Nancy59's comments

The author of this article has not understood mindfulness. Learning and gradually practicing mindfulness does not mean one has to forcefully stay mindful all the time with a great deal of uncomfortable effort. Rather, mindfulness is gradually developed/cultivated and that is the reason one puts aside some time to practice it daily. In other words, knowing when to let go of rigid mindfulness is part of mindfulness practice. Also, the author incorrectly quotes the recent review (Goldberg, et al., 2021) of mindfulness studies for which he has provided a link – this article concluded that interventions based on mindfulness hold 'substantial potential,' and that mindfulness interventions were similar or superior to specific active controls and other evidence-based treatments (see the conclusion and the abstract of that article). I had assumed that Scientific American would do a better job of accurate reporting - looks like I was wrong.

I found many problems with this article. The author of this article seems to assume that Cheetah house has all the answers!!! (Perhaps this article is an ad for that place.)

Regarding his statement “symptoms diagnosed by a therapist” – does the author know how psychiatry comes up with ‘diagnosis’ of so called “mental disorders” using checklists? I can cite many academic articles, but maybe just have a look at the following article: Psychiatric Drugs Increase Suicide. CAMPP’s Film “Prescripticide” Exposes the Harms By Dr. Chuck Ruby.

The author of the article discussed here also does not seem to understand Buddhism, although he says he has read many books. For example, it is best to leave Jhana practices (i.e., deep concentration practices) to monks because developing them needs a great deal of commitment and an incredible amount of patience. Also, these Jhana practices are not needed for full enlightenment [See the sutta reference AN 4.170: In Tandem].

Considering his following statement at the end, I am hoping that the author will understand things better with time: "A few months ago, I began dabbling with teaching mindfulness again, which may seem surprising. However, I believe that these practices, with the correct framework, dosage, and education, can be a valuable tool for improving mental health."

Mindfulness has helped me beyond words - I think it has saved my life. I am so very grateful to have found it.

Future research can examine what can be done to make mindfulness beneficial to the few individuals who do not benefit from standard programs. Is it possible that they need to attain a particular ground level of mindfulness before engaging in formal practices? Could engaging in yoga or tai chi (or even exercise) before engaging in formal mindfulness classes help them? Can we do something about better training teachers? These are questions to ask in future research – just like we ask how to we can engage people to exercise (without getting injured as a result of falls, etc.)

Regarding your comment about mindfulness and CBT – did you know that a large component of CBT is mindfulness? That is the reason why they do not find a big difference in some of the studies.

Also, do you know what mindfulness is? It goes way beyond simple relaxation – it is also about getting to know your mind and developing self-knowledge, etc. If you had a look at the links I posted in a different comment here, you might get a better idea about what mindfulness is, etc., and you will also see that the brain also changes (in positive ways) with mindfulness practices. Anyway, below are some meta-analyses:

Blanck, P., et al. (2018). Effects of mindfulness exercises as stand-alone intervention on symptoms of anxiety and depression: Systematic review and meta-analysis. Behaviour research and therapy, 102, 25-35.

Scott-Sheldon, L. A., et al. (2019). Mindfulness-Based Interventions for Adults with Cardiovascular Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Annals of Behavioral Medicine.

Wang, Y. Y., et al. (2018). Mindfulness-based interventions for insomnia: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Behavioral sleep medicine, 1-9.

Zou, L., et al. (2018). A systematic review with meta-analysis of mindful exercises on rehabilitative outcomes among poststroke patients. Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitation, 99(11), 2355-2364.

Goldberg, S. B., et al. (2018). Mindfulness-based interventions for psychiatric disorders: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Clinical psychology review, 59, 52-60.

Carsley, D., Khoury, B., & Heath, N. L. (2018). Effectiveness of mindfulness interventions for mental health in schools: A comprehensive meta-analysis. Mindfulness, 9(3), 693-707.

Carrière, K., et al. (2018). Mindfulness‐based interventions for weight loss: a systematic review and meta‐analysis. Obesity Reviews, 19(2), 164-177.

Dunning, D. L., et al. (2019). Research Review: The effects of mindfulness‐based interventions on cognition and mental health in children and adolescents–a meta‐analysis of randomized controlled trials. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 60(3), 244-258.

Borquist-Conlon, D. S., et al. (2019). Mindfulness-based interventions for youth with anxiety: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Research on Social Work Practice, 29(2), 195-205.

Van Driel, C. M., et al. (2019). Mindfulness, cognitive behavioural and behaviour‐based therapy for natural and treatment‐induced menopausal symptoms: a systematic review and meta‐analysis. BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, 126(3), 330-339.

Simpson, R., et al. (2019). Mindfulness-based interventions for mental well-being among people with multiple sclerosis: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials. Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry, 90(9), 1051-1058.

DiRenzo, D., et al. (2018). Systematic review and meta-analysis: mindfulness-based interventions for rheumatoid arthritis. Current rheumatology reports, 20(12), 75.

Rusch, H. L., et al. (2018). The effect of mindfulness meditation on sleep quality: a systematic review and meta‐analysis of randomized controlled trials. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences.

Li, J., et al. (2018). Mindful exercise versus non-mindful exercise for schizophrenia: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Complementary therapies in clinical practice, 32, 17-24.

Khoo, E. L., et al. (2019). Comparative evaluation of group-based mindfulness-based stress reduction and cognitive behavioural therapy for the treatment and management of chronic pain: A systematic review and network meta-analysis. Evidence-based mental health, 22(1), 26-35.

I would have agreed with your comment 10-15 years ago – but now, the evidence is overwhelming. I don’t have time today, but I will reply your comment in a day or so (will also cite several meta-analyses). Meanwhile, you can take a look at the many links I provided to your earlier (above) comment – they cite many research studies as well.

The following well-conducted studies compared mindfulness to various other 'treatments':

Alsaraireh, et al. (2017). Mindfulness Meditation Versus Physical Exercise in the Management of Depression Among Nursing Students. Journal of Nursing Education, 56(10), 599-604.

Cherkin, et al. (2016). Effect of mindfulness-based stress reduction vs cognitive behavioral therapy or usual care on back pain and functional limitations in adults with chronic low back pain: a randomized clinical trial. JAMA, 315(12), 1240-1249.

Costa, A., 2016. Turning towards or turning away: a comparison of mindfulness meditation and guided imagery relaxation in patients with acute depression. Behav. Cogn. Psychother. 44, 410–419.

Fissler, M., et al., 2016. An investigation of the effects of brief mindfulness training on self-reported interoceptive awareness, the ability to decenter, and their role in the reduction of depressive symptoms. Mindfulness 7, 1170–1181.

Kuyken, W., et al. (2016). Efficacy of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy in prevention of depressive relapse: an individual patient data meta-analysis from randomized trials. JAMA psychiatry, 73(6), 565-574.

Your linked article is about transcendental meditation - not mindfulness mediation. Mindfulness meditation research is well validated now – I can provide many meta analyses. You may also like to see the following recent articles:

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/health-fitness/lifestyle-changes...

https://theconversation.com/mindfulness-meditation-ten-minut...

https://www.psychiatrictimes.com/cultural-psychiatry/be-here...

https://theconversation.com/mindfulness-can-help-phd-student...

https://thriveglobal.com/stories/meditation-3-reasons-why-yo...

https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/being-while-doing/20...

https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/mindfulness-in-frant...

Kaveren: Mindfulness meditation research is well validated now – I can provide many meta analyses. You can also take a look at the following article that I came across today: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/health-fitness/lifestyle-changes...

Here are three articles:

(1). Wong, S. Y., et al. (2018). The Safety of Mindfulness-Based Interventions: a Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Trials. Mindfulness, 1-14.

(2). Creswell J.D. (2017). Mindfulness Interventions. Annual Review of Psychology. 68: 491–516.

(3). Shonin, et al. (2014). "Are there risks associated with using mindfulness in the treatment of psychopathology?". Clinical Practice. 11 (4): 389–92.

Thanks - I like that previous thread better.

Studies have found that getting issues like what you experienced as a result of mindfulness meditation is extremely low – so, you cannot blame it on meditation. Also, I have been to many retreats and I am yet to see someone who had a negative episode during a retreat.

This study is a typical example of a very low-quality study on mindfulness. They have used one single meditation session (just a few minutes of it!) for participants in the experiments, and these participants were also new to meditation! With such a brief time on meditation, the chances are these people would have felt sleepy/lazy and that explains well the results they found! Hundreds of studies have shown that meditation improves many variables that contribute to motivation.