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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Mindfulness involves intentional and non-judgmental focus of one’s attention on emotions, thoughts and sensations that are occurring in the present moment. The aim is to open awareness to present experiences, whether positive or negative, allowing thoughts to come and go without reacting, and accepting oneself and the experience.

What is the evidence for mindfulness?

Moderate quality evidence finds medium-sized improvements in depression and anxiety, but no consistent improvements in mania symptoms with mindfulness-based interventions in pre-post treatment assessments. There may also be improvements in mindfulness ability, stress, and emotion regulation following treatment. However, moderate to low quality evidence finds no differences in symptoms when mindfulness-based interventions were compared to usual treatment.

November 2021

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