By Nataliya Schetchikova, PhD, ACA News Associate Editor

For decades, busyness has been considered a virtue in American culture. Henry David Thoreau proclaimed that success comes to those who are too busy to look for it. Dale Carnegie advocated busyness as a remedy against fear. Even Lucille Ball believed that the more people do, the more they are capable of doing.

Taken to the extreme, however, any virtue can turn into a double-edged sword—busyness is no exception. “We don’t take the time to just be anymore. We have evolved into ‘human doings,’ forgetting how to be ‘human beings,’” says Linda Carlson, PhD, a psychological oncologist at the University of Calgary.  

The most obvious—and perhaps the most harmful—result of such a transformation is living with stress. While stress in small doses can be beneficial, such as a stimulating deadline or a life-saving “fight or flight” adrenaline rush, persistent or excessive stress hurts not only performance, but also health. In addition to hindering growth, delaying wound healing, increasing risk of infection,¹ and triggering low-back and other pain,^2-6 stress contributes to a myriad of health problems—from cancer^7,8 and heart disease9 to substance abuse1⁰ and obesity.^11,12 Chronic stress can also lead to depression or anxiety— feeling hopeless or thinking one must always be on guard—conditions that nearly 20 million Americans suffer from each year.¹

 

Whatever our feelings and thoughts may be, we tend to identify with them, becoming their slaves. To free the mind, the Buddhist, Hindu and some Christian, Jewish, and Sufi spiritual traditions offer meditation methods, says Gretchen Newmark, MA, RD, LD, who teaches individual and group meditation in Portland, Ore. “Meditation helps to weaken our ‘belief’ in our thoughts and feelings,” she adds.

 

Just as psychological stress can translate into physical effects, so can meditation. Dr. Carlson, whose studies investigated the effects of meditation on cancer patients, “saw a huge improvement” in the patients’ mood, fatigue, and sleep, in addition to decreased production of stress hormones and an enhanced immune system functioning.^13-15 “We’ve also seen reductions in blood pressure, improvements in anxiety symptoms, and other research found prevention of depression recurrence,” she says.

 

Research shows that meditation can also help those suffering from chronic pain, says Dr. Carlson. “Pain suffering often equals physiological pain sensation multiplied by psychological resistance,” she explains. After an eight-week mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) course, people say that their pain hasn’t changed, but “it doesn’t bug them as much. They have learned to live with pain,” she adds.

 

In a nutshell, meditation is mind training or training in mindfulness: “being aware of and accepting all moment-to-moment experiences, both inner and outer—thoughts, feelings, sensations, sounds, sights or events,” says Newmark.

 

Although meditation is rooted in spiritual traditions, it is not to be confused with prayer. While most prayers usually ask for something, meditation “is not striving for a particular outcome,” says Dr. Carlson.

 

Instead, meditators deliberately focus attention on an object, such as their breath, a picture, a phrase, or a guided meditation recording, to calm and center the mind, says Newmark. “Meditations may also help develop specific qualities, such as compassion, fearlessness, healing, purification, joy,” she adds.  

 

Although some people attempt to learn meditation by themselves, the general advice is to join a training group. Without support and guidance, it’s too easy to get discouraged or impatient and give up, says Newmark. “Many people expect to have no thoughts or feelings during meditation, or that they will [reach] some altered state.” In reality, she explains, intrusive “thoughts and feelings are natural. Meditation is being willing [and able] to bring our minds back to the object of meditation each time it has strayed.”

 

Dr. Carlson, who teaches an eight-week MBSR program at the University of Calgary, adds that group support is also very important for a beginner. “In a group, people learn to help each other problem-solve and learn,” she adds. The instructor can also adjust techniques, if needed. For people who find it difficult to sit for certain periods of time, the instructor can suggest a walking meditation, she explains.

 

Many beginners find it hard to tell if they are relaxed or tense, so “body scan” is usually a good start, says Dr. Carlson. “We learn to tune in to different parts of the body and be aware of what’s happening. Next, we add a concentration meditation, usually focusing on awareness of breathing. Intermingled with the two is a general mindfulness meditation—non-judgmental attention on the present moment.”  

 

Although meditation is “not a pass-fail thing,” many beginners also ask themselves, “Am I doing it right? Am I getting what I am supposed to get?” says Dr. Carlson. The only thing that’s supposed to happen is the change in attitude, to the point of understanding “that nothing is supposed to happen, that whatever happens is just fine,” she says.  

For some, this means allowing themselves to experience sadness, anxiety or fear they would normally dwell on or push away, says Dr. Carlson. “If you try to resist unpleasant emotions, they often get worse. Instead, you say, ‘OK, I am anxious. I am queasy, have sweaty palms, and feel tightness in the belly,’ and watch the sensations, without identifying with them.”

 

Such comfort with emotions and thoughts takes time and practice, however. “In the beginning,” says Newmark, “some people find that they seem to be thinking more compulsively than before or have more disturbing feelings.” In reality, they simply notice the mental patterns they’ve always ignored, she says, noting that meditation is often not recommended for people who are psychotic.

 

Dr. Carlson says that emotional symptoms, like physical symptoms, sometimes tend to get worse before they get better, adding that side-effects are possible for those involved in intensive, week- or month-long meditation retreats, but not usually in a daily practice.

 

For beginners practicing outside a training group, it’s best to meditate in a certain place or time, in a comfortable position, and with minimal distractions, says Newmark. To start, five minutes will do just fine. “It is better to meditate a little bit daily and develop a habit than to meditate for a longer time every so often,” she adds.

 

Integrating a habit of meditating into daily routine is the ultimate goal, says Dr. Carlson, suggesting that scheduling time for meditation often helps. “Don’t try to fit it whenever because you will never find time for it.” Some meditate first thing in the morning or late in the evening; others during breaks at work.

 

As part of a daily routine, meditation can reduce the effects of stress “in a major life crisis” and also help people slow down and prioritize, says Dr. Carlson. “Meditating gives people an opportunity to stop rushing around with a big to-do list, examine our experience and realize that really important things in life are just being in the moment, feeling connected to other people, to your own experience, or feeling close to nature. This is what really brings people joy,” she concludes.

 

Editor’s Note: To learn more about meditation, Gretchen Newmark recommends The Mindful Way Through Depression: Freeing Yourself from Chronic Unhappiness by Mark Williams, an evidence-based book with a CD with guided meditations.  

  

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