As a more daunting and hectic season approaches, we get lost in what we think are the most potent things in our lives. This can be academic, extracurriculars, sports, you name it. We tend to approach them with full dedication and energy (when we are passionate about them) and then learn afterward that our capacity to allow in mindfulness practice dwindles. So many things disrupt us and impede our time to focus on ourselves and our mindfulness. Meditation is not a cure, but an outlet to alleviate our stress and the anxiety that follows responsibilities and expectations. While you may read this and think that meditation is not you’re forte to relaxation, simply taking five minutes every day to reflect on your thoughts, behaviors, academic performance (as for us youth this can be quite burdensome), your confidence, or anything related to your emotional and mental awareness, is integral to ensuring a healthy, disciplined, and most importantly, a happy every day!
So let’s divine into the action-activated research on mindfulness and meditation…
Today in North America front-sourced applications such as anti-depressants, and cognitive behavioral therapy, have benefited a lot of people, but it doesn’t accommodate everyone’s bodies. These interventions cannot always guarantee concrete and expected results for mental challenges, therefore a handful of people don’t respond desirably. This has resulted in a dire need for alternative approaches. Researcher Gaselle Desbordes at Harvard University uses Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to convey before and after brain images of depressed patients who have effectively and properly learned how to meditate. It not only catches an image of the brain but records brain activity throughout the day. She continued in this study and recorded before and after segments of people who had practiced meditating throughout two months while performing everyday tasks. She encountered a fascinating find of change in a part of the brain called the amygdala which is the processing center of your brain for your emotions.
During the scans, patients are asked to complete two tests that are associated with mindfulness practices such as resting focus on your heartbeat, or reflecting on your thoughts in a self – discussion such as saying slights like “I am not good enough or ” I can’t keep doing this.” Later participants are asked to stop sitting on negative thoughts (which are very much self-inflicted). Researchers then inspect how quickly patients can gear away from negative subjects which is a tense task for those depressed.
Researchers who specialize in mindfulness and the emotional facet of our lives dive deep into studying certain emotional awareness mechanisms that will provide relief and effective strategies to our fluctuating pressures and anxieties. As Gaselle quotes “If we want that to become a therapy or something offered in the community, we need to demonstrate [its benefits] scientifically.”
Sources: https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2018/04/harvard-researchers-study-how-mindfulness-may-change-the-brain-in-depressed-patients/