Effect of brief mindfulness meditation on expressive writing
January 1, 2013 Alvin Poon
A brief mindfulness meditation before expressive writing enhances the physical and psychological benefits of the writing exercise. College students who practiced mindfulness meditation prior to writing reported superior outcomes compared with a group that did a listening activity, and they also showed increased state mindfulness. The study also confirmed that individuals with higher baseline trait mindfulness responded better to expressive writing than those with lower trait mindfulness. The authors propose that mechanisms common to both practices—disinhibition, exposure to negative affect, and shifts in cognitive coping—may underlie the combined intervention's effectiveness.