Mindfulness and meditation

What is mindfulness and meditation for PTSD?

Meditation has elements of exposure, cognitive change, attentional control, self-management, relaxation, and acceptance, all of which are relevant to PTSD. Mindfulness meditation teaches participants to orient their attention to the present with curiosity, openness, and acceptance. It uses monitoring to attend to sensations, emotions, and thoughts as they enter awareness. Experiencing the present non-judgmentally and openly may encourage people to approach rather than avoid distressing thoughts and feelings, which may reduce cognitive distortions and avoidance. Present-orientation also avoids excessive orientation toward the past or future, which may reduce worry and rumination.

What is the evidence for mindfulness and meditation?

Moderate quality evidence found a medium-sized effect of improved PTSD symptoms with mindfulness and meditation compared to control conditions. Longer treatment and higher levels of mindfulness were associated with greater improvement in PTSD symptoms.

August 2021

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Last updated at: 3:57 am, 12th October 2021
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Tags:  Mindfulness

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