Benefits of Meditation Therapy - Research Paper Example

Benefits of Meditation The concept and principles of meditation are primarily affiliated with religious and spiritual traditions. There are many forms of meditation and scientific studies have come up with many interesting facts about it. It reveals profound changes in the physical and the mental states of a person. The Zen sect of Buddhism practices a particular kind of meditation called Zazen. The results of AN ELECTROENCEPHALOGRAPHIC STUDY ON THE ZEN MEDITATION (ZAZEN) (1966) revealed that prominent psychological and physiological changes are observed on persons practicing meditation. Meditation is a kind of psychotherapy that helps the mind to focus, to concentrate, and to drive out the negative energies. ‘...our results suggest that concentration and ‘mindfulness meditations’ may be unique forms of consciousness and are not merely degrees of a state of relaxation.’(Dunn, Hartigan & Mikulas, 1999) It is a common issue to get distracted while performing our everyday tasks. A small degree of distraction is natural- but we come across many tempting distractions that shift our focus from our goals and objectives. Failure to concentrate on our studies during exams; or in carrying out other assigned tasks may lead to drastic consequences. Meditation also helps in dealing with stressful situations in a relaxed manner; and in coping with mood disturbances, panic and anxiety disorders. One can master the art of overcoming negative feelings and emotions with adaptive techniques like meditation. Be it relationship issues; or problems at workplace; or academic challenges- meditation can relieve stress and help us handle all sorts of complexities in a better way. Meditation is based on revitalizing our inner energy and thus it makes us self sufficient in all areas of life. Emotional distress and psychological problems adversely affect our self esteem and outlook towards life, in general. It is imperative to maintain a positive attitude towards life in order to excel in our studies, or career. It is an accepted fact that EQ (Emotional Quotient) is as important as IQ (Intelligence Quotient). A team of researchers1 conducted a group-research to study the effects of mindfulness meditation on patients suffering from generalized anxiety disorder or panic disorder or panic disorder from agrophobia. The results showed that such practice greatly reduces all such disorders. (Kabat-Zinn et al, 1992) The greatest benefit of meditation is that it can be practiced while standing, sitting, walking- anywhere and anytime at all. This kind of psychotherapy is the cheapest of all, as it does not require any special tools, medication, or equipment. It can be practiced alone or in groups. Though there are many ancient forms of meditation; the recent being the use of light, colors, and sound etc. According to Bogart (1991), ‘Goleman describes two main types of meditation: concentration methods and insight techniques.’ 2Loosely defined, meditation is a method of mental training which involves focused attention for the purpose of spiritual development and self-actualization. It has long been accepted that tuning out on a regular basis reduces stress and can make one calmer, healthier and happier. Meditation is a well recognized complementary health-enhancing strategy whose key objectives include empowerment to cope with loss and depression, and to sustain a sense of fulfillment in life. (Pollard, 2004) The benefits of meditation cannot be achieved without practicing it consistently, over a period of time. The mind, body and soul have to be unified by frequently and consistently practicing meditation. The long-termed benefits of meditation can only be achieved if it is made a part of our lives. It conditions the brain and the soul, and de-stresses an individual in a natural manner. Apart from the everyday problems faced in one’s life, there are certain accidents, mishaps, or medical conditions that cause stress and anxiety. Patients who have had a major surgery might suffer from mood disturbances and other psychiatric problems. Loss of a loved one; separation or divorce; and trauma are some of the common problems that become the cause of chronic stress and anxiety. A 10-week stress reduction and relaxation program3 studies the effects of mindfulness meditation on such patients. At 10 weeks, 65% of the patients showed a reduction of ≥33% in the mean total Pain Rating Index (Melzack) and 50% showed a reduction of ≥50%. Similar decreases were recorded on other pain indices and in the number of medical symptoms reported. Large and significant reductions in mood disturbance and psychiatric symptomatology accompanied these changes and were relatively stable on follow-up. These improvements were independent of the pain category. We conclude that this form of meditation can be used as the basis for an effective behavioral program in self-regulation for chronic pain patients. (Kabat-Zinn, 1982) We face stressful situations in our everyday lives e.g. going through difficult relationships, or challenging parenthood; or job/career pressures; or relocation to another city/state/country for job or studies etc. and environmental factors like pollution and the increasing violence in the world also enhance the stress levels. The negative energy we accumulate while undergoing stressful circumstances hinders our personal, professional and communal growth and development. It affects our relationships and impedes success and achievements in our personal, academic, professional or social lives. Meditation can work naturally and unconsciously to free our thought process from the complications that arise from stress. It is a way of detaching one from the troubles and worries by introspection. It is a way of gathering our positive energies and to find solutions to the problems in our lives. According to DZurilla, social problem solving techniques use meditation as one of its strategic tool. (1990) Meditation is not necessarily practiced from spiritual or religious points of view. Scientific findings have proved that the benefits attained from meditation enhance the well being of body, soul and mind of everyone- whether they believe in religion and spirituality or not. However, a difference is observed between the results or effects of meditation in a research conducted by Wachholtz in 2005. This study compared secular and spiritual forms of meditation to assess the benefits of a spiritual intervention. Participants were taught a meditation or relaxation technique to practice for 20 min a day for two weeks. After two weeks, participants returned to the lab, practiced their technique for 20 min, and placed their hand in a cold-water bath of 2°C for as long as they could endure it. The length of time that individuals kept their hand in the water bath was measured. Pain, anxiety, mood, and the spiritual health were assessed following the two-week intervention. Significant interactions occurred (time × group); the Spiritual Meditation group had greater decreases in anxiety and more positive mood, spiritual health, and spiritual experiences than the other two groups. They also tolerated pain almost twice as long as the other two groups. Meditation can work wonders for patients in rehabs. It teaches the mind to accept, rather than to reject their feelings and conditions. Meditation can greatly help in cases of addiction to alcohol or other substance abuse. Researchers have proved that suppression of thought regarding substance use may actually increase the level of addiction. Vipassana, a mindfulness meditation practice, emphasizes acceptance, rather than suppression of thoughts. (Bowen, Witkiewitz, Dillworth & Marlatt, 2007) Medical conditions like hypertension can be effectively treated or lowered by practicing meditation. Hypertension is a prominent chronic medical condition suffered mostly by people who are prone to stressful situations. ‘Research has proved that meditation lowers blood pressure- without any cost.’ (Benson, Rosner, Marzetta & Klemchuk, 1974) Hypertension can lead to other complicated heart related diseases; so people can actually increase the quality of their lives by practicing meditation, as it is a sure shot way of remaining relaxed and healthy. A relaxed mind is in a better position to handle problems, and to find effective solutions because a panicky situation cannot be dealt by an already panicked person! The highly competitive business world and workplaces have a lot of stressed-out and anxious individuals who, in an attempt to keep up with the dynamics of their professions, ignore their innate requirement of their well being. Meditation is a great way for such individuals to de-stress themselves. They can meditate in the morning while going to their workplace; or during lunch break; or on their way back home. By detaching their minds from the worldly thoughts, they can indulge in peace that meditation brings. It makes it easier for them to accept challenges at work place; and to secure their jobs by working diligently. The ever-evolving world of medicine has witnessed various forms of therapies to help people deal with stress and other psychological problems; however, meditation has proved to be the most beneficial and the cheapest of all other practices, therapies and medications. Abstract (Oral Presentation) Meditation is associated with religious and spiritual schools of thought. The teachings of Buddha are based on meditation and its benefits. The primary aim of meditation is to learn to concentrate and to focus on the important aspects of one’s life. It conditions and unifies the mind, body and soul. Our mind gets entangled in the everyday problems at home, work and society. Pressures faced during our academic years and careers make us stressed out. Stress is the greatest factor of physiological and psychological problems. It triggers mood disturbances, panic and general anxiety disorders. As a result, we are unable to cope with the challenging situations in our personal, professional, academic and social lives. An emotionally disturbed individual cannot remain focused on something; and distractions can lead to failure of achievement if our goals. An emotionally satisfied and contended person can handle stressful and painful situations that may arise at any point in our lives. Medical conditions, surgery, death of a loved one, separation or divorce, loss of a job, poor grades etc. can lower self esteem and further hamper improvement. Meditation can do away with all sorts of negative feelings and emotions, and bring about a positive attitude towards life. It is a cheap way of relaxation and learning to cope with stressful situations- anytime and anywhere. Meditation has been found helpful in the treatment of persons with strong addiction to alcohol and other substance use. It has also been found to lower blood pressure in chronic hypertension patients. Meditation has been used as a strategic tool in social problem solving techniques. As it enables a person to think and to work in the most panicky situations; therefore, it can greatly help in conflicting situations. It makes communication easier, as a result of which issues can be handled in a better way. The environmental factors, economic crisis and general violence as reported by media have enhanced the stress levels globally. No medication or therapy has been found to be as useful as meditation to bring about a positive change and to increase the ability of handling stressful situations in a better way. Though meditation can be practiced by secular-minded persons; however, the results as obvious from the findings of a report4 reveal that persons with a spiritual/religious background/mentality have higher rates of reduced stress levels. References Benson, H., Bernard, A. B., Marzetta, R. B. & Klemchuk, P. H. (1974). Decreased blood pressure in borderline hypertensive subjects who practiced meditation. Journal of Chronic Diseases. 27(3), 163-169. Bogart, G. (1991). Meditation and psychotherapy: a review of the literature. The American Journal of Psychotherapy, 45 (3), 383-412. Bowen, S., Witkiewitz, K., Dillworth, M. T. & Marlatt, A. G. (2007). The role of thought suppression in the relationship between mindfulness meditation and alcohol use. Addictive Behaviors, 32(10), 2324-2328. Dunn, R. B., Hartigan, A. J. & Mikulas, L. W. (1999). Concentration and mindfulness meditations: unique forms of consciousness? Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback, 24 (3), 147-165. DZurilla, J. T. (1990). Problem-solving training for effective stress management and prevention. Journal of Cognitive Psychotherapy, 4(4), 327-354. Kasamatsu, A. & Hirai, T. (1966). An electroencephalographic study on the Zen meditation (Zazen). Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences, 20(4), 315–336. Kabat-Zinn, J. (1982). An outpatient program in behavioral medicine for chronic pain patients based on the practice of mindfulness meditation: Theoretical considerations and preliminary results. General Hospital Psychiatry, 4(1), 33-47. References and further reading may be available for this article. To view references and further reading you must purchase this article. Kabat-Zinn, J., Massion, O. A., Kristeller, J., Peterson, G. L., Fletcher, E. K., Pbert, L.,...& Santorelli. F. S. (1992). Effectiveness of a meditation-based stress reduction program in the treatment of anxiety disorders. American Journal of Psychiatry, 149, 936-943. Pollard, I. (2004). Meditation and brain function: a review. Eubios Journal of Asian and International Bioethics, 14, 28-34. Wachholtz, B. A. (2005). Is spirituality a critical ingredient of meditation? Comparing the effects of spiritual meditation, secular meditation, and relaxation on spiritual, psychological, cardiac, and pain outcomes. Journal of Behavioral Medicine. 28(4), 369-384. Read More