One study estimates that there are almost 6 million breast cancer survivors in America alone. While breast cancer survivor rates are increasing, the focus turns to improving the quality of life (QOL) for these survivors. Breast cancer survivors can experience a number of psychological symptoms, such as depression, anxiety, sleep disturbances, and fear of reoccurrence, along with physical symptoms like pain and fatigue.
Researchers are exploring mindfulness-based interventions as a long-term treatment options to address the multitude of symptoms after the cancer has been treated.
In this study, researchers investigated the efficacy of a Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction for Breast Cancer (MBSR(BC)) intervention for improving the psychological and physical symptoms and quality of life among breast cancer survivors who completed treatment. In this randomized control trial, 322 breast cancer survivors were randomized into a MBSR(BC) group or a usual care group and were assessed at baseline, 6 weeks (following the intervention) and 12 weeks for symptoms related to breast cancer, including fear of recurrence, fatigue and quality of life to name a few.
Participants in the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction for Breast Cancer group experienced significant improvements in psychological and physical symptoms, with largest overall effect sizes for fear of recurrence and fatigue severity. Those participants who reported the highest levels of stress at baseline demonstrated the greatest benefit from participation in MBSR(BC).
This isn’t the first study to explore mindfulness as a treatment option for breast cancer survivors, but it expands the growing body of evidence that mindfulness can be a useful tool to self-regulate emotions of uncomfortable thoughts and somatic sensations. Mindfulness, as taught in the MBSR(BC) intervention, promotes acceptance and non-reactive awareness to the painful psychological and physical symptoms that breast cancer survivors routinely endure.
“This isn’t the first study to explore mindfulness as a treatment option for breast cancer survivors, but it expands the growing body of evidence that mindfulness can be a useful tool to self-regulate emotions of uncomfortable thoughts and somatic sensations.”
This study was novel in that MBSR(BC) demonstrated broad-spectrum benefits, which were observed immediately from baseline to 6 weeks post-study, and then sustained through a 12 week follow up. As researchers continue to explore mindfulness-based interventions for different clinical populations, the science will need to demonstrate that these interventions have lasting, sustainable outcomes.
Michael is pursuing his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology at the University of Hawai’i, Mānoa.
By providing an immersive, engrossing, and controlled visual and auditory experience in which participants can practice mindfulness techniques, Virtual Reality (VR) systems can create immersive, ecologically valid, first-person experiences that can even tap into physiological reactions that align with real-world experiences.
The researchers were interested in understanding if forgiveness acts as a mechanism by which mindfulness relates to relationship satisfaction. They speculated that being mindful would allow individuals to be aware of their own and their partners’ emotions in a non-judgmental and non-reactive way. The increased awareness would make people more forgiving of partner transgressions, thereby enhancing relationship satisfaction.
Emerging studies are highlighting the effectiveness of mindfulness, gratitude and hopefulness as positive psychological tools in helping people cope with anxiety and stress. These practices have also been considered beneficial in enhancing psychological health and well-being.
Despite growing knowledge that mindfulness meditation can enhance emotional wellbeing, very little is known about how it all works. How exactly does the act of meditation help us deal with the emotional rollercoaster of everyday life? Is mindfulness training actually “transferrable” to real world situations? What’s going on in the brain? Can we even measure it?
How does self-compassion protect depressed adolescents? Quieting the self may be the key.
A study led by Alexandra Martelli investigated whether more mindful individuals (based on self-report measure scores) would respond to social rejection with less distress and if certain neurological mechanisms in the brain’s prefrontal cortex can potentially explain the role of mindfulness in reduced social distress.
A research team from Valencia, Spain recently investigated the effects of a brief mindfulness-based intervention on both mood and biological markers on a sample of health professional students.
A new study by Kim and colleagues explored how compassion-based training can affect two self-regulatory styles and its relationship to neural, physiological, and behavioral responses.
Torre and colleagues recruited 70 HCWs from two hospitals in Rome, Italy for a 4-week course in yoga and mindfulness.
A team of researchers based in the perceived epicenter of the virus, Wuhan, China, recently tested whether a brief mindfulness intervention delivered through an app could be effective for reducing anxiety and protecting nightly sleep during the unfolding pandemic.
Mindfulness practices can enhance a therapist’s ability to intentionally and flexibly regulate attention as well as emotional reactivity which has been demonstrated to influence burnout.
A new study investigated whether a brief mindfulness training designed to reduce physician burnout could be delivered through a smartphone app.
The current study reviewed the wider scientific literature for the role of yoga and mindfulness interventions in the treatment of severe mental illness.
The amount of research involving mindfulness interventions has grown exponentially; however, only in the last decade has mindfulness research involving adolescents rapidly increased.
Mindfulness and self-compassion are theorized to disrupt the maladaptive repetition of negative thoughts and emotions for patients with chronic or mental illnesses, who are particularly susceptible to psychosocial distress.
There is promising evidence that 70% of smokers would like to quit but less than 5% of unassisted attempts at quitting are actually successful.
In a recent pilot study by Suzette Glasner, Ph.D. and her team at the Integrated Substance Abuse Programs at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, they evaluated the effects of Mindfulness-Based Relapse Prevention (MBRP) on reducing relapse susceptibility among stimulant-dependent adults receiving a contingency management (CM) intervention.
A major implication of the study suggests the distal effects of intensive retreat practice on respiration rates, a benefit not necessarily conferred by a brief, but full-day meditation session.
While the scientific study of mindfulness has exponentially increased over the past few decades, only recently has the scientific community focused on the effects of meditation training on biological aging.
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