Improve Symptoms in Breast Cancer Survivors with Mindfulness

psyjdc 17 Comments

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“The mindfulness elements of accepting things as they are, turning towards rather than away from difficult emotional experience, and embracing change as a constant are helpful antidotes to these difficult realities. The emotion-regulation strategies practiced in mindfulness-based interventions help to prevent worry about the future and rumination over past events, and allow people to live more fully in the present moment, regardless of what lies ahead. The inevitability of loss, change and eventual death are helpful to face in general, but are both more challenging and more powerful for people directly facing a life threat like cancer.” – Linda Carlson

 

About 12.5% of women in the U.S. develop invasive breast cancer over their lifetimes and every year about 40,000 women die. Indeed, more women in the U.S. die from breast cancer than from any other cancer, besides lung cancer. Breast cancer diagnosis, however, is not a death sentence. It is encouraging that the death rates have been decreasing for decades from improved detection and treatment of breast cancer. Five-year survival rates are now at around 95%.

 

The improved survival rates mean that more women are now living with cancer. Surviving cancer, however, carries with it a number of problems. “Physical, emotional, and financial hardships often persist for years after diagnosis and treatment. Cancer survivors are also at greater risk for developing second cancers and other health conditions.” National Cancer Survivors Day. In addition, breast cancer survivors can have to deal with the consequences of chemotherapy, and often experience increased fatigue, pain, and bone loss, reduced fertility, difficulty with weight maintenance, damage to the lymphatic system, heightened fear of reoccurrence, and an alteration of their body image. With the loss of a breast or breasts, scars, hair shedding, complexion changes and weight gain or loss many young women feel ashamed or afraid that others will reject or feel sorry for them. As a result, survivors often develop psychological symptoms of stress, anxiety, depression, and impaired cognitive functioning.

Psychologically, cancer survivors frequently suffer from anxiety, depression, mood disturbance, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), sleep disturbance, fatigue, sexual dysfunction, loss of personal control, impaired quality of life, and psychiatric symptoms which have been found to persist even ten years after remission.

 

Unfortunately, most of these residual problems often go untreated. So, safe and effective treatments for the residual symptoms in breast cancer survivors are needed. Mindfulness training has been shown to help with cancer recovery and help to alleviate many of the residual psychological symptoms and improve cognitive function. Most of the research, however, has been performed with postmenopausal women. But, 25% of breast cancer survivors are younger and premenopausal. In today’s Research News article “Mindfulness meditation for younger breast cancer survivors: A randomized controlled trial.” See:

https://www.facebook.com/ContemplativeStudiesCenter/photos/a.628903887133541.1073741828.627681673922429/1252924528064804/?type=3&theater

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

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4393338/

Bower and colleagues examine the efficacy of mindfulness training for premenopausal breast cancer survivors. They recruited premenopausal breast cancer survivors who had completed primary treatment at least 3 months prior to participation and randomly assigned them to either receive a 6-week Mindful Awareness Practice program or to a wait-list control group. The participants were assessed with a battery of psychological tests. They also measured a set of genetic markers of inflammation. Assessments were performed before and 1-2 weeks after treatment and also 3 months later.

 

They found that mindfulness training produced significant improvements in the patients’ psychological state. In comparison to control participants, the mindfulness training group had significant decreases in perceived stress, depression, fatigue, subjective sleep disturbance, and hot flashes/night sweats, and significant increases in positive emotions, peace and meaning. For the most part the effects were not maintained at 3-month follow-up. In addition, the mindfulness training appeared to decrease inflammation as the mindfulness trained group showed a reduction in pro-inflammatory genetic markers and an increase in anti-inflammatory genetic markers.

 

These results are encouraging and suggest that the psychological well-being and inflammation can be improved with mindfulness training for premenopausal breast cancer survivors. Previous studies have demonstrated that mindfulness training with healthy individuals improves their psychological and emotional state and reduces inflammation. These results suggest that breast cancer survivors benefit as well. These improvements are particularly important for the breast cancer survivors as they are generally struggling with the psychological, emotions, and physical ramifications of their diagnosis and treatment. It is reassuring that mindfulness training can help.

 

Of concern is the fact that the psychological treatment effects were not maintained 3-months later. It is unclear if the women maintained their mindfulness practices following training as they were encouraged to do. It is possible that more encouragement and perhaps booster sessions may be needed to maintain the benefits.

 

Regardless, improve symptoms in breast cancer survivors with mindfulness.

 

“We already know that psychosocial interventions like mindfulness meditation will help you feel better mentally, but now for the first time we have evidence that they can also influence key aspects of your biology.”  – Dr. Linda Carlson

 

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

Bower, J. E., Crosswell, A. D., Stanton, A. L., Crespi, C. M., Winston, D., Arevalo, J., … Ganz, P. A. (2015). Mindfulness meditation for younger breast cancer survivors: A randomized controlled trial. Cancer, 121(8), 1231–1240. http://doi.org/10.1002/cncr.29194

 

Abstract

Purpose: Premenopausal women diagnosed with breast cancer are at risk for psychological and behavioral disturbances after cancer treatment. Targeted interventions are needed to address the needs of this vulnerable group.

Methods: This randomized trial provided the first evaluation of a brief mindfulness-based intervention for younger breast cancer survivors designed to reduce stress, depression, and inflammatory activity. Women diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer before age 50 who had completed cancer treatment were randomly assigned to a 6-week Mindful Awareness Practices (MAPS) intervention (n = 39) or wait-list control (n = 32). Participants completed questionnaires at pre- and post-intervention to assess stress and depressive symptoms (primary outcomes) as well as physical symptoms, cancer-related distress, and positive outcomes. Blood samples were collected to examine genomic and circulating markers of inflammation. Participants also completed questionnaires at a three-month follow-up.

Results: In linear mixed models, the MAPS intervention led to significant reductions in perceived stress (P = .004) and marginal reductions in depressive symptoms (P = .094), as well as significant reductions in pro-inflammatory gene expression (P = .009) and inflammatory signaling (P = .001) at post-intervention. Improvements in secondary outcomes included reduced fatigue, sleep disturbance, and vasomotor symptoms and increased peace and meaning and positive affect (Ps < .05). Intervention effects on psychological and behavioral measures were not maintained at three-month follow-up, though reductions in cancer-related distress were observed at this assessment.

Conclusions: A brief mindfulness-based intervention showed preliminary short-term efficacy in reducing stress, behavioral symptoms, and pro-inflammatory signaling in younger breast cancer survivors.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4393338/

 

Reduce Stress Responses in a High Stress Occupation.

psyjdc Leave a comment

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“I am a registered nurse in an emergency department. Nowhere is Buddhism more helpful to me than at work. We see a large number of patients, often accompanied by their family members. Emotional turmoil is the norm. This, along with the unavoidable hustle and bustle of the department, makes for a frenzied atmosphere. My practice helps create a tiny refuge of peace in the midst of the turmoil.” – Daniel Defeo

 

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. This is the fatigue, cynicism, and professional inefficacy that comes with work-related stress. Healthcare is a high stress occupation. In a recent survey 46% of all physicians responded that they had burnout. Currently, over a third of healthcare workers report that they are looking for a new job. Nearly half plan to look for a new job over the next two years and 80% expressed interest in a new position if they came across the right opportunity. Since there is such a great need to retain healthcare providers, it is imperative that strategies be identified to decrease stress and burnout.

 

Emergency and intensive care medicine is at the top of the list of stressful medical professions. It also leads in the incidence of burnout with over half experiencing it. Burnout is a threat to the healthcare providers and their patients. In fact, it is a threat to the entire healthcare system as it contributes to the shortage of doctors and nurses. Hence, preventing existing healthcare workers from burning out has to be a priority. Mindfulness has been demonstrated to be helpful in treating and preventing burnout. One of the premiere techniques for developing mindfulness and dealing effectively with stress is Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) pioneered by Jon Kabat-Zinn. It is a diverse mindfulness training containing practice in meditation, body scan, and yoga. There have been a number of trials investigating the application of MBSR to the treatment and prevention of health care worker burnout with successful outcomes.

 

In today’s Research News article “A Small Randomized Pilot Study of a Workplace Mindfulness-Based Intervention for Surgical Intensive Care Unit Personnel: Effects on Salivary α-Amylase Levels.” See:

https://www.facebook.com/ContemplativeStudiesCenter/photos/a.628903887133541.1073741828.627681673922429/1252171248140132/?type=3&theater

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

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4624325/

Duchemin and colleagues examine the effectiveness of a mindfulness based stress reduction program, including meditation, gentle yoga, and relaxing music, on mindfulness, psychological and biological (salivary α-amylase) markers of stress, burnout, and professional quality of life. They recruited hospital intensive care health professionals who were not current mindfulness practitioners. The participants were then randomly assigned to the mindfulness training group or to a wait-list control group. After completing the battery of tests they were then either provided an 8-wk mindfulness intervention or carried on their normal routines for 8 weeks. This was followed one week later by a repeat assessment battery.

 

They found that the participants’ perceived stress of the work environment did not change over the course of the study, but the psychological and emotional responses to the stress did, with the mindfulness group showing a significant, 25% reduction, compared to 13% reduction for the controls. In addition, the mindfulness group had a significant, 40%, decline in salivary α-amylase compared to 4% for the controls, indicating a significant reduction in the biological response to the stress. Hence, the mindfulness training produced a significant reduction in the ICU workers biological, psychological, and emotional responses to stress.

 

This is an important outcome. Obviously, training does not change how stressful the work is. But, it did change the workers’ responses to the stress, making them more resistant to the effects of the stress. This is in keeping with a large number of studies demonstrating that mindfulness training decreases the physiological and psychological responses to stress. The deleterious effects of stress on the individual occur due to the individual’s response to the stress, not the stress itself. So, the mindfulness training tends to assist with the core of the problem. The study was not long-term enough to tell if this would reduce burnout. But, given the short-term effects of the intervention, it would be expected that it would.

 

So, reduce stress responses in a high stress occupation.

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

“Letting go is a huge quality and practice of mindfulness. Everything changes and everything ends. You have to be able to let that go so that you can take care of other people, sleep at night, and not burn out. It’s easy to be mindful, it’s just hard to remember to be mindful. The trick is practice until you do it.” – Diane Sieg

 

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

 

Study Summary

Duchemin, A.-M., Steinberg, B. A., Marks, D. R., Vanover, K., & Klatt, M. (2015). A Small Randomized Pilot Study of a Workplace Mindfulness-Based Intervention for Surgical Intensive Care Unit Personnel: Effects on Salivary α-Amylase Levels. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine / American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 57(4), 393–399. http://doi.org/10.1097/JOM.0000000000000371

 

Abstract

Objective: To determine if a workplace stress-reduction intervention decreases reactivity to stress among personnel exposed to a highly stressful occupational environment.

Methods: Personnel from a surgical intensive care unit (SICU) were randomized to a stress reduction intervention or a wait-list control group. The 8-week group mindfulness-based intervention (MBI) included mindfulness, gentle yoga and music. Psychological and biological markers of stress were measured one week before and one week after the intervention.

Results: Levels of salivary α-amylase, an index of sympathetic activation, were significantly decreased between the 1st and 2nd assessments in the intervention group with no changes in the control group. There was a positive correlation between salivary α-amylase levels and burnout scores.

Conclusions: These data suggest that this type of intervention could not only decrease reactivity to stress, but also decrease the risk of burnout.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4624325/

 

Improve Psychosis with Mindfulness

psyjdc Leave a comment

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“Compared to other strategies, mindfulness-based training does not see thoughts as either distorted or rational, and does not aim to change or modify emotions and thoughts. Hence the focus not on content but on the relationship with voices. „the utility of mindfulness

-based techniques lies at the intersection between distress and how the individual interacts with this distress.” –  Kate Spiegelhalter

 

Psychoses are mental health problems that cause people to perceive or interpret things differently from those around them. This might involve hallucinations; seeing and, in some cases, feeling, smelling or tasting things that aren’t there, or delusions; unshakable beliefs that, when examined rationally, are obviously untrue. The combination of hallucinations and delusional thinking can often severely disrupt perception, thinking, emotion, and behavior, making it difficult if not impossible to function in society without treatment.

 

Schizophrenia is the most common form of psychosis. It effects about 1% of the population worldwide. It appears to be highly heritable and involves changes in the brain. The symptoms usually do not appear until late adolescence or early adulthood. Psychotic disorders are very difficult to treat with psychotherapy and are usually treated with antipsychotic drugs. These drugs, however, are not always effective, sometimes lose effectiveness, and can have some difficult side effects. Hence, there is a need for safe and effective alternative treatments for psychotic disorders.

 

Mindfulness training has been shown to be beneficial for a variety of mental health problems, including anxiety, depression, Antisocial Personality Disorder, Borderline personality disorder, impulsivity, obsessive compulsive disorder, phobias, post-traumatic stress disorder, sexual dysfunction, and suicidality. It also appears to be helpful with psychosis. In today’s Research News article “Mindfulness- and Acceptance-based Interventions for Psychosis: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.” See:

https://www.facebook.com/ContemplativeStudiesCenter/photos/a.628903887133541.1073741828.627681673922429/1251561991534391/?type=3&theater

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

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4756771/

Cramer and colleagues perform a formal summarization (meta-analysis) of the published research studies on the effects on psychoses of mindfulness and acceptance based therapies, which employ mindfulness training.

 

They found that mindfulness therapies reduced total psychotic symptoms, including the positive symptoms of psychoses, hallucinations, delusions, etc.  but did not affect the negative symptoms, loss of interest, flat emotions, etc. The effects appear to be still present as long as a year later. They also saw a reduction in the need for hospitalization. Hence, it appears that mindfulness and acceptance based therapies are effective for treating psychoses. SO, psychoses can be added to the long list of mental health issues helped by mindfulness training.

 

It should be noted, however, that the magnitude of the results were moderate and far from a cure. The mindfulness and acceptance based therapies simply helped to reduce some of the symptoms of psychoses. They should be seen then as a potential component in a package of treatments, which in combination, may markedly improve psychoses.

 

So, improve psychosis with mindfulness.

 

“The core skill to be learned is how to step out of automatic responses to distressing thoughts, images and voices by recognising the negative judgements and ruminative thinking which accompany these experiences and adopting a perspective of mindful awareness.” – Andy Phee

 

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

Cramer, H., Lauche, R., Haller, H., Langhorst, J., & Dobos, G. (2016). Mindfulness- and Acceptance-based Interventions for Psychosis: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. Global Advances in Health and Medicine, 5(1), 30–43. http://doi.org/10.7453/gahmj.2015.083

 

Abstract

Background: Mindfulness- and acceptance-based interventions are increasingly studied as a potential treatment for a variety of mental conditions.

Objective: To assess the effects of mindfulness- and acceptance-based interventions on psychotic symptoms and hospitalization in patients with psychosis

Methods: MEDLINE/PubMed, Embase, the Cochrane Library, and PsycINFO were screened from inception through April 2015. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were analyzed when they assessed psychotic symptoms or hospitalization in patients with psychosis; affect, acceptance, mindfulness, and safety were defined as secondary outcomes.

Results: Eight RCTs with a total of 434 patients comparing mindfulness-based (4 RCTs) or acceptance-based interventions (4 RCTs) to treatment as usual or attention control were included. Six RCTs had low risk of bias. Moderate evidence was found for short-term effects on total psychotic symptoms, positive symptoms, hospitalization rates, duration of hospitalization, and mindfulness and for long-term effects on total psychotic symptoms and duration of hospitalization. No evidence was found for effects on negative symptoms, affect, or acceptance. No serious adverse events were reported.

Conclusion: Mindfulness- and acceptance-based interventions can be recommended as an additional treatment for patients with psychosis.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4756771/

 

Tone Down the Ringing in the Ears with Mindfulness

psyjdc Leave a comment

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“Mindful meditation helped me to think (and not think) about tinnitus in ways that had not occurred before, and in doing so made tinnitus much less of a burden to carry. It did not fix my tinnitus but it fixed me in a way that made tinnitus easier to bear. I now feel as if I live in the same universe as everybody else. I wouldn’t be anywhere else.” – Claire Bartlett

 

Tinnitus is one of the most common symptoms to affect humanity. People with tinnitus live with a phantom noise that can range from a low hiss or ringing to a loud roar or squeal which can be present constantly or intermittently. It can have a significant impact on people’s ability to hear, concentrate, or even participate in everyday activities. Tinnitus is not a disease itself; it is a symptom that something is wrong in the auditory system. The vast majority of people with tinnitus have what is known as subjective tinnitus. This is caused by unknown problems somewhere in the auditory system; the inner, middle, or outer ear, the part of the brain that translates nerve signals as sounds, or the auditory nerves.

 

Approximately 25 million to 50 million people in the United States experience it to some degree. Tinnitus and hearing loss are the top service-related disabilities among veterans; 60 percent of those who served in Iraq and Afghanistan return home with hearing loss. Approximately 16 million people seek medical attention for their tinnitus, and for up to two million patients, debilitating tinnitus interferes with their daily lives. Tinnitus is sometimes the first sign of hearing loss, occurring in roughly 90 percent of tinnitus cases. There are a number of treatments for tinnitus including, counseling, sound therapy, drugs, and even brain stimulation. Unfortunately, none of these treatments is very effective. Hence there is a need for safe and effective alternative treatments for tinnitus.

 

In today’s Research News article “Effects of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Therapy On Subjective Bother and Neural Connectivity in Chronic Tinnitus.” See:

https://www.facebook.com/ContemplativeStudiesCenter/photos/a.628903887133541.1073741828.627681673922429/1250875274936396/?type=3&theater

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

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4650869/

Roland and colleagues investigate Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) training as a treatment for tinnitus. MBSR is an 8-week program that includes meditation, yoga, and body scan techniques. There are once a week 2-hour meetings and daily home practice. They recruited adult tinnitus sufferers, measured symptoms and scanned their brains with Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) for brain structure and functional connectivity. Subsequently they received MBSR training followed by tinnitus measurements and MRI scanning.

 

They found a clinically significant decrease in both tinnitus symptoms and the degree of handicap produced by tinnitus after MBSR that was maintained at a one month follow up examination. They also found that after MBSR training there was increased functional connectivity with the prefrontal and operculum cortexes which are known to be associated with attention mechanisms, but no change in the default mode network that is associated with mind wandering and self-referential thoughts. These connectivity results make sense as MBSR is targeted at improving attention to the body and the present moment.

 

These results are very exciting as they suggest that Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) training may be a safe and effective treatment for tinnitus. The symptom improvements were substantial and over 60% of the tinnitus sufferers had clinically significant improvements. They further suggest that MBSR may improve tinnitus symptoms by increasing the effectiveness of brain attentional networks. It is possible that, by improving attention to the present moment, MBSR results in less attention being paid to the tinnitus, reducing its impact.

 

It should be kept in mind, however, that this was a pilot study without a control group. Hence the conclusions must be tempered with caution until a definitive randomized controlled trial can be conducted. The results are encouraging enough that such a trial is warranted.

 

Nevertheless, tone down the ringing in the ears with mindfulness.

 

“participants commented that tinnitus no longer seemed like a dreadful curse; it was just another sensation that could be annoying but was not insurmountable.” – Jennifer Gans

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

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

 

Study Summary

Roland, L. T., Lenze, E. J., Hardin, F. M., Kallogjeri, D., Nicklaus, J., Wineland, A., … Piccirillo, J. F. (2015). Effects of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Therapy On Subjective Bother And Neural Connectivity In Chronic Tinnitus. Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery : Official Journal of American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, 152(5), 919–926. http://doi.org/10.1177/0194599815571556

 

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the impact of an MBSR program in patients with chronic bothersome tinnitus on the 1) severity of symptoms of tinnitus and 2) functional connectivity in neural attention networks.

Study Design

Open-label interventional pilot study.

Setting: Outpatient academic medical center.

Subjects: A total of 13 adult participants with a median age of 55 years, suffering from bothersome tinnitus.

Methods: An 8-week MBSR program was conducted by a trained MBSR instructor. The primary outcome measure was the difference in patient-reported tinnitus symptoms using the Tinnitus Handicap Index (THI) andTinnitus Functional Index (TFI) between pre-intervention, post-MBSR, and 4-week post-MBSR assessments. Secondary outcomes included change in measurements of depression, anxiety, mindfulness and cognitive abilities. Functional connectivity MRI was performed at pre- and post- MBSR intervention time points to serve as a neuroimaging biomarker of critical cortical networks.

Results: Scores on the THI and TFI showed statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvement over the course of the study with a median ΔTHI of −16 and median ΔTFI of −14.8 between baseline and 4-week follow-up scores. Except for depression, there was no significant change in any of the secondary outcome measures. Analysis of the rs-fcMRI data showed increased connectivity in the post-MBSR group in attention networks but not the default network.

Conclusion: Participation in an MBSR program is associated with decreased severity in tinnitus symptoms and depression, and connectivity changes in neural attention networks. MBSR is a promising treatment option for chronic bothersome tinnitus that is both noninvasive and inexpensive.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4650869/

 

Increase Hemispheric Blood Oxygenation with Yogic Nostril Breathing

psyjdc 3 Comments

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“Breathing in through your left nostril will access the right “feeling” hemisphere of your brain, and breathing in through your right nostril, will access the left “thinking” hemisphere of your brain.  Consciously alternating your breath between either nostril will allow you to activate and access your whole brain.” – Carole Bourne

 

Mindfulness practices have been shown to alter the brain, including short-term changes in activity and longer-term changes in the size and connectivity of brain areas and the chemistry of the nervous system. It is thought that many of the beneficial effects of mindfulness practices are mediated by these changes in the nervous system. Yoga practice is a mindfulness technique that has documented benefits for the individual’s psychological and physical health and well-being. It has also been shown to produce short- and long-term changes in the brain. It is thus likely that yoga practice also produces its beneficial effects by altering the brain.

 

Yoga consists of a number of components including, poses, breathing exercises, meditation, concentration, and philosophy/ethics.  So, it is difficult to determine which facet or combination of facets of yoga are responsible for which benefit. Hence, it is important to begin to test each component in isolation to determine its effects. In a previously reviewed study the effects of yogic breathing techniques, specifically, left or right or alternating nostril breathing, it was found that these forms of breathing produce improvements in spatial and verbal memory ability. (LINK to Garg et al. study) These effects of left or right nostril breathing are thought to be produced by changing the oxygen flows to the individual neural hemispheres.

 

In today’s Research News article “Effect of uninostril yoga breathing on brain hemodynamics: A functional near-infrared spectroscopy study.” See:

https://www.facebook.com/ContemplativeStudiesCenter/photos/a.628903887133541.1073741828.627681673922429/1250194438337813/?type=3&theater

or below or view the full text of the study at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4728953/

Singh and colleagues examine the effects of left or right nostril breathing on oxygen and blood volume flows to the left and right hemispheres. They measured blood volume and oxygen levels in experienced yoga practitioners using a sophisticated optical imaging technique called Functional near-infrared spectroscopy. They were measured on separate days for the effects of left nostril, right nostril, or breath awareness (control condition) on hemispheric blood flows.

 

They found that with right nostril breathing there was an increase in blood oxygen and blood volume to the left prefrontal cortex while left nostril breathing produced an increase in blood oxygen and blood volume to the right prefrontal cortex. Hence, nostril breathing produces increased flow and oxygenation to the contralateral hemisphere. This would suggest that right nostril breathing would produce increments in left hemisphere functions such as verbal, mathematical, or logical functions, while left nostril breathing would produce increases in right hemisphere functions such as spatial, emotional, or artistic functions. It will be up to future research to test this conjecture.

 

The results, though, do demonstrate that yogic nostril breathing differentially effects blood flows and oxygenation to the contralateral hemisphere. This provides an underlying mechanism for the effects of yogic nostril breathing.

 

So, increase hemispheric blood oxygenation with yogic nostril breathing.

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

“Breathing consciously is a powerful act. The process of breathing sits directly at the interface of our voluntary nervous system (aspects of our physiology under our conscious control) and our autonomic nervous system (aspects generally not under conscious control). It’s a direct path for us to communicate quickly to the brain via what we do with our body.” – Paula Watkins

 

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

 

Study Summary

Singh, K., Bhargav, H., & Srinivasan, T. (2016). Effect of uninostril yoga breathing on brain hemodynamics: A functional near-infrared spectroscopy study. International Journal of Yoga, 9(1), 12–19. http://doi.org/10.4103/0973-6131.171711

 

Abstract

Objectives: To measure the effect of the right and left nostril yoga breathing on frontal hemodynamic responses in 32 right handed healthy male subjects within the age range of 18–35 years (23.75 ± 4.14 years).

Materials and Methods: Each subject practiced right nostril yoga breathing (RNYB), left nostril yoga breathing (LNYB) or breath awareness (BA) (as control) for 10 min at the same time of the day for three consecutive days, respectively. The sequence of intervention was assigned randomly. The frontal hemodynamic response in terms of changes in the oxygenated hemoglobin (oxyHb), deoxygenated hemoglobin (deoxyHb), and total hemoglobin (totalHb or blood volume) concentration was tapped for 5 min before (pre) and 10 min during the breathing practices using a 16 channel functional near-infrared system (FNIR100-ACK-W, BIOPAC Systems, Inc., U.S.A.). Average of the eight channels on each side (right and left frontals) was obtained for the two sessions (pre and during). Data was analyzed using SPSS version 10.0 through paired and independent samples t-test.

Results: Within group comparison showed that during RNYB, oxyHb levels increased significantly in the left prefrontal cortex (PFC) as compared to the baseline (P = 0.026). LNYB showed a trend towards significance for reduction in oxyHb in the right hemisphere (P = 0.057). Whereas BA caused significant reduction in deoxyHb (P = 0.023) in the left hemisphere. Between groups comparison revealed that oxyHb and blood volume in the left PFC increased significantly during RNYB as compared to BA (oxyHb: P =0.012; TotalHb: P =0.017) and LNYB (oxyHb: P =0.024; totalHb: P =0.034).

Conclusion: RNYB increased oxygenation and blood volume in the left PFC as compared to BA and LNYB. This supports the relationship between nasal cycle and ultradian rhythm of cerebral dominance and suggests a possible application of uninostril yoga breathing in the management of psychopathological states which show lateralized cerebral dysfunctions.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4728953/

 

Driving the Eightfold Path

psyjdc 2 Comments

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

 “We are not proving ourselves spiritually worthy of our material progress. We have not been neighborly, courteous, and kind upon the highway. Our lack of decency toward our fellow men is a definite black mark against us.” ~Cary T. Grayson

 

We often think of meditation or spiritual practice as occurring in quiet places removed from the hubbub of life. This is useful to develop skills and deep understanding. Unfortunately, most people do not have the luxury of withdrawing into solitary or monastic life. But it is possible to practice even in the midst of the chaos of everyday life. In fact, there are wonderful opportunities to practice presented to us all the time in the complexities of the modern world. I find that driving an automobile is an almost perfect context in which to practice the Buddha’s Eightfold Path, the Buddha’s prerequisites for the cessation of suffering; Right View, Right Intentions, Right Actions, Right Speech, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, and Right Concentration.

 

Driving is a wonderful opportunity to practice Right View. The impermanence of everything is on display. No matter how bad or good the traffic condition we can be sure that they will change. By recognizing this we not only practice Right View but also relax and accept what is. Driving is also a situation that reflects how interconnected everything is including the thing we label self. Driving is a cooperative venture. Without everyone’s cooperation, there would be chaos on the roads. How other people drive effects how we drive at the moment and in the future. In this context if we take a moment to look, it is easy to develop Right View. We can also view the transitoriness of our thoughts and emotions as they arise and fall away in response to the experiences occurring while driving and our reactions to them, how this thing called self that we think of a permanent and static actually changes moment to moment in reaction to our experiences while driving. This is a tremendous learning experience and laboratory to develop Right View.

 

It is hard to find a better context than driving to observe our suffering, unsatisfactoriness, and its roots. While driving we seem to want everything to be exactly as we want it to be and when it isn’t we suffer. We want other drivers to drive the speeds we want so they are not in our way, we want traffic signals to always be green, we want the sun or other drivers’ high beams not to be in our eyes, we want a parking space to be available close to our destination, etc. In other words, we can learn, if we are observant of what is happening during driving, that our suffering is caused by our lack of acceptance of how things are. So, driving constitutes an ideal laboratory to practice Right View. We can learn to accept things as they are, to see things without judgment, to view the road and other vehicles just as they are, and to understand how we drive has consequences, affecting ourselves and others, in other words, we learn Right View.

 

We can quite readily practice Right Intentions while driving and this can lead to Right Actions. These intentions include the abandonment of unwholesome desires. If we drive with anger, impatience, selfishness, resentment we are likely to harm others and ourselves. The harm may not be major or direct, but indirect by affecting the other drivers in negative ways. Perhaps cutting another off produces anger in them that causes them suffering and elicits poor driving from them or anger and aggression toward others. Perhaps, not moving over to allow faster traffic to pass may induce impatience and elicit inappropriate passing on their part or simply to unnecessarily cause them to suffer. But sometimes direct physical harm to others can be produced as in the case of driving while under the influence of drugs or alcohol. But if we practice Right Intentions with sincere intentions to create good and happiness, relieve suffering in ourselves and others, and not harm any living thing, we will drive sober, with courtesy, with tolerance and understanding, with kindness and good will. When I move over to allow someone to pass or I react to an aggressive driver with patience and tolerance, I sometimes reflect that I may have prevented great harm. Had I aggravated the other driver their emotions could provoke even more dangerous driving or resulted in later anger or aggression toward others. I like to reflect on the ripples of good that I may have created with unknown consequences well into the future.

 

Intentions are a key. They become our moral compass. They tend to lead us in the right direction even though we may at times stumble.  It is often difficult or impossible to predict all of the consequences of our actions. It is also very difficult not to create some harm. Just the fact of driving is producing carbon emissions contributing to global warming. We need to try to not only have Right Intentions,” but to discern how even the best of intentions can sometime produce harmful outcomes. We have to sometimes balance the good we’re doing with the harm produced by the same actions. This requires Right View. This is where driving can be such a great practice as we can learn what works and what doesn’t and become better at discerning what are the wholesome Right Actions from those that produce more harm than good. But, if we form Right Intentions and aspire to create good and happiness we’ll be better drivers and will produce more harmony and good will on the roads and more importantly will be moving ourselves along the eightfold path.

 

There are many opportunities to practice Right Speech while driving. This can include non-verbal communications such as the use of turn signals. This is a form of Right Speech on the roads, communicating for the greater good. But, predominantly Right Speech is verbal. I have a bad habit of often reacting to driving situations with reflexive emotional expletives. This can occur in response to something as simple as being caught at a red light to another driver’s dangerous actions. This can also include gestures. They do no good and create harm in myself and sometimes aggravate and harm others. By practicing Right Speech. I work toward alleviating the suffering my habit produces in myself and others. I’ve started to develop a habit of simply reacting, rather than with expletives, with words such as “be safe” or a recitation of the loving kindness meditation wishes for health, happiness, safety etc. It’s a work in progress, but I can clearly feel the benefit when I do.

 

Right Livelihood. only applies literally to a few drivers on the road, such as truck drivers, taxi drivers, police, tow truck drivers, etc.  But if we fall into the category of people who make their living driving it is good to reflect on the effects of our activities on others. Does our livelihood produce harm to others, such as delivering weapons, cigarettes, or harmful drugs, or driving animals to slaughter, or does it produce greater good and happiness? It is not ours to judge the “rightness” of other people’s occupations. This is a personal matter where intention matters, that must be reflected upon deeply by each of us. But driving is more frequently a secondary component of our livelihood, perhaps as a means to get to our workplace. So, it can be conceived as part of our livelihood. So, driving is for many an opportunity to reflect upon our Right Livelihood.

 

Once again, driving presents a great context to practice Right Effort. It takes substantial effort to drive mindfully. If one drives automatically as most of us do most of the time, there is little or no mindfulness and little or no effort. When we first get in the driver’s seat we have to set the intention to drive in such a way as to lessen suffering in ourselves and others, to drive with kindness, compassion, patience, and courtesy, to drop fear, anger, hatred, selfishness, and the survival of the fittest attitude, and to bring to our interactions with others on the road the intention to promote well-being and happiness. Right Effort is driving the “Middle Way.” That is not trying too hard and getting stressed about driving mindfully, and also not being lackadaisical, but rather to try but relax. Don’t beat yourself up when you’re not driving mindfully and congratulate yourself when you do. The “Middle Way” is where effort should be targeted.

 

Mindless driving is probably the norm. Most people navigate the roads and traffic while their minds are elsewhere, ruminating about the past, planning for the future, or off in fantasy and daydreams. This provides us with a terrific opportunity to practice Right Mindfulness. Jon Kabat-Zinn defined mindfulness as “paying attention on purpose, in the present moment, and nonjudgmentally, to the unfolding of experience moment to moment.” What better opportunity to practice this than while driving? Right Mindfulness while driving precludes the dangerous activities of texting or engaging in other distractions that are known to amplify the dangers of driving. Right Mindfulness makes us acutely aware of what is happening and how we’re feeling during every moment of our drive. This makes not only for a more enjoyable drive, but also for much better driving. Awareness of how we’re feeling and what’s producing those feelings, and how we’re reacting to them makes us better able to drive safely without emotional outbursts eliciting unsafe behaviors. Right Mindfulness while driving is not just part of the eightfold path it is a prerequisite for the practice of the seven other components of the path. So, driving mindfully is a fundamental practice and driving is a great situation for practice.

 

Right Concentration” is the practice of focusing the mind solely on one object or a specific unchanging set of objects. Mindfulness is paying attention to whatever arises, but concentration is paying attention to one thing to the exclusion of everything else. This is usually developed during contemplative practice such as meditation and is nearly impossible to practice while driving. But, improvement in attentional ability is a consequence of practicing Right Concentration in other contexts which can improve driving by reducing distractions and mind wandering. In addition, it is thought that Right Concentration requires Right Effort, Right Intention, and Right Mindfulness and these can be practiced and developed while driving. So, although driving is not a situation for the practice of Right Concentration directly, the prerequisites for Right Concentration can be practiced and the benefits of its development can be appreciated.

 

Driving the eightfold path is not easy. But, remember that it is a practice. Over time I have gotten better and better at it, but nowhere near perfect. Frequently the discursive mind takes over or my emotions get the better of me. But, by continuing the practice I’ve slowly progressed. I’ve become a better driver and I’ve become a more relaxed and happier driver. I arrive at my destination relaxed with a smile on my face as opposed to the anger and stress that used to accompany me there.

 

Can we drive ourselves to enlightenment? Probably not! But we can practice the eightfold path that the Buddha taught leads there. The strength of driving the eightfold path practice is that it occurs in the real world of our everyday life. Quiet secluded practice is wonderful and perhaps mandatory for progress in spiritual development. But for most people it only can occur during a very limited window of time. By extending the practice directly into the mainstream of our lives we can greatly enhance its impact. I like to keep in mind the teaching that actions that lead to greater harmony and happiness should be practiced, while those that lead to unsatisfactoriness and unhappiness should be let go.  Without doubt, driving the eightfold path leads to greater harmony and happiness and as such should definitely should be included in our spiritual practice.

 

“It helps if you don’t see it as traffic but rather as thousands of individuals resolved to press on another day.” ~Robert Brault

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

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

Improve PTSD with Mindfulness

psyjdc Leave a comment

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“Very often, depression can be about the past, ruminating over and over about losses or other terrible things that happened in the past. Anxiety, meanwhile, very often involves ruminating about terrible things that you’re afraid are going to happen in the future. But in the present, very often, there’s actually nothing terrible going on, and the act of recognizing that can be helpful.” – Anthony King

 

Experiencing trauma is quite common. It has been estimated that 60% of men and 50% of women will experience a significant traumatic event during their lifetime. But, only a fraction will develop Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). But this still results in a frightening number of people with 7%-8% of the population developing PTSD at some point in their life. For military personnel it’s much more likely for PTSD to develop with about 11%-20% of those who have served in a war zone developing PTSD.

 

PTSD involves a number of troubling symptoms including reliving the event with the same fear and horror in nightmares or with a flashback (Experiencing). PTSD sufferers avoid situations that remind them of the event this may include crowds, driving, movies, etc. and may avoid seeking help because it keeps them from having to think or talk about the event (Avoidance). They often experience negative changes in beliefs and feelings including difficulty experiencing positive or loving feelings toward other people (Emotional Numbing), avoiding relationships, memory difficulties, or see the world as dangerous and no one can be trusted. Sufferers may feel hyperarousal, feeling keyed up and jittery, or always alert and on the lookout for danger (Hyperarousal). They may experience sudden anger or irritability, may have a hard time sleeping or concentrating, may be startled by a loud noise or surprise.

 

Obviously, these are troubling symptoms that need to be addressed. There are a number of therapies that have been developed to treat PTSD. One of which, mindfulness training has been found to be particularly effective. It is important to further investigate mindfulness relationships to PTSD symptoms in order to optimize treatment. In today’s Research News article “Changes in Mindfulness and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms Among Veterans Enrolled in Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction.” See:

https://www.facebook.com/ContemplativeStudiesCenter/photos/a.628903887133541.1073741828.627681673922429/1248873658469891/?type=3&theater

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

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27152480

Stephenson and colleagues investigated changes in mindfulness accompanying Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) treatment for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in veterans. They pooled the data from four trials of MBSR for PTSD, measuring changes in mindfulness, PTSD symptoms, and depression over the course of treatment.

 

They found that changes in mindfulness were highly related to improvement in PTSD symptoms and depression, with larger increases in mindfulness associated with larger improvements in all PTSD symptoms and also in depression. Two facets of mindfulness, Acting with Awareness and Non-reactivity particularly were strongly associated with improvements. On the other hand, increases in the Observing facet of mindfulness were sometimes associated with worsening symptoms, while the Describing and Non-judging facets were not significantly associated. The greatest changes in PTSD symptoms associated with mindfulness were in the Hyperarousal, followed by Emotional Numbing, Re-Experiencing, and Avoidance symptom clusters.

 

These are interesting results and help to clarify the nature of mindfulness effects on PTSD symptoms. The actual reasons for the associations are not known. But, some speculative hypotheses can be postulated. The fact that Non-reactivity was highly associated seems intuitively obvious as being overly reactive to the stimuli and events around them is a key symptom of PTSD. In addition, by Acting with Awareness the veterans are engaged in activities while they are more focused on the present moment. Hence, they would be less likely to bring in the past events, particularly traumatic events, into their present moment experience. A worsening of PTSD symptoms was associated with larger change in the Observing facet. By heightening awareness of their internal state, the veterans may become even more sensitive to their troubling emotional responses resulting in heightened anxiety and fear.

 

Regardless of these speculations, it is clear that improvements in PTSD symptoms with veterans are associated with heightened mindfulness. This further supports the application of MBSR for the treatment of PTSD in veterans. This treatment can be of great help in relieving the torment that is called PTSD, allowing the veterans to resume more normal lives.

 

So, improve PTSD with mindfulness.

 

“Part of the psychological process of PTSD often includes avoidance and suppression of painful emotions and memories, which allows symptoms of the disorder to continue,” King says. “Through the mindfulness intervention, however, we found that many of our patients were able to stop this pattern of avoidance and see an improvement in their symptoms.” – Anthony King

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

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

Study Summary

Stephenson, K. R., Simpson, T. L., Martinez, M. E. and Kearney, D. J. (2016), Changes in Mindfulness and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms Among Veterans Enrolled in Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction. J. Clin. Psychol.. doi: 10.1002/jclp.22323

 

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: The current study assessed associations between changes in 5 facets of mindfulness (Acting With Awareness, Observing, Describing, Non-Reactivity, and Nonjudgment) and changes in 4 posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptom clusters (Re-Experiencing, Avoidance, Emotional Numbing, and Hyperarousal symptoms) among veterans participating in mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR).

METHOD: Secondary analyses were performed with a combined data set consisting of 2 published and 2 unpublished trials of MBSR conducted at a large Veterans Affairs hospital. The combined sample included 113 veterans enrolled in MBSR who screened positive for PTSD and completed measures of mindfulness and PTSD symptoms before and after the 8-week intervention.

RESULTS: Increases in mindfulness were significantly associated with reduced PTSD symptoms. Increases in Acting With Awareness and Non-Reactivity were the facets of mindfulness most strongly and consistently associated with reduced PTSD symptoms. Increases in mindfulness were most strongly related to decreases in Hyperarousal and Emotional Numbing.

CONCLUSIONS: These results extend previous research, provide preliminary support for changes in mindfulness as a viable mechanism of treatment, and have a number of potential practical and theoretical implications.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27152480

 

Improve Attention in Multitaskers with Mindfulness

psyjdc Leave a comment

Mindfulness multitasking2 Gorman

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“What a balance: while multitasking makes it easier for your brain to succumb to distraction, meditation helps you recognize when you’ve gotten distracted—allowing you to get back to the task that’s top of mind.” – Drake Baer

 

In modern everyday life, we are constantly bombarded with a myriad of stimuli, from music, movies, TV, traffic noise, games, telephone calls, texts, emails, tweets, posts, etc. The generations who have grown up in the midst of this cacophony, claim to have developed multitasking skills, such that they can simultaneously work with multiple tasks and sources of information. At first glance they appear to have developed useful skills that the older generation can only marvel at. But, upon closer inspection of the abilities of the multitaskers, it has been found that they actually have impaired attentional abilities and are more easily distracted from what they’re doing. In other words, the multitasking has damaged their ability to focus on any one thing.

 

Mindfulness training may be an antidote to the impaired attention and distractibility of the multitaskers. In mindfulness training the individual practices focusing attention on a single object, learns to filter out distracting stimuli, including thoughts, and learns to stay focused on the present moment, filtering out thoughts centered around the past or future. Indeed, mindfulness training appears to improve attentional ability and reduce distractibility. Hence it would seem that mindfulness training would strengthen the exact capacities that are weakened by chronic multitasking.

 

In today’s Research News article “Short-term mindfulness intervention reduces the negative attentional effects associated with heavy media multitasking.” See:

https://www.facebook.com/ContemplativeStudiesCenter/photos/a.628903887133541.1073741828.627681673922429/1248202211870369/?type=3&theater

or below or view the full text of the study at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4834474/

Gorman and Green test this notion. They measured college students’ media multitasking and selected a low multitasking group (at least one stand deviation below the mean) and a high multitasking group (at least one stand deviation above the mean). The two groups were then tested with a battery of four tests measuring attentional ability and distractibility. They were tested under two different conditions. In the mindfulness condition they interspersed the four tasks with 10 minutes of breath counting meditation. In the control condition, the four attention tasks were interspersed with 10 minutes of web browsing. They then looked at the effects of high vs. low multitasking and meditation vs. browsing practice on the interspersed attention tasks.

 

They found, as expected, that overall the high media multitaskers performed worse on the attentional tasks than the low media multitaskers. They also found that overall the meditation interspersed between the tasks improved attentional ability. Finally, they found the high media multitaskers improved their attentional ability more in response to the meditation than the low media multitaskers. Hence, the study demonstrates that multitasking impairs attention, meditation improves attention, and meditation improves the highest multitaskers’ attention more.

 

These are interesting and potentially significant findings. Given that the new generations are growing up as multitaskers with impaired attentional abilities and greater distractibility, it is heartening that meditation practice can to some extent repair the damage especially in the highest multitaskers. So, there is hope for these generations! But, these results are limited as they only show that mindfulness training can produce short-term improvements in attentional ability, it remains for future research to test whether longer-term training can have more long lasting effects.

 

So, improve attention in multitaskers with mindfulness.

 

“Through mind-body stress reduction programs with Aetna employees, we have demonstrated that mindfulness-based programs can reduce stress and improve people’s health. Healthier people are more productive and happier.” – Mark Bertolini

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

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

 

Study Summary

Gorman, T. E., & Green, C. S. (2016). Short-term mindfulness intervention reduces the negative attentional effects associated with heavy media multitasking. Scientific Reports, 6, 24542. http://doi.org/10.1038/srep24542

 

Abstract

Recent research suggests that frequently switching between various forms of media (i.e. ‘media multitasking’) is associated with diminished attentional abilities, a disconcerting result given the prevalence of media multitasking in today’s society. In the present study, we sought to investigate the extent to which the deficits associated with frequent media multitasking can be temporarily ameliorated via a short-term mindfulness intervention previously shown to produce beneficial effects on the attentional abilities of normally functioning individuals. Consistent with previous work, we found: (1) that heavy media multitaskers showed generally poorer attentional abilities than light media multitaskers and (2) that all participants showed benefits from the short-term mindfulness intervention. Furthermore, we found that the benefits of the short-term mindfulness intervention were not equivalently large across participants. Instead, these benefits were disproportionately large in the heavy media multitaskers. While the positive outcomes were short-lived, this opens the possibility of performing long-term interventions with the goal of realizing lasting gains in this population.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4834474/

 

Improve Dementia Patients and Their Caregivers with Mindfulness

psyjdc Leave a comment

Mindfulness dementia2 Paler

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“One of the major difficulties that individuals with dementia and their family members encounter is that there is a need for new ways of communicating due to the memory loss and other changes in thinking and abilities. The practice of mindfulness places both participants in the present and focuses on positive features of the interaction, allowing for a type of connection that may substitute for the more complex ways of communicating in the past.” – Sandra Weintraub

 

Dementia is a progressive loss of mental function produced by degenerative diseases of the brain. Dementia patients require caregiving particularly in the later stages of the disease. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common type of dementia and accounts for 50 to 70 percent of dementia cases. Other types of dementia include vascular dementia, mixed dementia, dementia with Lewy bodies and frontotemporal dementia. For Alzheimer’s disease alone, there are an estimated 10 million caregivers providing 9 billion hours of care at a value of over $100 Billion dollars.

 

Caregiving for dementia patients is a daunting and all too frequent task. It is an intense experience that can go on for four to eight years with increasing responsibilities as the loved one deteriorates. In the last year, 59% of the caregivers report that they are effectively on duty 24/7. Over time dementia will lead to loss of memory, loss of reasoning and judgment, personality and behavioral changes, physical decline, and death. The memory and personality changes in the patient may take away all those characteristics that make the loved one identifiable, unique, and endearing, producing psychological stress in the caregiver. The feelings of hopelessness can be overwhelming regarding the future of a patient with an irreversible terminal degenerative illness. In addition, caregivers often experience an anticipatory grief associated with a feeling of impending loss of their loved one. If this isn’t bad enough, a little appreciated consequence is that few insurance programs cover dementia care outside of the hospital. So, medical expenses can produce extra financial strain on top of the loss of income for the caregiver. It is sad that 72% of caregivers report relief when their loved one passes away.

 

Obviously, there is a need to both care for the dementia patients and also for the caregivers, for all types of caregiving but particularly for dementia. They play an essential and often irreplaceable role. So, finding ways to ease the burden is extremely important. Mindfulness practice for caregivers has been shown to help them cope with the physical and psychological demands of caregiving. In addition, mindfulness training has been found to help protect aging individuals from physical and cognitive declines. So, it would make sense to combine mindfulness training of the patients and caregivers as a pair.

 

In today’s Research News article “Benefits of Mindfulness Training for Patients with Progressive Cognitive Decline and their Caregivers.” See:

https://www.facebook.com/ContemplativeStudiesCenter/photos/a.628903887133541.1073741828.627681673922429/1247548971935693/?type=3&theater

or below or view the full text of the study at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4363074/

Paler and colleagues provided an 8-week mindfulness training program for Alzheimer’s Disease patients and their caregivers. They were also given homework exercises on CDs to be practiced for 30-60 minutes daily. They found that the training produced an increase in quality of life, improvement in cognitive executive function, and a decrease in depression and sleep problems for both the patients and caregivers. The vast majority of the participants were pleased with the program and felt that they were less stressed and better able to cope with stressful circumstances and their relationships had improved.

 

These results are outstanding and suggest that combined mindfulness training for both patients and caregivers is a safe and effective method to improve the emotional state, cognitive ability, quality of life, sleep, and stress management for both. The efficiency of training both at the same time is important as the feasibility of implementing the program increases as the demands on time decrease. Mindfulness training is known to improve emotion regulation and depression, cognitive processes, improve sleep, decrease the psychological and physical responses to stress, and improve relationships in normal people. It is important that this study established that this is also true for dementia patients and their caregivers.

 

It should be noted that there was no control or comparison condition. So, it is impossible to make a strong conclusion that the mindfulness program itself produced the improvements. A randomized Controlled Trial (RCT) is needed to confirm these results. Nevertheless, the results are exceptionally promising and provide the rationale to implement an RCT. The authors do note, however, that recruitment of patients and caregivers for a control group would likely be extremely difficult.

 

So, improve dementia patients and their caregivers with mindfulness.

 

“Mindfulness involves attentive awareness with acceptance for events in the present moment. You don’t have to be drawn into wishing things were different. Mindfulness training in this way takes advantage of people’s abilities rather than focusing on their difficulties.” – Ken Paler

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

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

 

Study Summary

Paller, K. A., Creery, J. D., Florczak, S. M., Weintraub, S., Mesulam, M.-M., Reber, P. J., … Maslar, M. (2015). Benefits of Mindfulness Training for Patients with Progressive Cognitive Decline and their Caregivers. American Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease and Other Dementias, 30(3), 257–267. http://doi.org/10.1177/1533317514545377

 

Abstract

New strategies are needed to help people cope with the repercussions of neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease. Patients and caregivers face different challenges, but here we investigated an intervention tailored for this combined population. The program focused on training skills such as attending to the present moment nonjudgmentally, which may help reduce maladaptive emotional responses. Patients participated together with caregivers in weekly group sessions over 8 weeks. An assessment battery was individually administered before and after the program. Pre-post analyses revealed several benefits, including increased quality-of-life ratings, fewer depressive symptoms, and better subjective sleep quality. In addition, participants indicated that they were grateful for the opportunity to learn to apply mindfulness skills and that they would recommend the program to others. In conclusion, mindfulness training can be beneficial for patients and their caregivers, it can be delivered at low-cost to combined groups, and it is worthy of further investigation.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4363074/

Decrease PMS with Mindfulness

psyjdc Leave a comment
Smiling young girl drinking tea and writing

“Meditation helps manage PMS in many ways. Meditation helps put PMS in perspective – that it’s a short-term problem and that most of the time, you feel good. It helps ease the guilt of difficult-to-control emotional outbursts – PMS is a medical condition! Meditation helps calm the erratic thought patterns and wild emotional fluctuations by putting the body and mind into a deeply relaxed state.”  – Steven Johnson

 

Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS) is very common in women during the childbearing years. Almost 85% of American women, between 20 years old and 40 years old, experience PMS and around 5% of these women are disabled by extremely severe symptoms. It is often accompanied with depression and called Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD) and can be dangerous as the suicide rate for patients with depression is much higher in the second half of the menstrual cycle.

 

PMS produces physical symptoms such as Joint or muscle pain, headache, fatigue, weight gain related to fluid retention, abdominal bloating, breast tenderness, acne flare-ups, and constipation or diarrhea. These symptoms are accompanied by a constellation of psychological symptoms such as tension or anxiety, depressed mood, crying spells, mood swings and irritability or anger, appetite changes and food cravings, trouble falling asleep (insomnia), social withdrawal, and poor concentration. Rather than improve with age, PMS can get worse as patients age and approach menopause.

 

For most women PMS is left untreated, with the women simply putting up with the misery. But for some drugs are prescribed such as antidepressants, NSAIDs, diuretics, and hormones. These are all accompanied by significant side effects. There is, therefore, a need to find safe and effective treatment for the torment of PMS. Mindfulness training has been shown to improve the physical and psychological state of women and men. It would seem reasonable to examine whether mindfulness training might be helpful with PMS.

 

In today’s Research News article “Relationships Among Premenstrual Symptom Reports, Menstrual Attitudes, and Mindfulness.” See:

https://www.facebook.com/ContemplativeStudiesCenter/photos/a.628903887133541.1073741828.627681673922429/1246921738665083/?type=3&theater

or below or view the full text of the study at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4859870/

Lustyk and colleagues examined the relationships between mindfulness, premenstrual attitudes, and Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS) symptoms in college age women, all of whom reported some level of PMS symptoms. They found that a number of aspects of mindfulness, including overall mindfulness and the observing, describing, and non-reacting facets of mindfulness were significantly negatively associated with overall and individual PMS symptoms, including pain, emotions, food cravings, and fluid retention. They found that the greater the levels of mindfulness the less the PMS symptom severity.

 

Lustyk and colleagues also measured the women’s attitudes regarding menstruation. They found that the greater degree the women perceived menstruation as a debilitating event and the better they were at predicting the onset of menstruation, the lower the PMS symptoms. They also found that mindfulness moderated these effects; the higher the levels of mindfulness the smaller the relationships between these attitudes with PMS symptoms.

 

These results are encouraging. They are however correlational. There was no manipulation of mindfulness or mindfulness training. So, it can’t be concluded that mindfulness caused improvements in PMS symptoms. It could be that low PMS symptoms improve mindfulness in women or that some other variable is related to both. It will take a manipulative research study to determine if there’s a causal relationship between mindfulness and PMS symptoms.

 

These cautions notwithstanding, mindfulness appears to be associated with lower PMS symptoms. This adds to the list of the beneficial effects of mindfulness to mental and physical health. It also suggests that mindfulness training may be a safe and effective alternative treatment for Premenstrual Syndrome in women.

 

So, decrease PMS with mindfulness.

 

“The incredible positive that I have gained by becoming aware of this connection is the awareness that has allowed me to work with my mind and body each month when these symptoms surface.  I can now respond to my body’s needs without reacting from a highly activated, emotional place.  It’s really made all of the difference. I now know what to expect and deal with myself more compassionately during this time of the month.” – Debbie

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

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

 

Study Summary

Lustyk, M. K. B., Gerrish, W. G., Douglas, H., Bowen, S., & Marlatt, G. A. (2011). Relationships Among Premenstrual Symptom Reports, Menstrual Attitudes, and Mindfulness. Mindfulness, 2(1), 37–48. http://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-011-0041-x

 

Abstract

The physical and affective symptoms of a broad range of conditions are improved following mindfulness-based practices. One set of symptoms that has yet to be explored through the lens of mindfulness, however, is that associated with the premenstruum. Also, given the relationships among negative attitudes towards menstruation and amplified symptom reporting, it is reasonable to expect that mindfulness qualities cultivated through practices aimed at dispelling negative anticipatory and judgmental thinking will moderate these relationships. Thus, in this study we examined interrelationships among premenstrual symptom severity reports (PMSR), menstrual attitudes, and mindfulness qualities in a sample of 127 women (age range 18–26 years). Results revealed several statistically significant positive relationships between menstrual attitudes and PMSR. Also, higher scores on measures of mindfulness were significantly associated with lower PMSR. Moderating effects revealed that mindfulness significantly buffered the relationships between menstrual attitudes and PMSR, specifically between: anticipation of menses onset and PMSR as well as anticipation of menses onset and premenstrual water retention. These results may offer the first empirical evidence of relationships among menstrual attitudes, PMSR, and mindfulness qualities. Results from this study align with the body of research showing that mindfulness is predictive of improved symptomatology and well-being across varied conditions. We conclude with discussion supporting the development of a mindfulness-based intervention aimed at reducing symptom severity in premenstrual symptom sufferers.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4859870/