The objective of this study was to measure the effects of a 90-day mindful rational living (MRL) program on the experience of destructive emotions-anger, anxiety, depression, guilt-among a normal population in a pilot trial. The MRL program combines mindfulness meditation techniques with rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT) strategies. Participants were 17 adults who completed the MRL...
Work-related stress and associated illness and burnout is rising in western society, with now as much as almost a quarter of European and half of USA's employees estimated to be at the point of burnout. Mindfulness meditation, yoga, and physical exercise have all shown beneficial effects for work-related stress and illness. This proof of concept study assessed the feasibility, acceptability,...
Mindfulness in Motion is an 8-week mindfulness-based intervention that uses yoga movement, mindfulness meditation, and relaxing music. This study examined the feasibility of using Mindfulness in Motion in people with multiple sclerosis (MS) and the effect of this program on stress, anxiety, depression, fatigue, and quality of life in people with MS. Twenty-two people with MS completed the...
Tinnitus is experienced by up to 15% of the population and can lead to significant disability and distress. There is rarely a medical or surgical target and psychological therapies are recommended. We investigated whether mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) could offer an effective new therapy for tinnitus. This single-site randomized controlled trial compared MBCT to intensive...
Clinically, meditative practices have become increasingly relevant, decreasing anxiety in patients and increasing antibody production. However, few studies have examined the physiological correlates, or effects of the incorporation of meditative practices. Because pupillary reactivity is a marker for autonomic changes and emotional processing, we hypothesized that the pupillary responses of...
Introduction: During a difficult life event, such as dealing with a chronic health condition, practicing acceptance of the difficulty alters the context in which a person views that difficulty. Acceptance of that difficulty reduces negative avoidant emotions that are key aspects of anxiety and depression. Acceptance is a central training feature of many contemplative practices, such as yoga....
Mindfulness meditation has been receiving attention as a potential therapeutic tool to help those who have been traumatized or who are distressed. Anecdotal evidence reflects its potential healing abilities across varied populations with different problems. Despite this there has been very little attention to spirituality and more so mindfulness meditation in South African within the context of...
Bilingual Guided Meditation (BGM®) is an innovative contemplative practice designed to reduce college students' anxiety while learning a foreign language and to optimize foreign language learning in a relaxed and positive mindset. The BGM® program is novel in its combination of bilingual positive suggestion with the benefits of guided meditation and relaxing background music. This exploratory...
Marijuana use during adolescence has reached virtually every strata of society. The general population has the perception that marijuana use is safe for mature people and therefore is also safe for developing adolescents. However, both clinical and preclinical research shows that marijuana use, particularly prior to age 16, could have long-term effects on cognition, anxiety and stress-related...
Introduction: Cannabidiol (CBD) is a nonpsychoactive constituent of whole plant cannabis that has been reported to reduce anxiety-like behaviors in both pre-clinical and human laboratory studies. Yet, no controlled clinical studies have demonstrated its ability to reduce negative mood or dampen responses to negative emotional stimuli in humans. The objective of this study was to investigate the...