The Experience of Learning Meditation and Mind/Body Practices in the COPD Population.

People with COPD often have high anxiety that worsens shortness of breath and leads to avoidance of activities, increasing illness and death. Meditation and mind/body practices can reduce anxiety in general populations, but results for COPD have been mixed. This mixed-method study of a community-based meditation and mind/body intervention for COPD included eight weekly one-hour classes teaching concentration, insight meditation, and exercises to increase body and emotional awareness. Of 41 participants, 32 provided detailed accounts of learning and practicing these skills, yielding four themes: barriers to practice, learning style, emotional processing, and benefits. Among those 32, 21 reported improved physical or emotional symptoms, and 13 described adapting meditation into daily life to improve emotional function and lessen breathlessness. Anxiety sensitivity to social situations was linked to lack of participation.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Persons with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) exhibit high levels of comorbid anxiety that severely worsens their sensation of dyspnea and is associated with high levels of avoidance of essential activities resulting in an increase morbidity and mortality. Increasing meditation and mind/body practices have been shown to decrease anxiety, and improve intrapersonal and interpersonal relationships in general populations, however, results of studies in the COPD population have been mixed. Understanding how persons with COPD experience learning meditation and mind/body skills would aid future meditation-focused mind/body intervention design. A mixed-method study of a community based meditation-focused mind/body intervention for persons with COPD. Reflective journaling, phone exit interviews and survey measures: chronic disease respiratory questionnaire, and Anxiety Sensitivity 3 questionnaire. Eight weekly one hour meditation-focused mind/body classes that taught concentration and insight meditation skills along with mind/body exercises that facilitated increased body and emotional awareness. Out of 41 participants, 32 (73%) contributed detailed experience about learning and practicing meditation and mind/body practices that distilled into four themes, barriers to practice, learning style, emotional processing, and benefits of practice. Of those 32 participants 21 (73%) identified improvement in physical or emotional symptoms. Overall, 13 (40%) participants provided details regarding how they adapted specific meditation skills into daily life to improve emotional function and lessen dyspnea. Anxiety sensitivity to social situations was associated with a lack of participation. Lessons learned for larger scale application to future meditation and mind/body intervention design for chronic illness populations such as COPD are identified.