Mindfulness for Mental Wellness

From the Mindfulness Center at Brown University, an online (via zoom) MBCT course for this summer:

https://www.brown.edu/public-health/mindfulness/class/mbct-mindful-approach-depression-and-anxiety

MBCT - A Mindful Approach to Depression and Anxiety | Mindfulness Center | Brown University

A personal testimonial for Mindfulness as a treatment for depression, from The Washington Post:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/inspired-life/wp/2018/02/26/nothing-worked-for-my-depression-until-i-tried-meditation/

Nothing worked for my depression — until I tried meditation I was often caught in a negative thought loop: Was I doing well at work? Did I get new wrinkles? Is the economy going to crash? The more I observed this habit, the more I interrupted it before it spiraled out of control.

Video of the day: Zindel Segal, a pioneer of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy, delivers a TED talk on "The Mindful Way Through Depression."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1A4w3W94ygA&feature=youtu.be

The mindful way through depression: Zindel Segal at TEDxUTSC In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TED...

Why Mindfulness is a great resource for combatting depression and anxiety during quarantine: "Meditation has many health benefits, but its ability to lower stress and ease anxiety is why it needs to be in your COVID-19 mental toolbox."

https://thriveglobal.com/stories/ways-to-combat-depression-and-anxiety-during-quarantine/

Ways to Combat Depression and Anxiety During Quarantine The COVID-19 pandemic is wrecking havoc not only with our collective physical health, but also our mental health.

Clinical psychologists discuss the "perfect storm" of depression risks posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, and stress the importance of the Mindfulness techniques of acknowledgment and acceptance: "The distress we feel is a normal human response to a severe crisis. Acknowledging and accepting these feelings prevents distress from turning into disorder."

https://theconversation.com/covid-19-could-lead-to-an-epidemic-of-clinical-depression-and-the-health-care-system-isnt-ready-for-that-either-134528

COVID-19 could lead to an epidemic of clinical depression, and the health care system isn't ready for that, either Stress, loss, loneliness and isolation are key factors in clinical depression, which affects millions. The US was unprepared for COVID-19 – will it remain unprepared for its medical aftermath?

Article of the day, from Psychology Today: “Mindfulness is not a panacea. It will not protect you from COVID-19 or an uncertain world. What it will do is allow you to move through uncertain times with more grace, calm, spaciousness, and generosity of spirit.”

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/becoming-solutionary/202003/what-covid-19-can-teach-us-about-mindfulness%3famp

What COVID-19 Can Teach Us About Mindfulness The power of presence in the face of uncertainty.

Another scholarly article, examining the mediating effects of Mindfulness practice on worry and rumination in depression and anxiety.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6418017/

Mindfulness and Symptoms of Depression and Anxiety in the General Population: The Mediating Roles of Worry, Rumination, Reappraisal and Suppression The present study examined the effects of mindfulness on depression and anxiety, both direct and indirect through the mediation of four mechanisms of emotional regulation: worry, rumination, reappraisal and suppression. Path analysis was applied to data ...

Interview with John Teasdale, another of the pioneers of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy.

https://psychcentral.com/blog/how-does-mindfulness-reduce-depression-an-interview-with-john-teasdale-ph-d/

How Does Mindfulness Reduce Depression? An Interview with John Teasdale, Ph.D. All over the world, research has shown that Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) can halve the risk of future clinical depression in people who have already been depressed several times. Its

Those experiencing depression often report debilitating cognitive symptoms. Here is an examination of how Mindfulness combats and mitigates them, with an excellent list of literary resources at the end.

https://psychcentral.com/lib/how-mindfulness-can-mitigate-the-cognitive-symptoms-of-depression/

How Mindfulness Can Mitigate the Cognitive Symptoms of Depression Mindfulness, or paying full attention to the present moment, can be very helpful in improving the cognitive symptoms of depression. These debilitating symptoms include distorted thinking, difficulty

From Psychology Today: "Imagine if you could cure depression with a therapy that was more effective and long-lasting than expensive drugs, and which did not have any side effects."

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/mindfulness-in-frantic-world/201110/curing-depression-mindfulness-meditation

Curing Depression with Mindfulness Meditation A longer lasting solution to the spiral of sadness

"Sixty percent of people who experience a single episode of depression are likely to experience a second. Ninety percent of people who go through three episodes of depression are likely to have a fourth. But help is available: The 8-week Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) program been shown to reduce the risk of relapse."

https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/three_ways_mindfulness_reduces_depression

Three Ways Mindfulness Reduces Depression

A short video and article examining the application of MBCT on depression, exploring the connection between Mindfulness practice and Cognitive Therapy, long considered a gold-standard in therapy for depression.

https://www.mindful.org/using-mindfulness-to-treat-depression/

Using Mindfulness to Treat Depression - Mindful Daniel Goleman explains how Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy gives people the tools to recognize and talk back to negative thoughts.

Co-authored by Zindel Segal, one of the pioneers of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy, this article explores a study finding that MBCT is as effective as psychopharmacological interventions for depression.

https://www.mindful.org/mindfulness-based-cognitive-therapy-recurrent-depression/

Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy May Reduce Recurrent Depression Risk - Mindful Two co-authors of a new landmark paper discuss their findings that MBCT may be comparable to antidepressants in treating recurrent depression.

Mindfulness actually changes the brain! Here's a fantastic article on how Harvard researchers used brain scans to explore this important concept as it relates to depression.

https://www.mindful.org/how-mindfulness-may-change-the-brain-in-depressed-patients/

How Mindfulness May Change the Brain in Depressed Patients - Mindful Harvard researchers use brain scans to explore how 8-weeks of training in present-moment awareness might break the cycle of self-rumination.

Article of the day: a conversation with Jack Kornfield, a giant of Mindfulness in the west, regarding the pandemic and how Mindfulness can help.

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/04/13/magazine/jack-kornfield-mindfulness.html?smid=fb-share&fbclid=IwAR1m7vygA306MZomyZdwqekRcf1wqK98jXuBfiu8JjDa4bFVoDYsRPsqAIA

Things Keep Getting Scarier. He Can Help You Cope. Jack Kornfield, one of America’s true mindfulness pioneers, can talk you through this.

From Mayo Clinic, a short guided meditation to help manage anxiety during the pandemic.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T0Tv7FuvNJ8

Kristin Lothman: Mindfulness & Meditation - COVID-19 - Meditation Example Kristin Lothman, a mind-body counselor with Mayo Clinic's Department of Integrative Medicine and Health, provides a meditation example for coping with anxiet...

Video of the day: Jon Kabat-Zinn on the nine attitudes of Mindfulness. A long watch (26 minutes), but very helpful!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2n7FOBFMvXg

9 Attitudes Jon Kabat Zinn Compilation of series produced by mindfulnessgruppen, Used without demand to withdraw. Please visit their website @ www.mindfulnessgruppen.se and www.mindsun...

Sharon Salzberg is an invaluable resource when it comes to a western approach to Buddhist meditation practices. Here she offers a variety of tools to help us utilize Mindfulness to cope through the current pandemic.

https://www.sharonsalzberg.com/covid-19-resources/

COVID-19 Resources - Sharon Salzberg Sharon is offering a variety of online resources to the public during the COVID-19 pandemic. Most all offerings are free, but some require registration to participate in. As Sharon continues to participate in more virtual offerings at this unprecedented time, Read More