There's so many informative sources, especially in the academic and scientific realms on this wonderful topic of mindfulness. And it is so interesting to think about how much it has changed therapies and even the entire field of psychology.
The literature that I have looked at thus far mainly consists of scientific studies. So many of them confirm the effectiveness of mindfulness training in treating various emotional and mental disorders (especially depression and anxiety) in different clinical settings (cognitive behavioral therapy, exposure therapy, psychotherapy, etc). But they all raise further intriguing questions and set the stage for more research.
Mindfulness means being detached from your thoughts instead of overengaging and becoming distressed by them. It means accepting them, no matter how negative or severe. It means being aware and focused on the present. It is a technique that has been used for 2500 years by Buddhists to quiet the mind. It has also been used in western cultures to successfully reduce anxiety, anger, depression, and other such maladaptive states.
Only recently (as in, within the last 20 years), has it become a topic of scientific scrutiny in the United States and been applied to therapeutic interventions.
For such a relatively young field, the literature is abundant. Individuals who undergo mindfulness-based interventions improve significantly. Their ratings of mindfulness increase (this is measured by many scales that determine how attached to one's thoughts an individual is, how much distressing thoughts negatively affect them emotionally, self-acceptance, and awareness). They experience a reduction in depressive symptoms. The difference between their ideal self model (the person they want to be) and their real self is smaller, so they are more content with their real selves and percieve a smaller gap between who they are and who they wish to become. Mindfulness-based therapies also reduce rumination and avoidance, which are maladaptive coping strategies, since mindfulness is an adaptive technique for dealing with distressing cognitions. Rumination means thinking a lot about these thoughts, how they are self-relevant, their causes and possible consequences, and so on. These thoughts only lead to more distress and depression. Avoidance means distracting oneself from these thoughts. But actively trying to push thoughts out of your mind can have a drastic rebound effect, leading to rumination.
Significantly, the effects of mindfulness-based interventions are enduring. Mindfulness is an important addition to existing therapies because it is a skill that, if practiced consistently, can last a lifetime. Therapies such as cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) are highly effective in treating depression, but most people who are treated for depression experience at least one more episode afterward. Teaching recovered patients mindfulness is a way to maintain the effects of therapy in order to prevent relapse. This is even effective for formerly-depressed patients who had exhibited suicidal behavior, attempts, or ideation. It is far less expensive than long-term therapy and much safer than antidepressants or other drugs that only suppress the symptoms without getting at the underlying problems.
So we have all this evidence strongly suggesting that there really is something to this mindfulness thing. But it's time to go deeper. No one has really proven... yet... that it is the MINDFULNESS aspect of therapy producing all of these wonderful results. We also don't know how exactly mindfulness works.
Although it hasn't been conclusively proven yet, mindfulness seems a very beneficial and effective addition to therapy. The study of mindfulness is still very young, but the results are promising. We know that mindfulness-based therapies work. Now it is time to research further into exactly WHY and HOW it works, and what specific contribitions mindfulness training makes.
Very informative...thanks.
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