Mindfulness and Meditation

Why Mindfulness and Meditation?

One of the many ways people cope with stress in their lives is by relaxing, and what better way to do this than by practicing Meditation and Mindfulness throughout the day and throughout life. In the practice of Meditation one concentrates on a focus point. This results in a person becoming calm and emotionally balanced. Mindfulness is included in meditation and includes paying attention to ones feelings, movements, behavior or thoughts. This helps with involvement in activities throughout someones day and life. People usually do not focus on activities that they do throughout their day or even their own feelings, and being mindful of ones self can help calm down a person in certain stressful situations and their stress related emotions.

The scientific evidence

Meditation and Mindfulness has not only worked in a lifestyle setting, but also had a a significant impact in the clinical setting and helping with stress related mental illnesses such as depression and anxiety. In todays society it is more and more common to hear about someone suffering with anxiety or even depression because of exposure to so many stressful situations in their everyday life. This includes school, work, and even socializing.

In a scientific journal Meta-Analysis conducted in 2016, the effects of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy on preventing depressive relapse was analyzed and studied by many professionals and doctors. Nine trails were analyzed all consisting of a therapy and a 60 week follow up session to see if participants relapsed into their depressive state (Kuyken et al, 2016). The results showed that mindfulness based cognitive therapy had a significant effect on reducing the probability of relapse in depressive participants. This shows that mindfulness is a way to reduce stress and its related mental illnesses. It was made clear in this Meta Analysis that this type of therapy has a greater effect on those people with symptoms that "fluctuate" (Kuyken et al, 2016).

In a study conducted in 2007, a meditation-based stress reduction program was compared to cognitive behavior therapy to see its effects on people with generalized social anxiety disorder. The participants in this study were first interviewed to assure their diagnosis of social anxiety disorder. They were then put into either the meditation group or cognitive therapy group for a series of weeks of 2 and 1/2 hour sessions of therapy (Koszycki et al, 2007). The results of this study showed that the participants in both treatment groups improved their symptoms generating clinically significant results. With different analysis tools the results also concluded that meditation-based stress reduction was equally effective in enhancing the well-being, mood, and function of people (Koszycki et al, 2007).

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