Post on 09-Jun-2018
Alternative & Complementary Medicine for Stress Treatments “not
accepted” by conventional medicine
Body Manipulation Massage
Chiropractic
Manipulation
Acupuncture
Acupressure
Body Movement Qi (chi) Gong
Tai Chi Chuan
Dance and Movement Therapy
Other: Ayurvedic medicine
Naturopathy
Homeopathy
Diet
Energy healing
Hypnotic Treatment (HT) Used by physicians for
over 150 years
In suggestible subjects, HT works better than a placebo. Pain relief
Stress and anxiety reduction
HT is no better than a placebo in less suggestible subjects.
Controversy: does HT provide permanent relief?
Usefulness is limited by widespread misunderstanding hypnosis among public and professionals.
Common Relaxation Techniques Progressive Muscle
Relaxation
Exercises body one muscle group at a time while breathing slowly and deeply
Meditative Relaxation
Muscle relaxation in combination with a quiet environment, repetitive sound, and passive attitude
Guided Imagery
Imagine a peaceful image and concentrate on that image throughout stressful or painful situations
Mindfulness Meditation
Flow of thoughts without evaluation or censoring to gain insight into personal motivation and thoughts
Stress Program Comparison Stress Inoculation
Programs (Donald Meichenbaum & Roy Cameron)
Conceptualization Stage
Skills Acquisition & Rehearsal Stage
Application Follow-through Stage
Mindfulness The act of defining one’s
attention to the present moment and experience of that moment without attempting to judge or change the experience (Marchand, 2012; Eberth & Sedlmeier, 2012).
Often focuses on: Breathing patterns
Thoughts
Physical sensations
Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction 8-12 week program
MBSR is often used to treat: Depression
Anxiety
Chronic Pain
Post-traumatic stress disorder
Decrease stress and negative affect
Less rumination
Increase positive affect, well-being, and prosocial behavior
Neurological changes Lower medial prefrontal
activation (reduced wandering thoughts)
Decreased gray matter in right basolateral amygdala (decreased stress and anxiety)
(Marchand, 2012; Davidson & McEwen, 2012; Kemeny et al., 2012; Shapiro, Schwartz, & Bonner, 1998; Jain et al., 2007)
Pilot Study (2013) Is Mindfulness Meditation
(MM) an effective stress-reduction technique for current or short-term stress? If so, is a short meditation equally effective to a longer one?
4 groups 15 minute meditation
5 minute meditation
15 minute neutral
5 minute neutral
Measurements taken pre-task and post-task Stress rating (1-5 on a
Likert scale)
Blood pressure (systolic and diastolic)
Heart rate
Perceived effectiveness of the intervention (post-task only)
Pilot Study cont. The findings:
Those in the meditation conditions tended to give higher effectiveness ratings than those in the neutral conditions.
There was no significant difference in stress ratings, blood pressure, or heart rate.
Current Proposal Research Questions:
Is MM an effective stress reduction technique within a short period of time?
How does MM effect positive and negative affect within a short period of time?
How do participants experience MM?
Current Proposal cont. Maintain the same four
participant groups
Introduce more rigorous controls
Remove cardiovascular variables
Improved testing instruments Positive and Negative
Affect Schedule
Perceived Stress Scale
Approximately 60 participants Demographics were
Results Comparison Pilot Study
No significant differences for time (5 or 15 minutes) or for method (Meditation or Neutral)
Significant main effect for perceived effectiveness of method.
F (1, 56) = 16.560, p <.001
Results Comparison Current Study
Results for the current study based on:
Positive Affect
Negative Affect
Perceived Stress
Questions??? Contact Information: Robyn Malmsten: rnmalmsten@gmail.com James Evans: jevans@lsus.edu (318) 795-4211
Thank you for attending our presentation!
References Cohen, S., Kamarck, T., and Mermelstein, R. (1983). A global measure of perceived stress. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 24, 386-396.
Davidson, R. J., & McEwen, B. S. (2012). Social influences on neuroplasticity: stress and interventions to promote well-being. Nature Neuroscience, 15(5), 689-695.
doi: 10.1038/nn.3093
Eberth, J. & Sedlmeier, P. (2012). The Effects of Mindfulness Meditation: A Meta-Analysis. Mindfulness, 3, 174-189. doi: 10.007/s12671-012-0101-x
Jain, S., Shapiro, S. L., Swanick, S., Roesch, S. C., Mills, P. J., Bell, I., & Schwartz, G. E. R. (2007). A Randomized Controlled Trial of Mindfulness Meditation
Versus Relaxation Training: Effects on Distress, Positive States of Mind, Rumination, and Distraction. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 33(1), 11-21.
Kemeny, M. E., Foltz, C., Cavanagh, J. F., Cullen, M., Giese-Davis, J., Jennings, P., . . . Ekman, P. (2012). Contemplative/Emotion Training Reduces Negative
Emotional Behavior and Promotes Prosocial Responses. Emotion, 12(2), 338-350. doi: 10.1037/a0026118
Malmsten, R. N. (2013, May). The Short Term Effects of Mindfulness Meditation on Stress. Poster session presented at the meeting of the Midwestern Psychological
Association, Chicago, IL.
Marchand, W. R. (2012). Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy, and Zen Meditation for Depression, Anxiety, Pain, and
Psychological Distress. Journal of Psychiatric Practice, 18(4), 233-252. doi: 10.1097/01.pra0000416014.53215.86
Shapiro, S. L., Schwartz, G. E., Bonner, G. (1998). Effects of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction on Medical and Premedical Students. Journal of Behavioral
Medicine, 21(6), 581-598.
Watson, D., Clark, L. A., & Tellegan, A. (1988). Development and validation of brief measures of positive and negative affect: The PANAS scales. Journal of
Personality and Social Psychology, 54(6), 1063–1070.