A perioperative mind-body intervention (MBI) consisting of two seven-minute guided meditations—including diaphragmatic breathing, body scans, and guided imagery focused on the leg receiving surgery—was designed for patients undergoing peripheral vascular interventions under procedural sedation. The intervention was developed using the ORBIT model: Phase 1a involved literature review and protocol drafting; Phase 1b used a modified Delphi process with a multi-disciplinary expert panel, reaching consensus after three iterations. The resulting MBI aims to decrease perioperative anxiety and facilitate patient compliance during surgery. A prospective pilot study is planned to test feasibility.
Personality traits were once considered largely fixed, but current evidence shows that experiences, adventures, and mind-body training can influence who we are. This column explores whether psychedelic drugs and hallucinogens might also be capable of altering personality traits, presenting the idea as challenging and almost intoxicating.
Meditative and mindfulness-focused interventions may improve neuropsychiatric symptoms common in neurological disorders such as headache, movement disorders, and chronic pain. The article defines meditation and mindfulness, outlines their neurobiological mechanisms, and reviews evidence supporting various interventions for these conditions. Overall, the interventions warrant further investigation among individuals with neurological conditions. When recommending them, health care professionals should consider structural factors like insurance reimbursement and patient factors such as ability to tolerate a group setting.