by Chris Watson

Medical science over the past century has developed some astonishing technologies and innovations for treating illness and curing disease. However, there has also been a growing concern over the potential for a power differential between the “all-knowing” medical experts and the individuals who come to them for help. Patients have responded by looking for ways to improve their own health, to self-heal.

The past decade has witnessed the growth of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), a group intervention developed by Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn which employs mindfulness meditation techniques in the treatment of various medical and psychological problems. The aim of MBSR is to provide individuals with techniques to foster the quality of mindfulness (awareness) in everyday life to promote health and wholeness.

What exactly is mindfulness?

Mindfulness has been defined simply as the awareness that emerges through paying attention in a particular way, which is on purpose, in the present moment, and non-judgmentally to the unfolding of experience moment by moment. Mindfulness has its roots in Buddhist traditions and is seen as a vehicle for cultivating insight into the true nature of the mind and world. A mindful awareness is based on an attitude of acceptance of the present moment. Rather than judging one’s experiences as good or bad, healthy or sick, worthy or unworthy, mindfulness accepts all personal experiences as just “what is” in that moment

Scientific research is beginning to emerge suggesting MBSR and similar interventions to be effective in treating a variety of problems, both physical and emotional. MBSR was first demonstrated by Kabat-Zinn as an effective intervention for individuals suffering from chronic pain. Using mindfulness, patients were able to observe the ebb and flow of their intense pain without passing such judgments as “I can’t take this pain” or “It will never end”. While attending to their pain, patients began to notice how the pain was constantly changing in subtle ways that were previously unnoticed. Periods of “less pain” were observed in between periods of more intense pain, and gradually the spaces between pain sensations widened.

More recently, MBSR is being studied as a treatment for various emotional problems. Research has suggested that MBSR is effective in improving the lives of individuals who suffer from spontaneous panic attacks and high levels of daily anxiety. A variant of MBSR has been developed which uses mindfulness techniques together with elements of cognitive therapy to help formerly depressed persons prevent a relapse of depression, which is quite common. Mindfulness has also been found to be beneficial in the treatment of eating disorders and obsessive-compulsive disorder―two conditions difficult to treat effectively.

One possible reason why mindfulness promotes mental health is that it trains the mind to observe one’s inner experience calmly, clearly, and without responding to it. The meditation techniques are used to develop a different perspective of thoughts and feelings, such that they are recognized as mental events rather than as aspects of the self or as necessarily accurate reflections. Through practicing mindfulness, individuals come to the important realization that “thoughts are not facts”, a statement which is so often “known” intellectually, but not “experienced” emotionally. Mindfulness provides a healthy way to deal with unpleasant thoughts, which is to observe them non-judgmentally rather than getting caught up with them and becoming a prisoner of mind.

Mindfulness is believed to work through changing the relationship one has towards their negative thoughts. This is a shift from current psychological treatments, which often works by aiding individuals in changing their belief in the content of their negative thoughts.

An important caveat is that the majority of research on mindfulness interventions is in the form of uncontrolled research trials. This is a relatively weak form of scientific investigation since it cannot be proven that the benefits are due to mindfulness per se; it may be that some other factor besides mindfulness is causing the observed changes. On the positive side, these studies have sparked considerable interest among researchers who are studying the use of mindfulness practices as a viable treatment for a wide variety of medical and psychological problems. Patients are, for the most part, enthusiastic about the possibility for a treatment that is self-healing and putting their health back into their own hands.

For more information on the use of mindfulness in healing, consult:

Full Catastrophe Living, Jon Kabat-Zinn
Heal Thyself: Lessons on Mindfulness in Medicine, Saki Santorelli
The Miracle of Mindfulness, Thich Nhat Hanh

For a review of the scientific research on mindfulness-based interventions, check:

Baer, R.. A.. (2003). Mindfulness training as a clinical intervention: a conceptual and empirical review. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 10, 125-143.

Chris Watson is a clinical psychology doctoral student at the University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. He has an interest in mindfulness-based approaches to healing, and is studying the role of mindfulness meditation in the treatment of individuals with obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Picture courtesy Jane Hsieh