Exploring the Psychological Benefits of Mindfulness for Stress and Anxiety
This week, the podcast explores how mindfulness can be beneficial in terms of helping us manage stress and anxiety. Key findings from the scientific research on mindfulness are reviewed. And in the second half of the episode, Dr. McManus shares some ideas of how to use mindfulness as a self-help intervention for stress and anxiety in our own lives.
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Keep scrolling for the full transcript in case you want to dive into the details!
Hey everyone! Thanks for pressing play on episode 20. On this episode, I want to take a similar approach as last time, when we explored one of those topics I had already touched upon, but only briefly, during either a foundational episode or during the holiday stress relief series, but go into much more depth with you than I did on those earlier episodes. This week, I want to explore the psychological benefits of mindfulness with you in more depth.
Now, because the psychological benefits of mindfulness are broad and varied, I’m going to focus primarily on how mindfulness can be beneficial in terms of helping us manage stress and anxiety. Just like I did last week when exploring the psychological benefits of physical exercise, I want to review some key findings from the scientific research on mindfulness with you. And in the second half of the episode, I’ll be sharing some ideas of how to use mindfulness as a self-help intervention for stress and anxiety in our own lives.
While it is important to me that my listeners have access to the scientific research behind the different psychology informed self-help approaches shared on this podcast, I also realize there may be times when you just want to get to the ideas and how to use them. So, if that’s ever the case for you, I’m going to start adding timestamps to the show notes so you can jump right to the content that’s most relevant to you. Hopefully all will go well with this attempt to make the podcast more user friendly and, if, wherever you’re listening to this podcast supports the timestamp feature, then starting with this episode, timestamps should be there for you to use if you choose.
Alright, so let’s get into it and start with what mindfulness even is in the first place. What comes to mind for you when you think of mindfulness? Perhaps meditation, yoga, or something different all together. As far as a definition, mindfulness is the practice of bringing one’s attention to the present moment in a wholehearted and non-judgmental fashion. Mindfulness is at the core of the ancient spiritual tradition of Buddhism. It’s important to point out though that we can practice mindfulness without being religious or spiritual. In fact, all of the mindfulness meditations that I ‘ve shared with my clients over the years, and now with the general public on my YouTube channel, have been completely secular.
While the religion of Buddhism has been in existence for 2500 years, scientific attention to the benefits of mindfulness did not begin until the 1970s. Before reviewing some of the findings on mindfulness for stress and anxiety, I want to quickly mention some of the other psychological benefits of mindfulness. Now get ready because this list is not short. In addition to helping to reduce stress and anxiety, there is scientific research to support that mindfulness also helps to (1)
• Reduce Rumination (in this case rumination involves repetitive thoughts about the reasons, consequences, and general experience for a negative state we may be going through)
• Mindfulness has also been shown to boost working memory, which is a type of memory involved with short term maintenance and use of information for different mental tasks.
• Another finding in the area of cognitive functioning, mindfulness helps to increase our mental focus and the speed with which we process information.
• Mindfulness is associated with less emotional reactivity and greater relationship satisfaction.
• Mindfulness has also been shown to be related to increased immune functioning and better management of chronic pain.
• The practice of mindfulness is also associated with an overall increase in well-being and reduced Psychological Distress (such as depression and anxiety and of course we’re going to explore the impact of mindfulness on anxiety along with stress next)
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Now as we turn to the research, I want to mention, just like last time, that most of the studies I’m referencing can be accessed online so I’ll link to them in the show notes in case anyone is interested in having a look.
When reviewing scientific research in an area that has volumes and volumes of studies available, as is the case with the benefits of mindfulness for stress and anxiety, it’s helpful to look those metanalytic reviews I mentioned on the last episode. As a reminder, meta-analytic reviews use advanced statistical tests to establish how strong the findings in a given area of scientific study really are.
In 2013, the Clinical Psychology Review journal published an article (2) on a meta-analysis of 209 psychological research studies on mindfulness-based therapy. The findings of this meta-analysis supported mindfulness-based therapy as moderately effective over wait list control groups. The waitlist approach is common in psychological research. Eventually, for ethical reasons, the waitlist will get the treatment too but they play a valuable role by allowing comparison of participants receiving a given treatment to those who are not. Returning to the findings, mindfulness-based therapy had the same level of effectiveness as cognitive behavioral therapy and pharmacological treatments (like antidepressant or anti-anxiety medication) for stress, anxiety, and depression. Cognitive behavioral therapy and medications are well established treatments so the fact that mindfulness-based therapy had the same level of effectiveness is quite impressive.
Let’s move on to another meta-analysis from the same journal, this time from 2016 and on the effectiveness of online mindfulness-based interventions (3). I thought the topic of online mindfulness-based interventions would be relevant to explore together here on the PsycHope self-help podcast as so many self-help options are available online these days. This study reviewed 15 randomized controlled trials and found significant, but small effect of online mindfulness-based interventions on anxiety with significant and moderate effect on stress.
Let’s shift a bit now and come down from this high-level view with the meta-analyses and take a look at exactly how the benefits of mindfulness for stress and anxiety were investigated in some individual studies. Let’s start with an interesting study out of the Texas A&M University (4) that examined the impact of mindfulness training on stress coping among college freshmen. The experiment consisted of 2 groups – the treatment group who were enrolled in a semester long mindfulness-based communication course and the control group who were enrolled in a semester long standard communication course. The mindfulness-based communication course incorporated mindfulness in all aspects of the class and included:
· experiential mindfulness exercises at the start of each class,
· immersive field trips involving yoga and meditation,
· and ongoing discussions and assignments involving critical thinking about mindfulness.
Students in both the experimental group and the control group completed 2 surveys for the study prior to the courses starting and then again when the classes concluded. We call these pretest and posttest measures. The surveys they took were well established and measured perceived stress as well as coping with stressful situations. The researchers found that the students in the experimental group, that is the students taking the mindfulness-based communication course, had lower posttest stress levels (in other words their stress levels went down after the course). On the other hand, the control group – the group that took the standard communication course – had higher posttest stress levels (in other words, their stress levels went up after the course).
Next, I want to review what I consider to be a classic study. In 2013, Dr. Hoge (5) and her team conducted the first randomized control trial study on the impact of mindfulness on symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder. Participants in this study were randomly assigned to one of two groups– either the treatment group, which participated in an 8-week Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program or the control group, who were provided with basic stress management education. The participants took 4 reputable surveys on anxiety symptoms using that same pre and post test approach as used in the last study. The researchers found that while both approaches resulted in a decrease in anxiety symptoms, that the mindfulness based approach had significantly greater reduction in anxiety on 3 out of 4 of the measures of anxiety. These data led the researchers to conclude that the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program had a beneficial effect on anxiety symptoms for people diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder.
Now that we have reviewed some of the research on the benefits of mindfulness for stress and anxiety, you might be wondering what’s going on in our minds and bodies to bring about these helpful results. (6). Let’s breakdown the definition of mindfulness because it gives us some clues. Remember, mindfulness is all about how we’re paying attention. With attention, we are bringing our focus to the current moment. We’re not dwelling on perceived mistakes of the past and the anxiety or even feelings of guilt related to those past actions. We are also not worrying about what the future may hold, which is common with anxiety and stress. Rather, we are focused on experiencing the current moment. We can pay attention to our internal world – like our thoughts, feelings, or bodily sensations – or the external world by engaging as many of our 5 senses as possible.
Recall also that mindfulness involves paying attention without judgment, which can be understood as acceptance of the current moment as it is. This acceptance piece involves acknowledging the reality of the moment without fighting it. Acceptance does not have to mean we have to like the reality though. It means we acknowledge it and let it go – or do our best to let it go.
Psychologists have found that mindfulness practices impact two different stress pathways in the brain and are involved with altering brain structures and activity in areas associated with attention and emotion regulation.
Dr. Shauna Shapiro a clinical psychologist (also a best-selling author and renowned expert in mindfulness and self-compassion) has provided us even more detail about mindfulness and the brain by discussing the role of neuroplasticity. Let me share a quick introduction to neuroplasticity with you: it involves repeated experiences that shape our brains. We can strengthen and sculpt our synaptic connections (those are the links between nerve cells), we can do this based on repeated practice. Research from neuroscience has shown that for people who practice mindfulness, brain areas associated with attention, concentration, compassion, learning, memory, and emotional intelligence all grow bigger and stronger. This is the process of cortical thickening – the growth of new neurons based on repeated practice. (7)
I can’t help but connect this idea of strengthening what you use, brought to us in Dr. Shapiro’s discussion of mindfulness, back to a piece of the vision of the PsycHope Self-Help Podcast – that of normalizing taking care of our mental health in the same way that much of our culture prioritizes physical health. I’ve previously used the analogy that engaging in self-help practices like mindfulness is to our mental health as going to the gym to workout is to our physical health. Here we have the opportunity to make that analogy more precise – when working out at the gym we are strengthening our muscles and sculpting our bodies. With the self-help intervention of mindfulness, we now know we are literally strengthening and sculpting synaptic connections for some pretty impressive areas of the brain.
So, now that we’re informed by the psychological research plus some bonus neuroscience on the benefits of mindfulness, let’s shift a bit to some ideas of how to use mindfulness as a self-help intervention for stress and anxiety in own lives.
As we turn our attention to our own mindfulness practices, I want to highlight one of the key challenges we can experience when trying to be mindful. John Kabat-Zinn (8), the founder of the mindfulness-based stress reduction program at the University of Massachusetts Medical School (the same stress reduction program used in one of the psychological research studies I summarized earlier) has an aptly named chapter in his bestselling book – Wherever You Go There You Are, a chapter title that is key to keep in mind when starting a mindfulness practice. The chapter title is Simple but not easy. What Kabat-Zinn was referencing here is the difficulty one may experience with what appears to be a straightforward practice, by the frequent pull back to unconscious and automatic behaviors. In other words, bringing and keeping our attention in the present moment, is not easy.
No matter what your mindfulness practice – whether it’s meditation, yoga, a mindful walk, or something else – your attention, especially when you’re just getting started, is likely to get pulled in other directions. When this happens, it’s helpful to just notice that it happened. We need not judge ourselves when our attention wanders. We just bring it back. For those of us, like me, who lead others in guided meditations, we often encourage thinking of the thoughts that come in which are outside of the current moment, to be like clouds in the sky and just let them float on by.
As we start our own mindfulness practice, it may also be helpful to consider how we can wholeheartedly experience the moment. Children actually make amazing teachers for this aspect of mindfulness. Everything is new and exciting for them. They truly are wholeheartedly throwing themselves into each and every moment. We use the term beginner’s mind to describe this aspect of mindfulness and we can approach the moment as if we’re experiencing it for the very first time.
Now that we’ve highlighted considerations for some of the key facets of mindfulness – attention, non-judgmentally, and wholeheartedly – let’s wrap up with some practical ideas of how to practice mindfulness.
One of the most common ways to practice mindfulness is through meditation. Meditation can be done independently or with a guide who helps you to become more aware of your internal world such as bodily sensations, thoughts, and feelings; with other guided meditations focusing on awareness of the external world. Guided meditations often incorporate other calming strategies like deep calm breathing and progressive muscle relaxation, that’s when you tense and then release different muscle groups.
I made a guided meditation with a focus on mindfulness for reducing stress and anxiety to accompany this episode. You can find this guided meditation on my YouTube channel, which is @psyc_hope and I’ll also put a direct link to the guided meditation in the show notes for you.
Meditation is understandably not for everyone, so I want to offer a few more ideas of how to practice mindfulness that don’t involve meditation. Walking is an excellent opportunity to be in the current moment. To make what would just be a normal or everyday walk, a mindful walk, we set the intention of keeping our attention in the current moment and fully experience everything about the walk wholeheartedly –with that beginners mind – and without judgement. Your thoughts will likely go to other places while walking, like maybe back to the stressful day at the office you just had, but try to bring your attention back to the scenery and sounds that surround you on your walk, or maybe bring your attention to how the soles of your feet feel in your shoes with each stride you take.
We can also practice mindfulness with music. So often we just have music on in the background while doing other things. We can set our intentions, however, to mindfully listen to a favorite song. We do this by keeping our attention on the music. Listen to the song as if it were the first time you’re hearing it. Noticing everything you can about it. The melody, the harmony, the volume and even the use of silence. Our thoughts may go in other directions, but you guessed it. Just bring your attention back to the music. You might also notice any emotions you feel while listening to the music. Try not to judge your feelings though. Just notice them from a place of curiosity.
We can also practice mindfulness with a favorite food or beverage. With this approach, we slow the process of eating or drinking way down by engaging the five senses and saving taste for last. To demonstrate how the steps might look, let’s consider how we could practice mindfulness with a morning beverage such as hot tea. Let’s say we begin with just a standard tea bag, nothing too fancy here, and we remove it from it’s package, smelling it, taking in it’s aroma. Then, mindfully present in this moment, we place the tea bag in our mug and begin pouring the hot water into the mug – we’re seeing the water flow, we’re hearing it too. We may feel warmth on our hand as steam rises out of the mug. Once it gets to the right temperature for us, again, feeling it’s warmth, we smell the scent once more, perhaps observing that it’s even stronger now after having been steeped. And last, we engage our sense of taste by having that long awaited sip of our morning tea.
Focusing on something as simple as our morning beverage really can bring us into the current moment. Friendly reminder though that while practicing mindfulness is simple, it’s not always easy. It can take a while to feel comfortable with a mindfulness practice, but in time it will become easier to do.
So, I think this is a good spot to wind down today’s episode. If you’re feeling inspired to start a mindfulness practice in your own life after listening to this episode, it can be helpful to show yourself compassion with the mindfulness practice learning curve. And, related to this final tip, I can share with you next week’s episode gives a nod to the month devoted to love by exploring the topic of compassion as a self-help intervention.
To make sure you don’t miss that episode, please follow the show wherever you may be listening. Also, if you’re finding this podcast helpful, it would be so kind of you to leave a rating or review to make it easier for other people to find the podcast, too. Thank you so much!
Show Notes
Episode 20, originally published on January 30, 2023
Resources
Article 1: https://www.apa.org/monitor/2012/07-08/ce-corner
Article 2: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0272735813000731?via%3Dihub
Article 3: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0272735815300623
Article 4: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02673843.2016.1175361
Article 5: https://www.psychiatrist.com/jcp/randomized-controlled-trial-mindfulness-meditation/
Book 1: https://www.audible.com/pd/The-Science-of-Mindfulness-and-Self-Compassion-Audiobook/1683642821
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Disclaimer
The information shared on the PsycHope Self-Help podcast does not constitute professional help nor is it a substitute for professional help. If you think you might benefit from more than self-help, here are some helpful resources:
Find a therapist:
Psychology Today, directory for locating a psychotherapist. More details here: https://www.psychologytoday.com/
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