Stress Reduction | Meditation and breast cancer survivors
A new study suggests that stress reduction programs mindfulness meditation (MBSR) could benefit breast cancer survivors.
The MBSR is a structured, standardized method for teaching stress reduction groups. MBSR The term was originally used by Jon Kabat-Zinn, Ph.D., to name a program used in patients with pain that incorporated the principles of mindfulness meditation (mindfulness) traditional yoga and awareness techniques body.
The MBSR teaches the use of focused attention (often through the use of a physical sensation, such as breathing) on a single target at a time. Whenever thoughts intrude, the person simply return your attention or focus to the original target. The MBSR also encourages the patient to focus on the present rather than future or the past. This practice has proven effective in some clinical applications, such as chronic pain.
In a new study, researchers assigned to survivors of breast cancer at an early stage MBSR treatment group or control group. Participants in the MBSR group had significant improvements in both psychological outcomes such as physiological. These improvements included a reduction in blood pressure and heart rate. The MBSR group participants also experienced significant reductions in stress. However, the authors found that stress reduction was not sustained at follow-up period of one month.
Although the findings are promising, additional research is needed to evaluate them thoroughly.
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