Stress is no joke. Aside from the sleepless nights and lots of tension, stress can also have a range of negative health effects.
So how do you reduce stress?
A team of researchers at the Jefferson-Myrna Brind Center of Integrative Medicine started looking for answers.
They gathered 18 patients who had received a diagnosis of breast cancer but were not in active treatment. Arguing that this was a population of people who were under high stress, researchers randomly assigned the patients to two different groups.
One group received a mindfulness-based art therapy course, while the other received an education program to serve as a control.
The 8-week mindfulness course combined meditation exercises that stressed awareness of breathing and emotions with expressive art exercises to provide opportunities for self-expression.
Researchers measured participants’ response both before and after the program with a symptom checklist.
But they also used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to assess cerebral blood flow before and after the study as well.
They found that participants who got the mindfulness course showed significantly increased blood flow to areas of the brain associated with controlling emotions and regulating stress.
What’s more, these increases in cerebral blood flow correlated significantly with reduced stress and anxiety as indicated by the symptom checklist.
So, the brains of study participants who got the mindfulness course were actually working differently – and they reported that they felt better as well.
According to the authors, finding ways to change the brain could help improve quality of life for cancer patients.
But anyone can benefit from brain change. Who wouldn’t want to lower their stress and anxiety levels?
I should note, though, that this study has some limitations. First, because the mindfulness course combined meditation with art therapy, we can’t be sure which intervention actually led to change, or if it was the combination of the two.
Second, this study had a rather small sample size, which limits its statistical power.
Despite these limitations, this research suggests one way we can change the brain. I’d like to see research that uses larger samples and isolates its variables more effectively, but this is a good foundation.
To read more, you can find the full study in Volume 28, Issue 5 of Stress and Health.
If you’re interested in other ways to create effective, lasting brain change, take a look at this.
What techniques have you used to help your patients reduce stress? Do you think changing the brain might help your practice? Please add your thoughts to the comments below.
Thanks for sharing a detailed and well- explained. Thank you for this. I found it interesting. It is always nice to have outside validation for one’s work. I read such blogs on iahas.com where they focused on health benefits of Ayurveda using its herbs and recipes .
I’m really pleased to see a research study that combines art therapy with mindfulness. I have used mindful breathing and body awareness with my clients in art therapy for many years and the combination seems to help clients calm their anxiety, release stress and gain new perspectives while enjoying the process of creative expression. Thank you for bringing this study to our attention, and I hope there will be further research on the benefits of art therapy and mindfulness.
Thank you for this. I found it interesting. It is always nice to have outside validation for one’s work.
I know mindfulness plays a very significant role in reducing stress and I use the basics with the people I see – I say basics because I feel that is what I can offer. Invariably I use various exercises from energy medicine to ensure their own energy is crossing over correctly, including any pressure points that are useful to their presenting issue creating emotional stress. Emotional Freedom Technique is useful and the research shows that this brings down the stress levels also significantly. I find a mixture of techniques seems to help a majority of people.
Interesting. An article on the study describes the Mindfulness Based Art Therapy given to the women thus: “The MBAT program consisted of MBSR [Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction] curriculum, which included awareness of breathing, awareness of emotion, along with mindful yoga, walking, eating, and listening. This was paired with expressive art tasks to provide opportunities for self-expression, facilitate coping strategies, improve self-regulation, and provide a way for participants to express emotional information in a personally meaningful manner.”
Yes, all these things would be helpful. Yet in my teaching experience nothing seems more powerful for women who feel beaten down in any way than receiving instructions to develop self-directed compassion. It is a revelation for them, healing, transformatiive.
Mindfulness and Art are two of the Ten Enchanted Keys from my book, The Enchanted Journey: Finding the Key that Unlocks You. I use these in my personal and professional practice with wonderful results. Thank you for posting this valuable information.
absolute bullshit I have a sleeping disorder 2 years of mindfulness therapy total waste of time as I’m hooked on sleepers which are frying my brain courtesy of the so called mental health clinic I went to as well as other brain disorders I haven’t menti oned I bet you don’t go up and down 20 times a day mindfulness has made me aware of all the messed up thought patterns I have certainly hasn’t improved my life if anything made it worse sick of people who haven’t lived mental illness
In Ron Siegel’s article to which your refer, he compellingly proposes that the number one cause of most human misery is avoidance (of emotional pain among others) and that mindfulness is powerful in allowing us to be with and experience our emotions. (I’m paraphrasing) In this article you report that mindfulness stimulated the centers of the brain associated with controlling emotions. I am very curious about the concepts of regulating emotions, avoiding emotions, controlling emotions vs. allowing emotions, being with emotions and expressing emotions. How do all of those somewhat conflicting concepts make sense in terms of the brain and the power of mindfulness to reduce stress and promote well-being. Some emotional researchers (Les Greenberg, Sue Johnson) distinguish between primary and secondary emotions. Is mindfulness effective because it allows us to regulate our secondary emotional responses so that we can begin to sense our underlying fear, hurt and shame? In one of the comments, P Rhodes from Australia says of mindfulness and art therapy: “The releasing of distress/repressed emotions reduces the effects of physical and mental stress.” I am very curious to understand how the releasing emotions shows up in the brain in the center for controlling emotions. In my body, controlling feels like tensing up and tightening. Releasing feels like letting go and opening up. I’m not trying to be argumentative, I just would really like to understand.
i’m such a believer of meditation. i’m currently in the corporate FI sector and i can tell you – my day is dramatically different when i’ve incorporated physical activity and meditaiton as opposed to when i haven’t…..
A breathing meditation I would like to share . Slowly Inhale and send the breath from feet to crown of head , then exhale and send the breath from top of head down to soles of feet . Do this for several minutes . When I do this in a session I discuss the experience w patients . What was this like ? Where were areas of tension ? Numbness? Pain ?
Art therapy combined with Mindfulness is a gentle yet powerful way to self express. The releasing of distress/repressed emotions reduces the effects of physical and mental stress. Further research carried out in this area would be wonderful.
Good artlcle, I have use this aproach in myself with excellent results. Thank for all your work.
Yes I truly believe so.
First we need to do it for ourselves and then
Pass it on to our clients
Thank you
Yes small sample size limits statistical power and is generally to be avoided but that was not a problem in this study with respect to the main outcome in that- an effect was evident even with the “low” power. A small sample size could be a contributory factor in producing a selection bias however, in that a very small sample (depending partly on recruitment method), may not represent the population of interest adequately. Another concern with small samples that has been expressed is that the outcome of a a small number of participants due to any uncontrolled variable or measurement error can change the main outcome. If I’m wrong about any of this please let me know.
Wth respect to one of the comments; the results per se can only be considered “confounded” if the research question is ” does variable x result in y outcome”, here the question was more along the lines “do procedures a,b, together as an intervention, produce a change in outcome y?”. Yes, the specific mechanisms/ causal analysis await further explication. Yes, we are confounded if we are trying to answer the former question. I suspect both components of the interventions may have an effect which may be summative or interactive.
Additional support (as if any more is needed) of mindfulness’ importance for use with my patients as well as for myself.
I have been meditating for fourteen years. I discovered meditation and Buddhist scriptures (Pali Canon) when I was a teenager dealing with depression. Meditation allows one to concentrate on the root of their pain and delve so deeply into it and all its aspects that they pierce the pain barrier and go beyond suffering. It is nice to see that more and more scientific studies are being conducted in the area of mindfulness. I would really like to see an introduction of “Mindfulness 101” in our school systems throughout the world. If young people had the opportunity to learn valuable techniques that will increase their empathy and equanimity, future generations will benefit greatly. A program to help children understand their thoughts and emotions is the best education that a teacher could bestow upon their students in order to prepare them for the real world experiences they will encounter as they age. It will continue to help them cultivate their wisdom and live full, rich lives with less cravings, anger, restlessness, doubt and lethargy. Meditation practices are, in my experience, the best ways to decrease stress that all of us experience every day. Over time, the science is illustrating that changing one’s thoughts does ultimately change one’s brain.
What an excellent program last evening! It seems to me that the above study results support the idea and evidence that the mind is “embodied and embedded ” …. Interventions that draw on more than education of the intellect aspect of the brain , but using mindfulness and art.. Accessing emotions and creativity , made more of a difference. Lessons to be learned and applied.
I live in France and teach yoga. I need also to heal myself from childhood trauma which has followed me all my life. Mindfullness helps but I found the webinar last night ( 23h00 here! ) fascinating and would like you to tell me two things. First, is there equivalent research and/or therapists here in France and second, how can I become a mindfullness therapist myself? Do I need a medical qualification or… please do reply because I am a real fan and the hairs are standing up on my arms from excitement. Can’t wait fro next week to listen to Rick Hanson, whose “Buddha’s Brain” I have read and recommended to many other people, all in some way connected to wellness and gentle healing.
Allo, Christine, you do not need to become a therapist to teach mindfulness! You can take Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) teacher training and meditation training in France. Just google “mindfulness training + France” or similar and you’ll discover a whole new world! Blessings to you in your exploration.
Terry I Just found your reply to m’y post. I Just wanted to thank you!
What a pity they confounded the results by having two different active components in the experimental group!!! There is probably a story behind that – a committee that had to come to a decision.
I have been a therapist for over 25 years specializing in treating peoples’ food and eating issues in groups and individual therapy. This is my first webinar with this group (Jan 16, 2013 Brain Science) and I find it very satisfying to listen to how the science of the brain backs up what I see clinically as I watch my patients/clients change their relationships to food/body….and get happier and healthier inside and out. Looking forward to listening again!