Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR)

Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) is a fixed-session mental health program designed to teach patients how to overcome stress and related issues through a practice known as mindfulness. The term mindfulness refers to a person paying close attention to the experiences occurring at the exact present moment. This is sometimes referred to as “being present.” Being present also includes focusing on internalized mental and physical aspects and becoming aware of how a certain state of mind is affecting the body at a given moment.

The idea behind mindfulness is to help patients better assess the roots of their stress, anxiety, depression, pain, or other ailments. The process involves encouraging patients to explore patterns of thought, feeling, and response without judgement. The overall goal of MBSR is to use mindfulness to identify healthy ways to remedy damaging or problematic thought processes. MBSR utilizes practices such as meditation and yoga to teach mindfulness. Though studies have shown that MSBR is beneficial to a person’s overall well-being and may stimulate relaxation, it does not prevent or cure health problems.

Background

Mindfulness-based stress reduction was founded in 1979 by American professor Jon Kabat-Zinn, founder of the Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction Clinic at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center, later known as the Center for Mindfulness at UMass Memorial Health. This clinic cultivated a therapeutic program based on the concept of mindfulness, a practice based in the Buddhist philosophy known collectively as the Dharma. Kabat-Zinn worked with mental health patients who were not responding to medication. He taught them mindfulness practices designed to alter the way the patient related to their specific ailment. His early work proved highly effective and inspired researchers to take a serious look at how mindfulness affected mental health.

Universities such as Harvard, Stanford, and UCLA began conducting significant amounts of research testing the effectiveness of MBSR. During the next few decades, clinicians began to realize the approach not only worked, but was also capable of changing the neural networking of the brain for the better. The public also recognized the work Kabat-Zinn was doing. His program was featured in journalist Bill Moyer’s 1993 TV broadcast Healing From Within, as well as on programs hosted by NBC, ABC, and CNN. Kabat-Zinn later founded the Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care and Society at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, which sought to incorporate MBSR into hospitals around the world.

MSBR saw a major growth in popularity at the turn of the twenty-first century, and by the mid-2010s was being used as a complementary treatment for various mental and physical health issues. Medical schools also began offering MSBR training in student course work. By this time, MSBR had become formatted to fit into an eight-week program that trained anyone interested to cultivate a more mindful approach to their mental health. The program primarily focused on issues such as anxiety, stress, depression, and sometimes pain. Since its introduction in 1979, MSBR has been completed by tens of thousands of patients in combination with traditional medical and psychological treatments.

Overview

Teachers of MSBR point out to patients that the program is not designed to cure or prevent health issues, but to act as a complement to regular treatment programs. MSBR claims to be able to help people struggling with conditions including:

• Pain
• Grief
• Cancer
• Fatigue
• Asthma
• Depression
• Fibromyalgia
• Sleep problems
• Eating Problems
• Gastrointestinal issues
• Anxiety and panic attacks
• Chronic illnesses and heart disease
• Stress and post-traumatic stress (PTSD)

MBSR is an eight-week workshop led by certified trainers that features a number of group exercises designed to cultivate mindfulness within a patient or student. Certified trainers may teach MBSR classes in a hospital setting or a more casual setting such as retreat centers or yoga studios. Groups attend scheduled meetings and sessions during which they discuss their mental health and build awareness around each other’s issues. Patients are also given homework and take classes in meditation and yoga.

One of the first techniques taught to program attendees includes a practice known as body scanning, during which a person learns to pause in the midst of a mental or physical health episode to focus their awareness on what their minds and bodies are communicating to each other. For example, a person might realize that his or her stomach pains emerge when thinking about a particularly stressful task that needs accomplishing. Mind and body awareness is paramount to MBSR programs as practitioners believe concentrated awareness can help reduce physiological effects causes by stress, anxiety, and illness. This awareness is gradually developed over the eight-week course, with the intention of incorporating mindfulness practices into a person’s long-term routine.

MBSR emphasizes a non-judgmental awareness of feelings. It teaches patients not to label these feelings as good or bad, but simply as existing. In doing so, the patient learns to refrain from reacting emotionally to situations. The patient instead observes the processes from a distance. The opposite of mindfulness is often termed autopilot, which is when a person reacts to a given situation without thought or consideration. Such reactions often involve ingrained responses to stressful situations, usually as defense mechanisms.

MBSR programs are meant to be incorporated into a patient’s everyday life. The point of the program is to teach patients how to prevent their minds from dwelling on past events or future outcomes, a habit Kabat-Zinn refers to as maladaptive cognitive processes. Studies have shown that MBSR is effective at improving a person’s ability to focus, stay attentive, and work under pressure. It has also shown to be helpful to people dealing with depression and anxiety. Studies examining MBSR’s effect on chronic illness and pain did not show any significant positive outcomes. However, research has shown that MBSR is effective in helping patients overcome the negative mental health effects associated with chronic disorders.

Bibliography

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