Transcendental Meditation in the Treatment of Mental and Physical Conditions

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
David W. Orme-Johnson
Keyword(s):  
Psychological Health ◽  
Physiological Stress ◽  
Transcendental Meditation ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The Body ◽  
Brain Wave ◽  
Stress Markers ◽  
Meditation Technique ◽  
Physical And Psychological Health ◽  
The Mind

The Transcendental Meditation technique (TM) is a process of transcending from the active mind to the silent mind, creating a feeling of well-being that many people describe as blissful. As the mind settles, the body becomes deeply rested, as indicated by reductions of physiological stress markers. The meditator typically experiences expanded inner awareness, which corresponds to marked slowing of the breath and increased brain wave (EEG) coherence, a measure of brain integration that is associated with higher levels of creativity. This chapter reviews work on the effects of TM in major areas of human functioning such as physical and psychological health, considers its impact on behavior, and examines some of the processes through which TM has its effects. The literature suggests that regular TM practice can help defuse the stresses and strains accrued during the day. Through regular practice, the body begins to function in a more stress-free, efficient, and resilient way outside of meditation. Well-controlled studies indicate that TM results in improvements in physical health (e.g. it reduces hypertension and cardiovascular disease), and psychological health (e.g. it reduces anxiety, depression, and anger), as well as influencing people’s behavior (e.g. reductions in drug, alcohol, and cigarette use, as well as in recidivism).

scholarly journals Feasibility and acceptability of a faith-based mind-body intervention among African American adults

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 928-937 ◽  
Author(s):  
Scherezade K Mama ◽  
Nishat Bhuiyan ◽  
Alejandro Chaoul ◽  
Lorenzo Cohen ◽  
Christopher P Fagundes ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
African American ◽  
Psychological Health ◽  
Vigorous Physical Activity ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Post Intervention ◽  
Waitlist Control ◽  
African American Adults ◽  
Physical And Psychological Health ◽  
The Mind

Abstract Physical activity reduces cancer risk, yet African American adults remain insufficiently active, contributing to cancer health disparities. Harmony & Health (HH) was developed as a culturally adapted mind-body intervention to promote physical activity, psychosocial well-being, and quality of life among a church-based sample of overweight/obese, insufficiently active African American adults. Men and women were recruited to the study through an existing church partnership. Eligible participants (N = 50) were randomized to a movement-based mind-body intervention (n = 26) or waitlist control (n = 24). Participants in the intervention attended 16 mind-body sessions over 8 weeks and completed a physical assessment, questionnaires on moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and psychosocial factors, and accelerometry at baseline (T1), post-intervention (T2), and 6 week follow-up (T3). Eighty percent of participants (94% women, M age = 49.7 ± 9.4 years, M body mass index = 32.8 ± 5.2 kg/m2) completed the study, and 61.5% of intervention participants attended ≥10 mind-body sessions. Participants self-reported doing 78.8 ± 102.9 (median = 40.7, range: 0–470.7) min/day of MVPA and did 27.1 ± 20.7 (median = 22.0, range: 0–100.5) min/day of accelerometer-measured MVPA at baseline. Trends suggest that mind-body participants self-reported greater improvements in physical activity and psychosocial well-being from baseline to post-intervention than waitlist control participants. HH is feasible and acceptable among African American adults. Trends suggest that the mind-body intervention led to improvements in physical activity and psychosocial outcomes. This study extends the literature on the use of mind-body practices to promote physical and psychological health and reduce cancer disparities in African American adults.

scholarly journals How managers experience situations involving employee mental ill-health

2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 442-463 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angela Martin ◽  
Megan Woods ◽  
Sarah Dawkins
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Psychological Health ◽  
Safety Climate ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The Body ◽  
Health Issue ◽  
Mental Health Issue ◽  
Successful Implementation ◽  
Health Issues ◽  
Content Type

Purpose Mental health conditions such as depression are prevalent in working adults, costly to employers, and have implications for legal liability and corporate social responsibility. Managers play an important role in determining how employees’ and organizations’ interests are reconciled in situations involving employee mental ill-health issues. The purpose of this paper is to explore these situations from the perspective of managers in order to develop theory and inform practice in workplace mental health promotion. Design/methodology/approach Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 24 Australian managers who had supervised an employee with a mental health issue. Interview transcripts were content analyzed to explore themes in managers’ experiences. Findings Managing an employee with a mental health issue involves becoming aware of the issue, taking action to understand the situation and develop an action response, implementing the response and managing the ongoing situation. Each of these tasks had a range of positive and negative aspects to them, e.g., managing the situation can be experienced as both a source of stress for the manager but also as an opportunity to develop greater management skills. Practical implications Understanding line managers’ experiences is critical to successful implementation of HR policies regarding employee health and well-being. HR strategies for dealing with employee mental health issues need to consider implementation support for managers, including promotion of guiding policies, training, emotional support and creating a psychosocial safety climate in their work units or teams. Originality/value The insights gained from this study contribute to the body of knowledge regarding psychosocial safety climate, an emergent theoretical framework concerned with values, attitudes and philosophy regarding worker psychological health. The findings also have important implications for strategic human resource management approaches to managing mental health in the workplace.

scholarly journals Multiple Practices of Social Pedagogy: The Case of The Smile of the Child , a Non-Profit Organization Dedicated to Children’s Protection and Well-Being

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Costas Yannopoulos ◽  
Stefanos Alevizos ◽  
Marina Kavallieraki
Keyword(s):  
Psychological Health ◽  
Child Protection ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Children's Rights ◽  
Children’S Rights ◽  
Voluntary Organization ◽  
Non Profit ◽  
Social Pedagogy ◽  
Physical And Psychological Health

The Smile of the Child is a Greek non-profit, voluntary organization in the field of social pedagogy. It has been an NGO active in the field of child protection and children’s rights since 1996. It began as the dream of 10-year old Andreas Yannopoulos, who, shortly before losing his own battle for life, documented his vision in his journal. The Smile of the Child, empowered by committed employees and the support of hundreds of volunteers, provides services 24 hours a day throughout the year, including programmes for children’s welfare and protection of their physical and psychological health, as well as for the safety of thousands of children in danger in Greece.

scholarly journals Physical Activity As a Fundamental Component of a Healthy Lifestyle in the Context of Social Change. Application of the “Melodance” Method

2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 71-79
Author(s):  
Victoria А. Dmitrieva ◽  
◽  
Kristina S. Kharlova ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Social Change ◽  
Physical Condition ◽  
Psychological Health ◽  
Healthy Lifestyle ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Fundamental Component ◽  
Physical And Psychological Health ◽  
Wide Potential

Substantiates the effectiveness of using the «Melodance» technique as a means of physical activity that increases well-being, activity and mood, improves physical condition and the desire for a healthy lifestyle. The results of our own research have shown that the Melodance technique has a wide potential as a means of physical activity and strengthening the physical and psychological health of a person, as well as forming an attitude towards a healthy lifestyle. The prospects for the application of this technique are shown.

Introduction

Health ◽  
2019 ◽  
pp. 1-6
Author(s):  
Peter Adamson
Keyword(s):  
History Of Medicine ◽  
Medical Science ◽  
Well Being ◽  
History Of Philosophy ◽  
The Body ◽  
Central Idea ◽  
Concept Of Health ◽  
History Of ◽  
Ethical Virtue ◽  
The Mind

This introduction to the volume gives an overview of the chapters, setting out a case for integrating the history of philosophy with the history of medicine and sketching some of the key philosophical issues that arise around the concept of health. These include the difficulty of defining “health,” the mind-body relationship, and questions about how philosophy informs medical science and practice. A central idea is that the concept of health operates at two levels, the mental and the physical (or the soul and the body), so that ethical virtue and physical well-being have often been seen as parallel or mutually dependent.

Quality of Life in Employee with Workaholism

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ozlem Koseoglu Ornek ◽  
Nurcan Kolac
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Psychological Health ◽  
Labour Force ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Negative Influence ◽  
Obsessive Compulsive ◽  
Related Factors ◽  
Physical And Psychological Health ◽  
Occupational Healthcare

Workaholism has been a growing issue among the labour force worldwide. However, there is no consensus between scholars about its definition yet. It might be described as “being overly concerned about work, driven by a strong and uncontrollable desire to work, and spending so much energy and effort on work that it impairs private relationships, personal hobbies/activities, and/or health”. Generally, people with specific personality traits may have an increased chance of developing workaholism. In addition, there are other factors, such as sociocultural characteristics, relationships with colleagues and significant others, and organizational culture might also play an important influence on developing workaholism. It causes many physical and psychological health problems, such as high blood pressure, anxiety, depression, and family and lifestyle dissatisfaction, and a reduction in job satisfaction, presenteeism, and motivation. Putting all of this together, it is clear that workaholism has a negative influence on employees’ quality of life and overall well-being. Therefore, this study aimed at examining a variety of approaches to define “workaholism” in related literature, defining its etiology, related factors, outcomes, prevention, and treatment. The PubMed/Medline database was also used for related studies that were published in English. “Workaholism”, “obsessive–compulsive behavior”, and “quality of health” were used as keywords. It is crucial to take action to prevent people from becoming workaholics. Early diagnoses of workaholism, using predictive factors by occupational healthcare professionals in the workplace, would help decrease its impact on workers’ health, and an effective treatment of workaholism should be applied.

Open Plan Office Design Features Affecting Staff’s Health and Well-being Status

2014 ◽  
Vol 70 (7) ◽  
Author(s):  
Arezou Shafaghat ◽  
Ali Keyvanfar ◽  
Hasanuddin Lamit ◽  
Seyed Ali Mousavi ◽  
Mohd Zaimi Abd Majid
Keyword(s):  
Psychological Health ◽  
Indoor Environment ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Environment Design ◽  
Effect Analysis ◽  
Office Design ◽  
Open Plan ◽  
Cause And Effect Analysis ◽  
Physical And Psychological Health ◽  
Health And Well Being

Sustainable office building indoor environment design is a challengeable issue for professionals in thermal comfort, satisfaction, health, and energy fields of research. The professionals intensively need a comprehensive list of office indoor environment design features to promote the level of performance and productivity of staff. One of the most effective factors dealing with staff performance and productivity is physical and psychological health which has not yet been investigated in depth is open-plan office design. In this regard, the current research aimed at establishing a comprehensive list of Open Plan Offices Design (OPOD) features affecting physical and psychological health and well-being of the staff at office buildings. Research methodology engaged two phases corresponding to two objectives. Phase one was to investigate OPOD features and sub-features through a critical literature review using fishbone cause-and-effect analysis technique. Phase one has clustered the OPOD features into two; positive and negative classes. The cause-and-effect analysis determined 3 positive features and 5 negative features involved in the positive and negative classes, respectively. The Efficient Workflow and Performance, Flexible Design, and Cost Efficient were identified as positive OPOD features which involves a number of sub-features. The Distraction, Decreasing Work Feedback, Job Dissatisfaction, Illness, and stress have been determined as OPOD features which impact negatively on staff’s health. The second phase conducted a content analysis on reviewed literatures to indicate the popularity of citation of each OPOD feature in previous studies. The content analysis determined in the Positive cluster, the sub-feature “Facilitate Communication”, under Efficient Workflow & Performance was investigated more than other sub-features. In addition, in the Negative cluster, the sub-feature Auditory Distraction under Distraction was highly investigated. The research asserts that undertaking the research outputs will promote performance and productivity of staff in office buildings. Architects, facility managers, design consultants, and authority may use the output as a decision support checklist for future office design and/or renovations.

scholarly journals Physical and Psychological Impact of the Phase One Lockdown for COVID-19 on Italians

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marco Tommasi ◽  
Francesca Toro ◽  
Simone Arnò ◽  
Angelo Carrieri ◽  
Marco Maria Conte ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Psychological Health ◽  
Psychological Impact ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Physical Symptoms ◽  
Anxiety And Depression ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Psychological Conditions ◽  
Natural Catastrophes ◽  
Physical And Psychological Health ◽  
At Home

The exceptional pandemic due to the 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has obliged all Italians to stay at home. In the literature, there are evidences that traumatic global events, such as natural catastrophes and pandemic, have negative effects on the physical and psychological health of the population. We carried out a survey to analyze the physical and psychological conditions of Italians during the pandemic. Due to the severe limitations in moving during the phase one lockdown, the survey was administered by internet. Results show that Italians followed the provisions established by the Italian government to avoid contamination, but 43% of them declared to have suffered from physical symptoms, in particular migraine, sleep disorders, persistent exhaustion, and difficulty of concentration. They have great fear to be contaminated or that relatives or friends can be contaminated, and they actively take actions to avoid contamination. Participants declared that they had suffered a lot of inconveniences due to restrictions in their movements, and that their life habits were strongly changed. They spent their time at home in different activities, but their psychological well-being was strongly impaired by the lockdown. The level of anxiety tripled, in relation to the prepandemic period, and 30% of males and 41% of females declared to have severe levels of depression. Participants with high levels of optimism and hopefulness show a stronger resilience against anxiety and depression. In addition, there is a negative correlation between anxiety and depression and the five factors of personality. These results show that psychological diseases must not be neglected, and that people in lockdown do need support for their psychological health, also with the help of internet and communication technologies.

scholarly journals Humor and Expression of Anger in Socially Maladapted Youth

2021 ◽  
pp. 67-79
Author(s):  
Anna Karłyk-Ćwik
Keyword(s):  
Psychological Health ◽  
Anger Expression ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Social Adaptation ◽  
Control Analysis ◽  
Social Maladjustment ◽  
Correctional Institutions ◽  
Humor Style ◽  
Physical And Psychological Health ◽  
Socially Maladjusted

Appropriate regulation of emotions is important for maintaining physical and psychological health and well-being, as well as social adaptation and development. In the prevention of social maladjustment, it is particularly important to support factors that contribute to the proper control of emotions, especially anger. One such factor is humor, which helps to relieve emotional tension and express anger in a safe way. This research aims to identify the types of anger expression occurring in adolescents who are socially maladapted and determine whether there are significant differences in the use of humor between (sub)groups of minors due to their type of anger expression. The study was carried out in twenty-four juvenile correctional institutions in Poland and included a sample of 705 minors (29% females and 71% males, aged between 12 and 21 years old, with an average age of 17). Two research tools were used: the Anger Expression Scale (AES) and the Humor Style Questionnaire (HSQ). K-means cluster analysis led to the separation of three types of anger expression in the group of socially maladjusted youth: Anger-out, Low-Anger, and Anger-control. Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) analysis revealed the statistically significant differences between the groups of minors (clusters) in their use of three styles of humor: affiliative, self-enhancing, and aggressive. These findings can be used in the design of modern interventions in the field of prevention and promotion of mental and social health.

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