Hello!

Hello! This blog is an introduction of my topic of discussion for the semester. I will seek to find a connection between meditation and physiology and explore the health benefits of meditating. I have heard of people using meditation to lower their blood pressure, reduce anxiety, and overcome phobias. These effects of meditation are logical because they result from relaxation. But my interest in this topic arose when I learned that meditation can be equally effective as cognitive behavioral therapy in treating depression and other psychopathologies. As a psychology major, I am curious about the powerful effects of thinking on emotions, behavior, and personal health.

Over the course of the semester, I will identify the positive effects of meditation related to metabolism, the autonomic and central nervous systems, and the endocrine system. I will research and discuss the biological processes that underlie these effects. My primary focus, however, will be on meditation and psychology. I would like to find out if meditation produces health benefits directly, or if it does so indirectly via increased psychological functioning. I will discuss the effectiveness of meditation as treatment for specific psychopathologies and compare it to conventional therapeutic approaches and pharmacotherapy. Could meditation be a substitute for expensive therapies and medications in treating disorders such as depression and anxiety? Or is it most effective when used as a component of therapy? Also, is there enough empirical support for the effectiveness of meditation to make it part of conventional medicine, or should it be classified as an alternative health practice?

I am writing to an audience who is seeking non-chemical interventions to health problems, specifically mental health disorders. I am also writing to those in the scientific community who have studied the effects of meditation and those who are interested in incorporating it into treatment.

I hope that this introduction has aroused an interest in the topic and that I have raised intriguing questions that will draw people back to this blog.