Chronic pain is an increasingly common diagnosis in society affecting an estimated 25.3 million adults in 2012. Pain is defined by the International Association for the Study of Pain as, “An unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage or described in terms of such damage” [1] and chronic pain can be defined as pain that is present, “for at least...
Background: 5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine (hereinafter referred to as 5-MeO-DMT) is a psychedelic substance found in the secretion from the parotoid glands of the Bufo alvarius toad. Inhalation of vapor from toad secretion containing 5-MeO-DMT has become popular in naturalistic settings as a treatment of mental health problems or as a means for spiritual exploration. However, knowledge of...
Introduction: Cardiovascular disease is one of the most fatal physical illnesses that impose many financial losses on societies every year. Aim: This study was to investigate the effectiveness of a mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) program on self-efficacy and quality of life in patients with cardiovascular disease. Material and methods: The samples of this clinical trial were 60...
Background: Risky behaviors are related to poor outcomes among young adolescents. This study piloted a mindfulness based intervention, Learning 2 Breath Mindfulness Curriculum, focusing on the feasibility of programming and intervention effects on coping, affect, and trait mindfulness among at-risk adolescents. Further, the mindfulness based intervention was compared to an attention...
Mindfulness has been described as an orienting of attention to the present moment, with openness and compassion. Individuals displaying high trait mindfulness exhibit this tendency as a more permanent personality attribute. Given the numerous physical and mental health benefits associated with mindfulness, there is a great interest in understanding the neural substrates of this trait. The...
Background and Purpose: Obsessive-compulsive disorder is a serious disorder that affects psychological, communicative, social, and emotional processes. Accordingly, the present study was conducted with the aim of investigating the effect of mindfulness therapy on tolerance of uncertainty, and thought-action fusion in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder. Method: this was a...
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), characterized by unwanted and distressing intrusive thoughts, images, urges, doubts and ideas or sensations and repetitive mental or behavioral acts, which is regarded as an overwhelming mental disorder. Over the past few years, several studies have indicated how mindfulness-based interventions may be effectively used to remediate OCD symptoms based on which...
Abstract Meditation has been integral to Hindu and Buddhist tantric traditions, in particular involving visualization or visual contemplation, practiced as part of ritual and also in its own right in order to achieve the goals of liberation from the cycle of reincarnation and also to achieve pleasure or power in this and other worlds. Visual contemplation is particularly focused on the body...
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a debilitating, highly prevalent condition. Current clinical practice guidelines recommend trauma-focused psychotherapy (eg, cognitive processing therapy; CPT) as the first-line treatment for PTSD. However, while these treatments show clinically meaningful symptom improvement, the majority of those who begin treatment retain a diagnosis of PTSD...
Can art heal? Can art bring laughter, good cheer, wholeness, wisdom? From what depth does art arise? In the foreword to Art as Contemplative Practice: Expressive Pathways to the Self, these questions direct the reader to the foundation of this book, which is an exploration of the ways in which art as a contemplative practice offers transformational growth and healing. In Art as Contemplative...