The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR; Kabat-Zinn, 1982, 1990) training on a self-selected adult community sample in the areas of mindfulness, rumination, depressive symptomatology and overall well-being. Targeting rumination was considered particularly important because a tendency toward rumination in nondepressed populations has...
The Support, Education, and Research in Chronic Heart Failure (SEARCH) study was designed to assess the impact of a mindfulness-based psychoeducational intervention on clinical outcomes, depression, and quality of life in patients with chronic heart failure (CHF). Although research has shown that psychosocial factors including depression are important risk factors for adverse events in patients...
A unique intervention combining mindfulness meditation with cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) has been shown to have acute benefits at posttreatment in an open label study. The aim of the present study was to examine the long-term effects of this integrated intervention on measures of sleep and sleep-related distress in an attempt to characterize the natural course of insomnia...
Psychological distress is common in patients with diabetes. Little is known about the impact of Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), a non-traditional, cognitive behavioural intervention designed to improve stress management skills, in patients with diabetes. The purpose of this retrospective analysis was to evaluate the impact of MBSR training on mood states in 25 individuals with...
OBJECTIVE: To briefly review the effects of mindfulness on the mind, the brain, the body, and behavior. METHODS: Selective review of MEDLINE, PsycINFO, and Google Scholar databases (2003-2008) using the terms "mindfulness", "meditation", "mental health", "physical health", "quality of life", and "stress reduction." A total of 52 exemplars of empirical and theoretical work were selected for...
The present research examined if mindfulness reduced negativity bias on measures of attitude formation and cognitive style, as a potential explanation for the beneficial effects of mindfulness on emotional disturbance. Two studies were conducted. Study One was correlational and found that trait mindfulness inversely correlated with measures of negative cognitive style, and that the latter...
This paper explores the experience of a silent meditation retreat from the perspective of a novice practitioner.The 7-day Scientist Meditation Retreat was held at the Spirit Rock Meditation Center in Woodacre, California.It was intended to provide meditation researchers an intensive silent retreat experience.The author shares his reflections throughout the retreat and concludes with some of the...
Mindfulness meditation is increasingly well known for therapeutic efficacy in a variety of illnesses and conditions, but its mechanism of action is still under debate in scientific circles. In this paper, we propose a hypothetical causal model that argues for the role of mindfulness in positive reappraisal coping. Positive reappraisal is a critical component of meaning-based coping that enables...
Major depressive disorder (MDD) has a high prevalence rate, particularly in patients with cardiovascular disease (CVD). Furthermore, depression has been associated with increased risk of morbidity and mortality in this population. Regardless of medical status, patients who have had MDD manifest high relapse and recurrence rates, with as much as an 80% likelihood of experiencing another major...
The empirical literature provides increasing support for the efficacy of mindfulness training in the treatment of numerous problems and disorders. However, fewer studies have examined the mechanisms through which these beneficial outcomes are obtained. This article summarizes recent research examining three primary questions related to the mechanisms underlying mindfulness-based treatments: do...