Mindfulness Meditation Review
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Mindfulness Meditation Research Findings
(Compiled by Philippe Goldin; January 2001)
Introduction
Buddhism begins with the premise that the mind is the primary source of human joy and misery, and is
central to the understanding of the natural world as a whole. Thus, the mind and consciousness itself
are primary subjects of introspective investigation. Buddhist contemplatives have formulated
sophisticated theories of the origins and nature of consciousness and its active role in nature, though
their inquiries never produced anything akin to an empirical study of theory of the brain. They did,
however, develop rigorous techniques for examining and probing the mind first-hand. The initial
problem in this endeavor was to train the attention so that it could be a more reliable and precise
instrument of observation. The types of attentional training Buddhists have devised are known as
Samatha, a serene attentional state in which the hindrances of excitation and laxity have been
thoroughly calmed (Wallace, 1999).
The practice of insight meditation is based upon the Great Discourse on the Foundations of
Mindfulness (Maha Satipatthana Sutta), which includes the contemplation of the body, the
contemplation of the feelings, the contemplation of the mind, and the contemplation of the mental
objects.
Mindfulness meditation program includes an introduction to the practices of breathing meditation,
eating meditation, walking meditation, and mindful yoga. Its primary goal is to identify and reduce
patients' suffering, both physical and emotional pain, developing detached observation and awareness
of the contents of consciousness. It also has the potential for transforming the ways in which we
respond to life events and for relapse prevention in affective disorders.
One formulation for the Buddhist practice of Vipassana meditation (VM) is as a mental process that
takes ordinary experience plus mindfulness plus equanimity and yields insight and purification. Thus,
VM requires becoming aware of all of one's senses and acknowledging any negative feelings, pain, or
blockages in order to achieve equanimity. Equanimity is defined as not interfering with the flow of the
senses at any level, including the level of preconscious processing (Young, 1994).
The utilization of self-regulatory capacity is one of the purposes of autogenic therapy, a method
consisting of exercises focused on the limbs, lungs, heart, diaphragm and head. The physiological
response is muscle relaxation, increased peripheral blood flow, lower heart rate and blood pressure,
slower and deeper breathing, and reduced oxygen consumption. Autogenic training is applicable in
most pathological conditions associated with stress, and can be used preventively or as a complement
to conventional treatment (Broms, 1999).
A vision of meditation as the entrance into a broader kind of knowing in which there is no private self.
As attention is trained and then relaxed, meditators have various experiences in relation to the self, not
necessarily in any fixed order: They are likely to be amazed at some point at the pervasiveness of an
egocentered perspective in normal experience. They may go through a stage of
analytic attention to experience. They may begin to see that all the factors that they thought of as
themselves are actually interdependent with all the factors that they thought of as not themselves. They
may gain a quite different view of their bodies and emotions in terms of channels, energy centers, and
energy. They are likely to have at least some experience of there being no separate observer apart from
experience--yet a further blow to the privacy notion. They are likely to have
glimpses of a very different kind of knowing. Finally, they may see the possibility of spontaneous,
nonegocentric (very nonprivate) action in the world (Rosch, 1997).
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Stress & Psychopathology
An 8-wk meditation-based stress reduction on 73 premedical and medical students showed using an
intervention group and a wait-list control group that the intervention can effectively (1) reduce selfreported state and trait anxiety, (2) reduce reports of overall psychological distress including
depression, (3) increase scores on overall empathy levels, and (4) increase scores on a measure of
spiritual experiences assessed at termination of intervention. These results (5) replicated in the wait-list
control group, (6) held across different experiments, and (7) were observed during the exam period.
Measures included an adapted version of the Empathy Construct Rating Scale, the Hopkins Symptom
Checklist 90 (Revised), the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (Form Y), and the Index of Core Spiritual
Experiences (Shapiro et al., 1998).
42 adolescent boys residing in a camp for juvenile delinquents were separated into two groups that
participated in (reverse order) an eight-week meditation program condition that taught progressive
relaxation, concentration techniques, and mindfulness meditation and an eight-week video/discussion
group condition. There was a significant reduction in anxiety and an
increase in internal locus
of control (as measured by the Brief Symptom Inventory and Pugh's Prison Locus of Control Scale)
after participation in the meditation program, with no changes in the video/discussion control condition
(Flinton, 1998).
19 beginning and 24 advanced Buddhist mindfulness meditators (all Subjects aged 24-64 yrs) received
daily random electronic page signals for 5 days and responded by completing an Experience Sampling
form. As compared with beginners, advanced practitioners reported greater self-awareness, positive
mood, and acceptance. Greater stress lowered mood and self-acceptance in both groups, but the
deleterious effect of stress on acceptance was more marked for the beginners (Easterlin & Cardena,
1998-1999).
24 college students learned either a meditation or a cognitive self-observation procedure for 3
consecutive training sessions and practiced the method daily. Both groups showed reliable increases in
dimensions of self-actualization (measured by the Personal Orientation Inventory) and decreases in
common stress-related symptoms (measured by the Symptoms of Stress Inventory). There were no
differential treatment effects (Greene & Hiebert, 1988).
Concentration meditation and mindfulness meditation have differential effects related to the process of
unveiling past trauma or emotions during meditation practices, and may actually temporarily increase
the stress level for some people (Miller, 1993).
Mindfulness mediation has been implemented with approximately 200 patients presented in English
and Spanish in an inner-city setting (Ruth, 1997).
Mindfulness and concentrative meditation techniques have been employed for understanding,
management, and prevention of anger (Barbieri, 1997).
An experimental group of 100 meditators and a control group of 50 non-meditators in Chiangmai,
Thailand participated were assessed pre/post vipassana mediation retreat. Results demonstrated that
compared to the control group, participants in the meditation program showed reduced levels of
psychopathology based on the following SCL-90-R variables: obsessive-compulsive, interpersonal
sensitivity, depression, anxiety, hostility, phobic anxiety, paranoid ideation, and psychoticism.
Somatization did not appear to be affected by the meditation treatment. Gender did not appear to
moderate the treatment effect (Disayavanish, 1995).
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31 male inmates with alcohol abuse and aggression ranging in age from 17 to 46 were randomly
assigned to six two hour treatment sessions training in Mindfulness Meditation (MM) or Progressive
Relaxation Training (PRT). The sample consisted of 31 male inmates ranging in age from 17 to 46.
There were non-significant reductions in self-reported anger (State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory)
and impulsivity (Porteus Maze Test). However, a significant within group post-stressor (mental
arithmetic) reduction in cortisol levels was found in the PRT group only (20 vs. 40 min, p =.026), and
(20 vs. 60 min, p =.028). A statistically significant between group differences favoring MM were
found on a sub-measure of egocentrism called negative self-focused attention (p =.008). One month
follow up revealed a slight increase in aggressive responding in the PRT group and a slight decrease in
the MM group (Murphy, 1995).
Significant clinical improvements in symptoms of anxiety and panic following an 8-week stress
reduction and relaxation program were found in a pilot study of 22 medical outpatients who met DSMIII-R diagnosis for generalized anxiety or panic disorder with or without agoraphobia. Improvements
were identified in patient’s self-rating scores of anxiety and depression (Beck anxiety and depression
scales) and in interviewer’s ratings (Hamilton anxiety and depression scales) (Kabat-Zinn, et al. 1992).
Three year follow-up of 18 medical outpatients with anxiety disorders who showed improvements in
subjective and objective symptoms of anxiety and panic following an 8-wk outpatient group stress
reduction intervention based on mindfulness meditation showed maintenance of the gains obtained in
the original study on depression and anxiety scales as well as on the number and severity of panic
attacks. Ongoing compliance with the meditation practice was also demonstrated in the majority of
Subjects at 3 yrs (Miller, Fletcher, Kabat-Zinn, 1995).
28 undergraduates were randomized into either an experimental group or a nonintervention control
group. Experimental subjects, when compared with controls, evidenced significantly greater changes in
terms of (1) reductions in overall psychological symptomatology; (2) increases in overall domainspecific sense of control and utilization of an accepting or yielding mode of control in their lives; and
(3) higher scores on a measure of spiritual experiences. The intervention participants showed a mean
reduction of 64% on the SCL-90-R (Derogatis, 1983) overall psychological distress score from pre to
post treatment (Astin, 1997).
20 patients (with Axis I & II disorders) undergoing private, long-term individual exploratory
psychotherapy participated in a ten-week mindfulness meditation program demonstrated significant
decreases on psychological symptoms from pre to post intervention, with the largest decreases noted in
depression and anxiety. Daily chores, social activities, and work were reported to be easier to perform
after the intervention, and significantly less interference of stress and pain in daily activities were also
reported. Ratings from the clients’ therapists confirmed the improvement in their clients’
psychological well-being and insight. (Kutz et al., 1985).
Meditation as an adjunct to psychotherapy
20 patients (mean age 38 yrs) undergoing long-term (from 1 to 10 yrs) individual dynamic-explorative
psychotherapy participated in a 10-wk group meditation program. Significant improvements in the
well-being of subjects as rated by themselves and their individual psychotherapists. Subjects and
therapists identified similar areas of improvement, such as anxiety and depression. Therapists reported
marked improvement in the development of insight. Results indicate that meditation can be an
important adjunct to psychotherapy (Kutz et al., 1985).
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Depressive Relapse Prevention
Preventive interventions operate by changing the patterns of cognitive processing that become active in
states of mild negative affect. From this perspective, training in the redeployment of attention is
relevant to preventing depressive relapse (Teasdale, Segal, & Williams, 1995).
Fibromyalgia
77 patients with fibromyalgia participating in a 10-wk mindfulness meditation-based stress reduction
program showed improvement on measures of global well-being, pain, sleep, fatigue, and the
experience of feeling refreshed in the morning, medical symptom checklist, psychiatric symptoms
(SCL-90 Revised), coping strategies, fibromyalgia impact, and attitudes toward fibromyalgia (Kaplan,
Goldenberg, & Galvin-Nadeau, 1993).
Smoking Cessation
Thirty-nine cigarette smokers from an electronics company in the Northeast were randomly assigned
into one of two experimental groups: group 1 received mindfulness meditation and cognitive
behavioral intervention and group 2 received only cognitive-behavioral interventions. Measurements
were obtained at four distinct time periods. Nonsignificant differences were found between the groups
on the major outcome measures. Subjects, regardless of group membership, demonstrated
significantly lower nicotine, depression, distress, and number of cigarettes smoked at Time 4 (Arcari,
1997).
Cancer
After the 7 weeks intervention, 90 patients (aged 27-75 yrs) patients in the treatment group had
significantly lower scores on Total Mood Disturbance and subscales of Depression, Anxiety, Anger,
and Confusion and more Vigor than control Subjects. The treatment group also had fewer overall
Symptoms of Stress; fewer Cardiopulmonary and Gastrointestinal symptoms; less Emotional
Irritability, Depression, and Cognitive Disorganization; and fewer Habitual Patterns of stress. Overall
reduction in Total Mood Disturbance was 65%, with a 31% reduction in Symptoms of Stress (Speca et
al., 2000).
For 18 cancer patients who volunteered for a 9-week mindfulness meditation course experiences of
cancer and mindfulness meditation practice fell into 5 broad categories: (a) Cancer: A Catalyst for
Inner Exploration; (b) Mindfulness Meditation: A Way of Inner Exploration; (c) Mindfulness in
Routine Activities; (d) Mindfulness in Self-Understanding; and (e) Mindfulness in Interpersonal
Relationships. The study revealed that for many of the participants a diagnosis of cancer had
stimulated an interest in inner exploration, for which mindfulness became a disciplined approach that
helped them understand and enrich their lives. They described how bringing an accepting awareness to
daily routine enhanced their self-knowledge, making them aware of and more prone to attend to their
needs. They also became conscious of the good moments still available to them. In addition, the
participants reported that bringing nonjudgmental awareness to stressful interactions with others gave
them greater control over their feelings and behavior, enabling them to develop more appropriate
modes of communication (Young, 1999).
Melatonin may be related to a variety of biologic functions important in maintaining health and
preventing disease, including breast and prostate cancer. A study of urinary 6-sulphatoxymelatonin in
8 women who regularly meditate (RM) and 8 women who do not meditate (NM) demonstrated that
regular practice of mindfulness meditation is associated with increased physiological levels of
melatonin (Massion et al., 1995).
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Cognitive Processing
Sustained attention: performance by 19 meditators demonstrated superior performance on the test of
sustained attention in comparison with controls, and long-term meditators were superior to short-term
meditators. Mindfulness meditators showed superior performance in comparison with concentrative
meditators when the stimulus was unexpected but there was no difference between the two types of
meditators when the stimulus was expected (Valentine & Sweet, 1999).
73 residents of 8 homes for the elderly (mean age = 81 years) were randomly assigned among no
treatment and 3 treatments highly similar in external structure and expectations: the Transcendental
Meditation (TM) program, mindfulness training (MF) in active distinction making, or a relaxation (low
mindfulness) program. A planned comparison indicated that the "restful alert" TM group improved
most, followed by MF, in contrast to relaxation and no-treatment groups, on paired associate learning;
2 measures of cognitive flexibility; word fluency; mental health; systolic blood pressure; and ratings of
behavioral flexibility, aging, and treatment efficacy. The MF group improved most, followed by TM,
on perceived control. After 3 years, survival rate was 100% for TM and 87.5% for MF in contrast to
lower rates for other groups (Alexander et al., 1989).
Tested visual sensitivity differences, using tachistoscopic presentation of light flashes, in 39
practitioners (in 3 groups) of Buddhist mindfulness meditation and 10 nonmeditator controls.
Meditation practitioners were able to detect light flashes of shorter duration than the nonmeditators.
There were no differences among practitioner and control groups in ability to discriminate between
closely spaced successive light flashes. It is suggested that lower detection threshold for single light
flashes reflects an enduring increase in sensitivity, perhaps the long-term effects of the practice of
meditation on certain perceptual habit patterns. It is further suggested that the lack of differences in the
discrimination of successive light flashes reflects the resistance of other perceptual habit patterns to
modification (Brown, Forte, & Dysart, 1984).
Chronic Pain
64 participants were assigned to one of the 3 groups (a cognitive-behavioral intervention (Philips &
Rachman, 1996), a mindfulness based stress reduction intervention (Kabat-Zinn, 1990), and an
attention-placebo control for chronic pain management) for 8 weekly sessions. Of 64 individuals with
chronic pain who participated in this study, 39 completed the intervention program. When comparing
the efficacy of mindfulness meditation with cognitive behavioral therapy, only participants in the
mindfulness meditation condition significantly improved on the Somatization
dimension and Positive Symptom Distress Index of the SCL-90, as well as on the Interference and
Affective Distress scales of the Multidimensional Pain Inventory. Thus, the mindfulness meditation
group improved on more dependent measures (McGill Pain Questionnaire, the Roland and Morris
Disability Questionnaire, the Global Severity Index, the Positive Symptom Distress Index, as well as
the Somatization and Anxiety dimensions of the SCL-90) than the cognitive behavioral and attentionplacebo groups (Bruckstein, 1999).
90 chronic pain patients underwent a 10-week mindfulness based stress reduction program and 21
chronic pain patients were treated with pain-medication without any form of self-regulation. The
findings revealed significant improvement, compared to the comparison group, in present-moment
pain, negative body-image, degree of inhibition of everyday activities by pain, medical symptoms, and
psychological symptomatology including somatization, anxiety, depression, and self-esteem.
Furthermore, pain related drug utilization decreased and activity levels increased. Improvements
seemed to be independent of gender, source of referral, and type of pain. At follow-up, the recovery
observed during the meditation training was maintained up to 15 months after the 10-week meditation
training for all measures except present-moment pain (Kabat-Zinn, Lipworth, & Burney, 1985).
Mindfulness Meditation Review 6
51 chronic pain patients engaged in a 10-week mindfulness based relaxation program. Subjects
showed a reduction of 33% in the mean total of a pain rating index. Large and significant reductions in
mood disturbance and psychiatric symptomatology accompanied these changes and were relatively
stable up to 1.5 yrs later (Kabat-Zinn, 1984).
Binge Eating Disorder
The efficacy of a 6-week meditation-based group intervention for Binge Eating Disorder (BED) was
evaluated in 18 obese women, using standard and eating-specific mindfulness meditation exercises. A
single-group extended baseline design assessed all variables at 3 weeks pre- and post-intervention, and
followed up at 1, 3, and 6 weeks. Briefer assessment occurred weekly. Binges decreased in frequency,
from 4.02/week to 1.57/week, and in severity. Scores on the Binge Eating Scale (BES) and on the
Beck Depression and Anxiety Inventories decreased significantly; sense of control increased. Time
using eating-related meditations predicted decreases on the BES (Kristeller & Hallett, 1999).
Skin Disorders
37 Subjects undergoing treatment for psoriasis were randomly assigned to mindfulness meditationbased stress reduction intervention guided by audiotaped instructions during light treatments, or a
control condition consisting of the light treatments alone with no taped instructions. Four sequential
indicators of skin status were monitored during the study: First Response, Turning, Halfway, and
Clearing Points. Results show that subjects in the tape groups reached the Halfway Point and the
Clearing Point significantly more rapidly than those in the no-tape condition, for both UVB and PUVA
treatments (Kabat-Zinn et al., 1998).
Dialogue between cognitive science and Buddhist meditation techniques
“The existential concern that animates our entire discussion in this book results from the tangible
demonstration within cognitive science that the self or cognizing subject is fundamentally fragmented,
divided, or nonunified.... Our view is that the current style of investigation is limited and
unsatisfactory, both theoretically and empirically, because there remains no direct, hands-on,
pragmatic approach to experience with which to complement science....” (Varela, Thompson, &
Rosch, 1991).
Brain Imaging & EEG Signal Processing
FMRI:
Practice of meditation activates neural structures involved in attention and control of the autonomic
nervous system, including significant signal increases in the dorsolateral prefrontal and parietal
cortices, hippocampus/parahippocampus, temporal lobe, pregenual anterior cingulate cortex, striatum,
and pre- and post-central gyri during meditation (Lazar et al., 2000).
PET:
Cerebral blood flow distribution (15O-H20 PET) were investigated in nine young adults, who were
highly experienced yoga teachers, during the relaxation meditation (Yoga Nidra), and during the
resting state of normal consciousness. During meditation differential activity was seen, with the
noticeable exception of V1, in the posterior sensory and associative cortices known to participate in
imagery tasks. In the resting state of normal consciousness (compared with meditation as a baseline),
differential activity was found in dorso-lateral and orbital frontal cortex, anterior cingulate gyri, left
temporal gyri, left inferior parietal lobule, striatal and thalamic regions, pons and cerebellar vermis and
hemispheres, structures thought to support an executive attentional network (Lou et al, 1999).
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EEG:
Electroencephalographic recordings from 19 scalp recording sites in 10 Subjects (9 right- and one lefthanded) were used to differentiate among two posited unique forms of meditation, concentration and
mindfulness, and a normal relaxation control condition. Subjects were tested after minimal meditation
training, and after extensive training. During each recording session, Subjects performed 3 tasks: an
eyes-closed relaxed baseline, a concentration mediation, and a mindfulness mediation. Analysis of all
traditional frequency bandwidth data (i.e., delta, 1-3 Hz; theta, 4-7 Hz; alpha, 8-12 Hz; beta 1, 13-25
Hz; beta 2, 26-32 Hz) showed strong mean amplitude frequency differences between the two
meditation conditions and relaxation over numerous cortical sites. Significant differences were
obtained between concentration and mindfulness states at all bandwidths. Results suggest that
concentration and mindfulness "meditations" may be unique forms of consciousness and are not
merely degrees of a state of relaxation (Dunn et al., 1999).
Comparison between Mindfulness Meditation and Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy
The mindfulness approach used in Kabat-Zinn’s stress and relaxation program shares some
attributes with both cognitive and behavioral therapeutic approaches used primarily to treat anxiety and
mood disorders. There are also some critical differences, both structurally and theoretically.
Similarities: Mindfulness meditation and cognitive-behavioral therapy share skepticism in
terms of relying on one’s thoughts as truths and proofs of reality, and encourage examination of
thoughts, sensations, perceptions, and behavior. They emphasize noting sensations and thoughts
without viewing them as catastrophic or depressive, and a stress-inducing situation is often considered
a cue to engage in new behaviors. Mindfulness meditation and cognitive-behavioral therapy both
accentuate cognitions as mediators of emotion, namely, emotional disturbance is caused by thoughts
and cognitions that are “mental events” and not “realities.” Both approaches also subscribe to methods
of cognitive restructuring (although different kinds) and homework assignments as an important aspect
of the therapeutic work, and they encourage active, collaborative involvement from the client on the
path toward recovery.
Differences: In cognitive therapy, emphasis is placed on positive, negative, or faulty thoughts.
In mindfulness meditation, however, the emphasis is on identifying thoughts as just “thoughts,”
whether they be positive or negative, while acknowledging the potential inaccuracy and limits of all
thoughts and not just thoughts that are depressogenic or cause anxiety. This attitude is cultivated both
during formal meditation sessions and in the informal practices throughout the day.
The two approaches differ in terms of the causal mechanisms of psychopathology and the
extent to which the methods of remedy can be generalized. In the mindfulness approach, the emphasis
is on meditation as a way of being and living one’s life, as well as a way to develop alternative,
“generic” strategies for coping with stress, sadness, and pain, rather than as a technique for coping with
a specific problem such as depression. The formal and informal meditation practices are meant to be
applied daily regardless of one’s state of anxiety or affect.
Philosophically, there is a major gap between the two traditions. An individual does not need
to meat criteria for a specific disorder or disease in order to benefit from the mindfulness meditation.
From a spiritual point of view, mindfulness meditation is considered to be a tool within a larger
program aimed at eliminating all suffering in life, and, thus, whether psychologically healthy or not,
every human being is hypothesized to gain from practicing mindfulness meditation. Cognitivebehavioral therapy, on the other hand, was developed as a treatment for individuals with
psychopathology, and does not make any claims to be beneficial for every human being. It is
important to mention, however, that Kabat-Zinn’s mindfulness meditation program is not affiliated
with any religious order, even though it originates from a spiritual tradition, Vipassana, which in turn
emanated from Buddha’s teachings.
The mindfulness interventions so far have generally involved a heterogeneous group of patients
with a range of medical and psychological problems. Cognitive-behavioral therapy is typically
Mindfulness Meditation Review 8
provided to individuals or groups of people with a single disorder. Furthermore, in mindfulness
training the intervention focuses on the meditation practice itself rather than on a specific disorder,
diagnosis, or combination of symptoms.
There is no attempt at systematic desensitization through the induction of symptoms during the
mindfulness intervention. Although not intentionally evoked, when a stressful sensation or thought
arises, either during formal meditation or in the course of daily living, patients are encouraged to see it
as opportunities to engage in mindful coping strategies, to observe the thoughts, emotions and
sensations as they arise and disappear, and to act instead of react according to habitual and thoroughly
ingrained cognitive and behavioral patterns.
The observational skills cultivated through mindfulness training differ considerably from those
developed by behavioral monitoring techniques. As described above, participants in the program are
trained initially to develop concentration or one-pointed attention by focusing on the breath.
Concentration is assumed to help improve the ability to observe fearful or negative thoughts,
sensations, and feelings in a nonreactive way. For instance, by being able to focus on the impermanent
nature of thoughts, their rising and falling, a psychological buffer can be created between the person
experiencing the thoughts and the thoughts themselves, thereby enhancing the probability for a less
biased response as opposed to a habitual, and often dysfunctional, reaction. Coupled with mindfulness,
concentration is hypothesized to give rise to a nonanalytical and direct experiencing of the object of
attention, which can be contrasted to the external data collection involved in behavioral analysis of
antecedents and consequences.
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Mindfulness Meditation Review 13
Wiveka Ramel's study:
The Effect of Mindfulness Meditation Training on Cognition and Mood/Anxiety Symptoms
Study: Canadian and British clinical/cognitive psychology researchers have proposed that mindfulness
meditation is a systematic method of enhancing attentional allocation, deployment and response control,
thereby establishing an alternative form of processing information. Training in attentional deployment
may be useful in early detection and redirection of habitual tendencies that typically risk escalating
harmful patterns of thought and behavior. The primary goals of this study are to (a) investigate whether
an eight-week training program in mindfulness meditation enhances attentional control and reduces
judgment bias- particularly in patients with a history of mood or anxiety disorders- as measured by two
information-processing tasks, (b) examine if mindfulness meditation improves cognitive functioning of
self-schemas as measured by self-report measures on rumination and dysfunctional attitudes, and (c)
replicate and extend previous findings on the effect of mindfulness training on reducing symptoms in the
area of anxiety, depression, and general health. Participants will be assessed at treatment intake and
end of treatment diagnostically (SCID) and on measures of selective attention, memory for faces,
depression, anxiety, and general health symptoms. About 20 veterans have already completed the
study at pre and posttest up to this point.
Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction (MBSR) Program: The MBSR program is an 8-week course
introducing the participants to the process of mindfulness meditation and focused body movements such
as yoga. Mindfulness can be defined as paying attention in a particular way: on purpose, in the present
moment, and non-judgmentally. One of the goals of mindfulness meditation is to provide an alternative
mode of relating to, or experiencing, thoughts, emotions, physical sensations, and events in the
environment by learning how to become aware of, observe and accept inner and outer phenomena
without judgment. Mindfulness training involves using one’s attention to maintain awareness on a
designated object, such as the breath or physical sensations in the body, without isolating other aspects
of internal and external events. Previous research has shown that the MBSR course is an effective form
of treatment for stress and worry in general, anxiety disorders, pain, and skin related diseases. In
addition, it has been shown to be an effective complement to traditional forms of psychotherapy and to
prevent relapse of clinical depression.
Mindfulness Meditation Review 14
The Effects of Stress:
Biological Effects
The chemical effects of stress in the brain and in the body are powerful. Stress unleashes a chemical tidal wave
of the different hormones and other body responses that have profound effects on all parts of the body.
Body Part
Eye
Mouth and stomach
glands
Lungs
Heart
Stomach
Intestines
Pancreas
Response to Stress
Pupils widen
Reduced production of
saliva and digestive fluids
Constriction of bronchi
Increase of breathing rate
Increase of heart rate
Long term effects
Decrease release of
digestive fluids
Increase contraction of
stomach closer
Decrease motility of
bowels
Reduced release of insulin
Increased chance of
ulcers
Vessels
Increase contraction of
vessel muscles
Skin
Decrease perfusion of
skin
Increase tension of
muscles
Decrease function of
natural killer cells
Muscle
Immune System
Poor digestion of food
Asthma-like
Increased chance of
mismatch between heart
muscle perfusion and
oxygen need—heart
attack
Increased chance of
bowel cancer
Increase chance of prestage diabetes
Increased chance of blood
pressure
Increased chance of
stroke
Increase chronic pain and
arthritis
Increased chance of
infection