"Low-Dose" MBSR is Highly Effective

Another study has recently been published confirming the benefits of an 8-hour version of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction.  The study by M. Klatt et al, (2012) investigated the stress reduction effects of a program for staff of a Surgical Intensive Care Unit.  The mindfulness training was given one hour a week (at shift change) for eight weeks.  In this wait-list controlled study, self-report measures of depression, anxiety, stress, and quality of sleep all improved  for the participants in the MBSR training.  Work satisfaction also increased.   At the biological level, a salivary stress marker (alpha-amylase) was reduced in the MBSR group.  The authors concluded that:

Given the nature of the job, work-related stressful events in the SICU will not change, but the resiliency tools offered via the intervention may help maintain wellness and prevent the deleterious effects of stress.

At Integrative Health Partners, Dr. Becca Meyer has been offering a four-week Mindfulness and Stress Reduction course for a couple of years.   Our experience has been that people benefit greatly, and finish the program with an interest in continuing to explore mindfulness practices.  Since the shorter program (each class is 2 hours) is more accessible as a time and financial commitment, people who would otherwise not be able to learn MBSR have a chance to develop their mindfulness practice and deal more effectively with the stresses of their lives.

MBSR-LD is a real-world mindfulness program that can be customized for businesses and for individual needs.   Our next Mindfulness and Stress Reduction Program will begin in March, 2013.  Contact Dr. Meyer for details at meyer AT integrativehealthpartners DOT org.

How Mindful Are You?

One way to assess mindfulness is to look at what it's not. The Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (Brown & Ryan, 2003) is frequently used in mindfulness research. The more you can endorse these traits and experiences, the more you tend to go through life mindlessly:

1. I could be experiencing some emotion and not be conscious of it until some time later.
2. I break or spill things because of carelessness, not paying attention, or thinking of something else.
3. I find it difficult to stay focused on what’s happening in the present.
4. I tend to walk quickly to where I’m going without paying attention along the way.
5. I tend not to notice feelings of physical tension or discomfort until they really grab my attention.
6. I forget a person’s name almost as soon as I’ve been told it for the first time.
7. It seems I’m “running on automatic” without much awareness of what I’m doing.
8. I rush through activities without being really attentive to them.
9. I get so focused on the goal I want to achieve that I lost touch with what I am doing right now to get there.
10. I do jobs or tasks automatically, without being aware of what I’m doing.
11. I find myself listening to someone with one ear, doing something else at the same time.
12. I drive places on “automatic pilot” and then wonder why I went there.
13. I find myself preoccupied with the future or the past.
14. I find myself doing things without paying attention.
15. I snack without being aware that I’m eating.

It's interesting to consider that, in addition to being an assessment instrument, the MAAS is a great guide to how to be mindful. Each of the "mindlessness" statements above can be reversed to make a useful mindfulness practice. Number 15, for example, could easily become the core of a mindfulness intention: "I'd like to be fully aware of what I'm eating and how it tastes."

In our Mindfulness and Stress Reduction classes, we encourage our participants to make "mindfulness contracts" with the activities and places of their lives. A contract to be mindful while walking will help us to take in the pleasures of our bodies and our surroundings. A contract to be mindful when relating to a particular person will help us be less reactive and more skillful when we are with them.

One of the most important things to remember about mindfulness is that it's deliberate. It takes effort to establish it in a new area, because our habits will lead us to be mindless. But the payoff for making the effort is that we get our lives back.

Not a bad trade.

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The Real Scoop

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I recently found this post from a person who just completed a Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction course.  I encourage everyone to click through, read, and enjoy it.  I think it says something about the impact of MBSR that doesn't get communicated in any of the efficacy studies!  My many thanks to Amy Schoon for sharing her reflections.