Mindfulness relieves anxiety and depression in secondary education teachers

UGR News A doctoral thesis carried out at the University of Granada has proved that a mental training based on mindfulness –an emotional self-regulating tool that consists in focusing on what we are doing, thinking about or feeling at every moment- helps to fight against psychological diseases such as anxiety, depression, concern or complaints about health, very common among secondary education teachers, and is very positive for emotional regulation.

This research work has analysed the psycho-physiological mechanisms related to the mindfulness, checking the effectiveness of a training programme that works as an emotional self-regulating tool. Mindfulness is a type of mental training increasingly popular in the U.S., based on the practice of self-awareness and in terms such as attention, awareness and the reference to a specific moment.

The work, developed by Luis Carlos Delgado Pastor and supervised by professor Jaime Vila Castellar, of the department of Personality, Assessment and Psychological Treatment, has confirmed the effectiveness of training mindfulness abilities applying it to two different groups with defined features: a 20-girls sample with high-level concern and a group of 25 secondary education teachers.

Improvement in both groups

Besides, as a consequence of the mental training, both the girls with chronic concern and the teachers improved their subjective rates of anxiety, depression, concern, complaints about health and emotional regulation, together with certain con psycho-physiological such as, for example, cardiac, muscular and respiratory variables.

Delgado Pastor says that, in the light of the results obtained, they have proved the “effectiveness of training mindfulness abilities and human values in the teaching sector as an emotional self-regulating tool, stress prevention for teachers and students, as well as to facilitate the teaching-learning process”.

Accordingly, says the UGR researchers, mindfulness is also useful for persons who are suffering from desadaptative emotional processes, such as chronic concern, anxiety and depression.

via A new mental treatment based on attention improves anxiety and depression in secondary education teachers.

Related:

Mindfulness training busts stress

...  others, including Waugh, were taught techniques to cultivate mindfulness, such as yoga poses, breathing methods, stretches and meditation -- all designed to help workers cope with too many e-mails, ringing phones and the occasional nasty co-worker.Lead investigator Kimberly Williams said the goal was to relieve stress. "Mindfulness means to pay full attention to what you are doing, moment by moment," she said. "We taught them how to recognize sources of stress, how stress impacts them, and then what they could do to come out of the vicious cycle of stress reactivity."

The program lasted eight weeks and participants were followed for an additional three months. Williams said they found those who received the mindfulness training "had significantly less daily hassles, psychological distress and significantly fewer medical symptoms" -- like lower blood pressure and fewer aches and pains -- than those who were handed a pamphlet. ...

The mindfulness exercises in the WVU study included "deep tasting," where participants spent time eating a raisin: They looked at it, smelled it, and took small bites to savor the taste. "It brings an awareness to the body that normally is always being rushed," said Williams, who emphasized the need to slow down. ... - cnn

Tips I like:  Focus on the present, just sit in silence doing nothing for at least 5 minutes per day, eat slowly and savor you food, put space between things, when talking to someone, be present and enjoy listening to them. When frustrated, relax.

Mindfulness Tips I dislike:

"Do one thing at a time."

Come on. This is not even possible. Our brains are parallel processors and there are always many things going on. Doing one thing is an illusion.

"Do one thing slowly and deliberately." and "Do less"

These are both fine if you are immortal, but I have a lot I want to do.