scholarly journals Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction as a Stress Management Intervention for Healthy Individuals

2014 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 271-286 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manoj Sharma ◽  
Sarah E. Rush

Stress is a global public health problem with several negative health consequences, including anxiety, depression, cardiovascular disease, and suicide. Mindfulness-based stress reduction offers an effective way of reducing stress by combining mindfulness meditation and yoga in an 8-week training program. The purpose of this study was to look at studies from January 2009 to January 2014 and examine whether mindfulness-based stress reduction is a potentially viable method for managing stress. A systematic search from Medline, CINAHL, and Alt HealthWatch databases was conducted for all types of quantitative articles involving mindfulness-based stress reduction. A total of 17 articles met the inclusion criteria. Of the 17 studies, 16 demonstrated positive changes in psychological or physiological outcomes related to anxiety and/or stress. Despite the limitations of not all studies using randomized controlled design, having smaller sample sizes, and having different outcomes, mindfulness-based stress reduction appears to be a promising modality for stress management.

2016 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 348-360 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah E. Rush ◽  
Manoj Sharma

Cancer is acknowledged as a source of stress for many individuals, often leading to suffering, which can be long-lasting. Mindfulness-based stress reduction offers an effective way of reducing stress among cancer patients by combining mindfulness meditation and yoga in an 8-week training program. The purpose of this study was to inspect studies from October 2009 to November 2015 and examine whether mindfulness-based stress reduction can be utilized as a viable method for managing stress among cancer patients. A systematic search from Medline, CINAHL, and Alt HealthWatch databases was conducted for quantitative articles involving mindfulness-based stress reduction interventions targeting cancer patients. A total of 13 articles met the inclusion criteria. Of these 13 studies, 9 demonstrated positive changes in either psychological or physiological outcomes related to anxiety and/or stress, with 4 describing mixed results. Despite the limitations, mindfulness-based stress reduction appears to be promising for stress management among cancer patients.


Author(s):  
Manoj Sharma

Stress has become a global public health problem. Yoga offers one possible way of reducing stress. The purpose of this study was to look at studies from 2011 to May 2013 and examine whether yoga can be an efficacious approach for managing stress. A systematic search of Medline, CINAHL, and Alt HealthWatch databases was conducted for quantitative articles involving all schools of yoga. A total of 17 articles met the inclusion criteria. Six of these were from the United States, 3 from India, 2 from the United Kingdom, and 1 each from Australia, Brazil, Germany, Iraq, Sweden, and Taiwan. Of the 17 studies, 12 demonstrated positive changes in psychological or physiological outcomes related to stress. Despite the limitations, not all studies used a randomized controlled design, had smaller sample sizes, had different outcomes, had nonstandardized yoga intervention, and had varying lengths, yoga appears to be a promising modality for stress management.


Author(s):  
Sharone Abramowitz

This compact chapter addresses patient selection and general principles of mindfulness-based interventions, specifically mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR). It describes mindfulness-oriented recovery enhancement (MORE) as a combination of mindfulness intervention and cognitive behavioral therapy, suggesting its effectiveness in reducing the perception of pain in more than half of the participants who complete training. While focusing principally on the patient, the chapter argues for the utility of mindfulness-based interventions in preserving the serenity and enhancing the effectiveness of the therapist. It also notes that while the therapeutic outcome may be modest, there is generally little cost and very little risk to initiation of mindfulness meditation and similar interventions. A text box is given with additional resources.


Author(s):  
Erik Braun

This chapter explores Jon Kabat-Zinn’s mindfulness meditation, above all in his writings about his Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program. It argues that Kabat-Zinn’s vision conveys a profound sense of enchantment, a deep sense of life’s value. The chapter argues that this vision reworks fundamental conceptual categories, especially those of the secular, the spiritual, and the scientific. Life’s meaning is formulated as flowing naturally from mindful observation of everyday life, especially of painful experiences. This naturalizing approach, drawing on bodily experience, the authority of science, metaphysical religious roots in American culture, and Buddhist teachings, makes mindfulness occupy many registers at once: Buddhist yet ecumenically inclusive, secular yet spiritual, scientific but revealing a larger sense of purpose. This multimodal character of mindfulness, always available through simple awareness, explains its popularity, which is helping to reshape American culture.


Children ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (5) ◽  
pp. 316
Author(s):  
Liliana Paulina Rojas-Torres ◽  
Yurena Alonso-Esteban ◽  
María Fernanda López-Ramón ◽  
Francisco Alcantud-Marín

This study aims to develop a clinical trial to test the efficacy of a mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) and self-compassion (SC) program on self-reported values of anxiety, depression, and stress in parents of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in primary school, in order to assess their integration into the framework of community intervention programs in Spain. Methods: A brief 8-week training program using mindfulness-based intervention (MBSR) and self-compassion (SC) has been applied to twelve Valencian ASD parents, ten of whom completed the program. Participants were assigned to two groups; both groups received the same treatment but at two different measurement moments. Depression, anxiety, stress, satisfaction with life and mindful attention awareness measurements were performed, in all participants, in three testing stages. Results: Analysis of variance results suggested that MBSR and SC training reduces stress and anxiety and increases mindful attention awareness. No significant changes were found in life satisfaction measurements. Conclusions: The small number of participants prevents us from generalizing the results found. More MBSR and SC clinical trials are needed in parents of ASD with results on anxiety, depression and stress in order to demonstrate the relevance of the inclusion of these programs in community-based early intervention services.


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