity/) mostly showing positive benefits. In today’s Research News article “Religious and spiritual interventions in mental health care: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled clinical trials”

https://www.facebook.com/ContemplativeStudiesCenter/photos/a.628903887133541.1073741828.627681673922429/1138180826205842/?type=3&theater

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4595860/

Gonçalves and colleagues review the published literature on the effects of randomized controlled trials of religious and spiritual practices on psychological health. In these studies the spiritual practices involved ”themes such as moral values, belief in a ‘high power’, coping and transcendence, and others in the form of therapeutic models, audiovisual resources and meditation. Religious approaches explored the beliefs and specific traditions of Catholics, Jews and Muslims, conducted in pastoral services and therapeutic models.” The studies compared the results of the interventions to the results of secular therapy, disease education, or wait list controls.

 

They found that religious or spiritual interventions produced significant improvements in psychological health, particularly in anxiety levels. The interventions that included meditation or psychotherapy were especially effective. These results, summarizing the literature on active interventions that were either religious or spiritual in orientation, clearly show that these practices have mental health benefits in comparison to secular interventions. It is important to note that in these studies groups were randomly assigned and active interventions employed. It is thus reasonable to conclude that the religious or spiritual practices were the cause of improved mental health. Hence, scientific analysis was able to confirm some practical psychological benefits of religious and spiritual practices.

 

So, engage in religious and/or spiritual practices to improve mental health.

 

“The world sometimes feels like an insane asylum. You can decide whether you want to be an inmate or pick up your visitor’s badge. You can be in the world but not engage in the melodrama of it; you can become a spiritual being having a human experience thoroughly and fully.” – Deepak Chopra

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

Healing in the Workplace with Mindfulness

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“The greatest weapon against stress is our ability to choose one thought over another.” ~ William James

 

The workplace, particularly in the modern competitive world, can be a very stressful environment. These stresses can produce problems by themselves and they can also magnify existing problems or weaknesses in the workers. So, it is not surprising that 18% of all workers report some kind of mental health problem during the last month. It has been estimated that among all physical and mental problems that depression is the most costly disorder to employers producing high levels of absenteeism and lost productivity.

 

The types of mental health problems that occur in workers are no different than those seen in the entire population. They can, however, present themselves differently due to the unique conditions of the workplace. Exacerbating the problem are workplace insecurities that cause the individual to not seek out treatment for their problems. They worry that the stigma attached to mental health problems could threaten their jobs and careers.

 

Hence, workplace mental health problems present special challenges. Preventive measures or treatments are needed that don’t threaten the individual’s career. One potential stealth treatment is mindfulness practice. These have become more and more accepted in the workplace, not as a mental health treatment, but as a method to boost productivity and creativity. In addition, meditation practice has been found to be associated with better job performance, job satisfaction, and work engagement (see http://contemplative-studies.org/wp/index.php/2015/07/17/work-smarter-with-meditation/).

 

In today’s Research News article “The Potential for Mindfulness-Based Intervention in Workplace Mental Health Promotion: Results of a Randomized Controlled Trial”

https://www.facebook.com/ContemplativeStudiesCenter/photos/a.628903887133541.1073741828.627681673922429/1111891638834761/?type=3&theater

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4569475/

Huang and colleagues investigate the effectiveness of mindfulness practices for mental health issues in the workplace. Based on a large survey of factory employees they selected and recruited 144 workers who displayed mental health problems, exhibiting both psychological distress and job strain. Half were randomly assigned to a Mindfulness-Based Intervention, very similar to a Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program, conducted over eight weeks. The other half of the workers constituted a waiting list control group.

 

The intervention resulted in significant reductions in psychological distress, prolonged fatigue, and perceived stress compared to the control group. Importantly, the effects were still present and significant four and again at eight weeks after the completion of the mindfulness training. These are very encouraging, clinically meaningful results and suggest that mindfulness training is effective for mental health issues in the workplace. The mindfulness training is safe and effective and because it is not seen as a mental health intervention does not produce stigma and fear of job loss.

 

There is considerable evidence that mindfulness practices are effective for a variety of mental health issues. They appear to work by improving present moment awareness which undercuts worry, rumination, and anxiety for the future (see http://contemplative-studies.org/wp/index.php/2015/08/25/alter-your-thinking-with-meditation-for-mental-health/). They also have been found to improve emotion regulation allowing for more effective responses to emotions (see http://contemplative-studies.org/wp/index.php/2015/09/10/take-command-and-control-of-your-emotions/). In addition mindfulness based programs have been shown to reduce both the physiological and physiological responses to stress (see http://contemplative-studies.org/wp/index.php/2015/07/17/destress-with-mindfulness/). This may be particularly useful for the work environment.

 

So, heal workplace mental health issues with mindfulness.

 

“The primary cause of unhappiness is never the situation, but your thoughts about it.” ~Eckhart Tolle

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

Mindfully Improve Psychological Wellbeing

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Meditation, focusing, and CBT all have been shown to be effective treatments for a number of psychological problems. In previous research Sugiura and colleagues identified five factors in common to meditation, focusing, and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), refraining from catastrophic thinking, self-observation, logical objectivity, detached coping, and acceptance. This raises the questions as to whether these common factors may be responsible for the common clinical outcomes, and which of these common factors is most important for each of a variety of disorders.

In today’s Research News article “Common Factors of Meditation, Focusing, and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy: Longitudinal Relation of Self-Report Measures to Worry, Depressive, and Obsessive-Compulsive Symptoms Among Nonclinical Students.”

https://www.facebook.com/ContemplativeStudiesCenter/photos/a.628903887133541.1073741828.627681673922429/1052052538152005/?type=1&theater

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4432024/

Sugiura and colleagues pursue these questions with a sample of undergraduate students.

They found that the greater the detached coping the lower the levels of obsessive-compulsive (OCD) symptoms. Detached coping emphasizes detachment and distancing from external conditions. This is exactly what mindfulness training is supposed to do, to allow us to see things objectively as they are. This suggests that mindfulness training is effective against obsessive-compulsive symptoms through its development of the skill of detached coping. Similarly, it was found that the greater the detached coping the lower the levels of depressive symptoms. This suggests that mindfulness training is effective against depression by allowing the individual to look at their situation more objectively, with detachment, and as a result not respond to it as something to feel bad about.

Worrying is also effectively reduced by mindfulness. The mechanism appears to be more complicated than that for OCD or depressive symptoms. It was found that the greater the level of refraining from catastrophic thinking the lower the levels of worrying, while the greater the level of self-observation the stronger the levels of worrying. Refraining from catastrophic thinking reflects the skills necessary to detach from and to suspend negative thinking, which frequently involves a fear of a future negative outcome, a worry. Mindfulness, by focusing on the present rather than the future interferes with worrying about the future and thus can be an effective antidote to worry.

Finally, Self-observation constitutes engagement in self-focus with curiosity and openness. Surprisingly it was associated with increased worrying. It appears that self-observation activates negatives beliefs about worrying. This suggests that it produces a worrying about worrying that increases worry.

So, it appears that the factors in common to meditation, focusing, and CBT of refraining from catastrophic thinking, self-observation, and detached coping are also associated with the symptoms common to psychological problems. But, that different factors are involved with different issues. This suggests that the three treatments may be effective by invoking common intermediaries for various disorders.

So, practice mindfulness and improve your psychological wellbeing.

CMCS

Mindfulness improves Mental Health via Two Factors

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Mindfulness has been repeatedly shown to be beneficial for mental health. Training in mindfulness can decrease stress, anxiety, and depression at every level of severity. It can improve symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder, panic disorder, suicidality, PTSD, substance abuse, eating disorders, and major mental illnesses. It is as yet unclear how such a relatively simple technique could be effective for such a wide range of disparate psychological problems.

Mindfulness may work with very different disorders because it is itself a multifaceted concept. It is usually measured with paper and pencil tests, psychometric instruments. One of the most popular measures is the Five Facets of Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ). It contains five subscales that purport to measure observing, describing, acting with awareness, non-judgmental awareness, and non-reactive awareness. But, there is an active research discussion whether it may in fact be measuring fewer aspects.

In today’s Research News article “The Serenity of the Meditating Mind: A Cross-Cultural Psychometric Study on a Two-Factor Higher Order Structure of Mindfulness, Its Effects, and Mechanisms Related to Mental Health among Experienced Meditators.”

https://www.facebook.com/ContemplativeStudiesCenter/photos/a.628903887133541.1073741828.627681673922429/1053095211381071/?type=1&theater

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4199716/

Tran and colleagues demonstrate that the five different aspects of mindfulness can be best accounted for with two higher-order constructs, Self-regulated Attention and Orientation to Experience in both meditators and non-meditators.

The factor of self-regulated attention refers to the ability to sustain attention on the present moment. This factor is increased by meditation experience and was found to be related to lower levels of stress, anxiety and depression. Central to meditation is training on paying attention to the contents of present moment experience. So, it’s not surprising that meditation training would increase self-regulated attention.

Anxiety is an emotional state that derives from worries about possible future problems. Stress effects are exacerbated by worries produced about the future and memories of past stresses. Depression often is magnified by ruminations about past events and expectations of failure in the future. So, improving the focus on the present moment, as produced by meditation training, should improve these psychological problems by removing the past and the future from adding to the problem.

The factor of orientation to experience refers to an ability to maintain an open, curious, and accepting attitude toward experience. This factor is also increased by meditation experience and was also found to be related to lower levels of stress, anxiety and depression. These issues are all affected by low levels of emotion regulation. The individual cannot control the emotion from prompting maladaptive behaviors. In addition, the lack of regulation allows positive feedback mechanisms to multiply the magnitude of the emotion. This can occur as one becomes anxious about being anxious, stressed by being stressed, and depressed about being depressed. The meditation induced improvement in the ability to be open and accepting of what they’re experiencing, including emotions, can markedly improve the ability to regulate the emotions. In this way meditation can improve emotion regulation and decrease stress, anxiety and depression.

In stress, anxiety and depression the individual can become attached to the state where they incorporate it into their self-concept. This can occur when the individual classifies themselves as a “stress case”, a depressive, or a worrier. The meditation induced improvement in the ability to be open and accepting of what is being experienced can undercut the attachment. One cannot be open and accepting and simultaneously be attached. In this way meditation by reducing attachment can decrease stress, anxiety and depression.

So, meditate and improve psychological health.

CMCS

How do Mindfulness Based Interventions Improve Mental Health

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Mindfulness training has been repeatedly shown to have significant benefits for the individual including improving mental health and wellbeing. It is quite remarkable how ubiquitously effective it is. This suggests that there probably are underlying, mediating, effects of mindfulness that produce its beneficial effects. Although there has been much speculation, it isn’t known exactly what these mediating effects are.

Today’s Research News article, “How do mindfulness-based cognitive therapy and mindfulness-based stress reduction improve mental health and wellbeing? A systematic review and meta-analysis of mediation studies”

https://www.facebook.com/ContemplativeStudiesCenter/photos/a.628903887133541.1073741828.627681673922429/1035574819799777/?type=1&theater

summarizes the research on the nature of the intermediaries between mindfulness and mental health and wellbeing and provides suggestive evidence of just how mindfulness training might work.

One mechanism identified is simple and direct. Increases in mindfulness itself can have direct associations with improvements in mental health and wellbeing. Just being in touch with the present moment appears to be sufficient to help. But it also appears that there are secondary consequences of mindfulness training that also influence mental health and wellbeing.

Rumination is characteristic of a number of mental health issues. The individual constantly and persistently replays troubling events or feelings from the past, maintaining and reinforcing their negative emotional effects. The focus on the present moment produced by mindfulness training is an antidote to rumination. Rumination requires a focus on the past. Shifting focus to the present automatically interferes with rumination and may underlie in part the effectiveness on mindfulness training on mental health and wellbeing.

Worry is also characteristic of a number of mental health issues. The individual persistently thinks about possible troubling events or feelings in the future. Worry requires a focus on the future to project the remote possibility of catastrophic events. The focus on the present moment produced by mindfulness training is an antidote to worry. One cannot be simultaneously paying focused attention to the present moment and projecting into the future. This undercuts the ability to worry.

Mindfulness training also tends to promote self-compassion; having loving kindness toward oneself. This induces greater acceptance for one’s problems. In addition, when feeling loving toward oneself, it is impossible to simultaneously have the self-hatred or low self-worth that is so characteristic of mental health issues.

A final possible contributory factor to mindfulness training’s ability to improve mental health and wellbeing is a mindfulness induced increase in psychological flexibility. The individual is better able to see their issues from different perspectives, producing greater understanding and acceptance.

Mindfulness training produces many positive effects. Sorting through which ones are the underlying mediators to improved mental health and wellbeing is important. But, far more important is that mindfulness training works and can be very helpful to people who are suffering from psychological issues.

CMCS

The Mindfulness Cure for Social Anxiety

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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.

It appears that mindfulness may help greatly with high social anxiety. In today’s Research News article, “How to deal with negative thoughts? A preliminary comparison of detached mindfulness and thought evaluation in socially anxious individuals.”

it is demonstrated that mindfulness training significantly reduces anxiety when asked to give a speech. How does mindfulness training act to reduce social anxiety?

One potential route that mindfulness training may reduce anxiety is by increasing present moment awareness. Looking at what exactly is true in the immediate moment and seeing it as it is, can produce a recognition that social interactions are not threatening and needing to be avoided. When actually paying attention to the conversation and the cues in the environment the individual can relax and performs better. With practice, the improved social skills increase self-confidence. This can result in a cycle with positive gain, over time continuously improving mindfulness and self-confidence and reducing high social anxiety.

Today’s Research News article demonstrated that mindfulness training reduces anticipatory processing. Anticipatory processing is a type of worry about forthcoming social situations, involving anxious predictions, negative recollections, and urges to avoid social events. This anticipation of negative occurrences is a projection into the future. By focusing on the present moment, worries about the future cannot develop. So, the present moment awareness fostered by mindfulness training counteracts anticipatory processing and thereby reduces social anxiety.

Today’s article also demonstrated that mindfulness training reduces observer-perspective. People with high social anxiety often have distorted negative self-images from an observer perspective. They have a distorted idea of how others see them. This negative self-image that they believe is how they are perceived in social situations, maintains and increases anxiety, negative beliefs about social performance, anxious predictions, and poorer actual performance.

Mindfulness training helps to develop non-judgmental awareness of the present moment. Just seeing what is transpiring without adding conclusions about it counteracts the observer-perspective conceptualizations and judgments. When the present moment is simply perceived without coloration from beliefs, ideas, and past experiences, it becomes much less threatening and much more benign, allowing for more comfortable engagement in social interactions.

So, practice mindfulness in social contexts and enhance enjoyment of interacting with others.

CMCS

Why is Mindfulness so Beneficial

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Mindfulness has been demonstrated to have a broad range of positive benefits from improved mental and physical health, see today’s Research News article, “). Standardised Mindfulness-Based Interventions in Healthcare: An Overview of Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses of RCTs”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4400080/

to the treatment of both physical and mental illnesses, to increases in creativity, to increased happiness, and on and on. I am unaware of anything that is so beneficial to so many things as mindfulness. As an added bonus, developing mindfulness costs nothing and can be done virtually anywhere under any conditions.

Mindfulness sounds too good to be true. How can this be? How can anything do all of this? To understand we must first recognize that we make ourselves miserable and sick. We constantly worry about the future and this creates fear, anxiety, and stress. We constantly and ruminate about the past and this makes us regretful and depressed and lowers our self-esteem.

Mindfulness is about present moment awareness. It recognizes that the past is gone and the future is not here yet. The only thing that matters is now! By moving us away from the misery producing thoughts of past and future, mindfulness immediately removes two processes that have negative impacts on us. In addition, it helps us recognize that the only time we can ever be happy is now! So it shifts our focus to the good things that are always there and present in the present moment.

Mindfulness reduces stress and this can reduce inflammatory responses that are detrimental to our health. We create much of our own stress by driving ourselves toward some future goal or by inordinately worrying about what is actually only a remotely possible catastrophe, or by trying to live up to some glorified image of what we should be or what we should accomplish. Mindfulness is an antidote for all of this. Seeing things as the really are right here right now undercuts the unhealthy striving, relieves the fears, and places realistic perspective on our human condition.

Modern life as we’ve developed it has removed us from the conditions in which we as a species evolved. It has created an artificial world that has become increasingly divorced from nature including our own human nature. Mindfulness is an important treatment for this modern illness. It helps us reconnect to the natural world that is our origin. It helps us reconnect with our own body; physically, mentally, and emotionally. As a result, it relaxes, refreshes, and creates happiness in just being alive.

Mindfulness practices probably would not have been so beneficial centuries ago or in more primitive societies. Most of its benefits emanate from its counteracting the problems that modern life creates. But, in today’s world, its benefits are amplified.

So cultivate mindfulness, the antidote to modern life

CMCS