Mindfulness Meditation is Worth a Try

What do you think when you hear “hypnosis�? There are some people and some doctors who swear by it—and there are others who swear it’s just a scam. This split mindset is what therapists and psychologists are trying to avoid when it comes to the practice of mindfulness meditation. They want to be certain they have plenty of evidence and testing before claiming it’s a fail proof therapeutic technique.

Mindfulness meditation is not yet hailed as a creditable therapeutic technique, although it is currently tested by many therapists as a beneficial practice for everything from depression to chronic pain. And while all sorts of different psychologists are experimenting with it, they know that without more evidence of benefits, mindfulness meditation will be discarded like so many other holistic techniques often have been in the past. To be certain mindfulness meditation retains credibility, psychologists are making sure that all tests and experiments keep up, if not ahead, of any hype that may develop from whatever success stories it produces.

I’ve come across some variations for the definition of mindfulness meditation, but the gist is the allowance of emotions to come and go while meditating. It is the practice of being in the moment, without getting lost in one moment, or one emotion. Attention is kept on the breath and, as usual, if attention wanders, is to be brought back. Instead of wallowing in bad emotions, one is to acknowledge them, and then let it go, and bring awareness back to breathing. Courtesy of a guy called Buddha, and thousands of years and followers, we already know meditation has its benefits. So what’s with the sudden interest in mindfulness meditation in particular?

It seems some therapists are excited about what’s been happening for their patients who practice it. They see it as a new tool for helping patients, one that doesn’t involve trying to change your thought process, or push bad emotions away, but instead allowing yourself to feel any and all emotions in an accepting mindset. These people found that mindfulness meditation allowed them to let go of worries and stress not only during the meditation, but also throughout the day.

As far as statistics go, one study showed that after weeks of mindfulness meditation, suicidal tendencies¹ in patients decreased drastically. Another study showed that patients with chronic pain² found the meditation technique helpful in dealing with the pain.

Jon Kabat-Zinn is one of the figureheads of mindfulness mediation, having created the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, a practice that has helped people cope with a variety of problems like stress, anxiety, and depression. The MBSR was developed over ten years, and Kabat-Zinn has written dozens of articles and books on mindfulness meditation and his studies.

And while it’s good to have evidence to back up these claims of reduced stress and less pain in patients, skepticism is always around the corner. Some of Kabat-Zinn’s research was funded by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, an organization that has drawn criticism for lack of concrete evidence of any of its research, either for or against alternative medicine. There are people who feel this organization is a waste of money and resources because it hasn’t proven anything in any holistic field.

I don’t necessarily think it’s a waste of money—my own opinion is that alternative medicines often are only as effective as the mindset of the patient trying it. Like hypnosis—if you’re skeptical or cynical, then you’ve already shot it down. And there are always going to be skeptics. Mind over matter can be critical; unless a patient is willing and open for the experience, inconclusive results in any holistic field are to be expected.

But with so many good vibes out there about mindfulness meditation itself, it seems a shot worth taking, either in conjunction with another form of therapy or on its own. I know how hard it is to try and completely ignore some emotions, and a meditation that encourages it instead of attempting to banish, is a meditation worth trying.

…

_______________________________________________________________

About Author

Maura Stackpoole is an advocate for yoga and other mindful practices, and is a graduate from Michigan State University. She is also the editor and publicist for Mindful Muscle (http://www.mindfulmuscle.com).

_______________________________________________________________

References

[1] Williams, J.M.G., Duggan, D.S., Crane, C., and Fennell, M.J.V. (2006). “Mindfulnessness-Based cognitive therapy for prevention of recurrence of suicidal behavior”, J Clin Psychol 62:201-210.

[2] McCracken, L., Gauntlett-Gilbert, J., and Vowles K.E. (2007). “The role of mindfulnessness in a contextual cognitive-behavioral analysis of chronic pain-related suffering and disability”, Pain 131.1:63-69.

_______________________________________________________________