Chronic pain and depression are linked to reduced body awareness. Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) increased certain aspects of body awareness—specifically self-regulation and not distracting from bodily sensations—more than treatment as usual in 31 patients with chronic pain and active depression. The improvement in depression severity was partly explained by the increased ability to not distract from bodily sensations. These results offer preliminary support for the idea that mindfulness interventions can enhance body awareness in this population and highlight its clinical importance.
Mindfulness meditation, a practice with deep roots in eastern traditions, has gained widespread public and scientific interest. Mindfulness is a natural state of present-moment awareness, and interventions have been developed to train this skill. This review discusses the concept of mindfulness and its use in treating psychiatric disorders. It identifies which patients benefit from mindfulness-based interventions and summarizes how they work, including cognitive, psychological, and neural mechanisms that drive clinical improvements. The review offers a foundation for incorporating these interventions into clinical practice.