Mindfulness Meditation Essay
explanatory Essay
911 words
Using Mindfulness Meditation to improve Academic Performance and
Mental Health among Nursing Students
Nursing students report higher levels of anxiety than the overall population of college students, in part due to heavy course loads, rigorous exams, long hours of clinical experiences, and ongoing pressure to get good grades in a very competitive environment. The educational goals of the academic nursing program are to cultivate students’ creative and critical thinking abilities and promote continuous self-development (Song, Y., et al 2015). Thus, nursing students must not only endure burdensome theoretical learning, but also experience clinical practice. Myriad stressors exist in nursing students’ experiences, including meeting professional
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In this essay, the author
- Explains that nursing students report higher levels of anxiety than the overall population of college students due to heavy course loads, rigorous exams, long hours of clinical experiences, and ongoing pressure to get good grades.
- Explains that despite stressors and demands nursing students experience as they begin clinical practice, study findings support the use of mindfulness meditation intervention.
- Explains that nursing students experience stress, mood changes, and cognition disturbance that negatively impact their academic success, but little is being done to address this issue.
- Explains that mindfulness meditation is a means of sensory detachment and reducing bias in one’s perception of the world; it cultivates self-awareness, non-judgement, and compassion towards oneself and others.
- Opines that teaching mindfulness meditation techniques to nursing students may be one way to help them manage stress, improve academic performance, and mental health.
According to American Holistic Nurses Association (AHNA) (2009), “one third of nursing students experience stress severe enough to induce mental health problems such as anxiety and depression.” Therefore, it is imperative that we address these high levels of distress among nursing students, since excessive anxiety in nursing students can have negative health, academic, and patient care outcomes, as well as impact future role transition into professional practice; including burnout and poor job performance (Foureur, M., et al., 2013). One method that has been investigated to improve nursing students’ mental health is mindfulness meditation. Mindfulness meditation is derived from Vipassana meditation in Buddhism, which is defined as a process of focusing one’s mind in the present moment, maintaining a nonjudgmental attitude, and detaching from destructive thoughts and feelings (Dryden & Still, 2006). Nursing Students can …show more content…
Variants of mindfulness meditation have been incorporated into Western psychology and have shown evidence of improving mental health (Goyal et al., 2014). For example, mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) programs have been effective in alleviating depression, anxiety, and chronic pain (Kabat-Zinn, J., et al., 1992). Moreover, increased mindfulness has been found to be related to improved psychological functions, and it led to reductions in suffering; it has been shown to be an important predictor of depression in nursing students (Ratanasiripong et al.,
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- Meditation And Meditationexplanatory essayThough Buddhism has long been a disciplined and strict religion since its’ beginning in the 3rd Century, it has recently gained positive utilitarian use within the psychological and neurological fields of science. Programs dedicated to improving and helping the lives of those who suffer from mental illness have started to incorporate the use of meditation as a form of treatment. Meditation is enforced in many schools of Buddhism as a method, or a way of life, to becoming enlightened. With growing qualitative and quantitative research on meditation, it becomes more evidential of the positive and life changing impact meditation serves in improving overall health of the mentally ill. Additionally, meditation can be implemented as a preventative
In this essay, the author
- Explains that buddhism has gained positive utilitarian use within the psychological and neurological fields of science. meditation is enforced in many schools of buddhism as a method of becoming enlightened.
- Explains that meditation is a crucial strategy in the path towards enlightenment. it allows its followers to obtain indifference to worldly attachments, experience the mind as it is and its original nature.
- Explains that meditation has gained popularity in the us for many reasons, such as the positive health changes that can come out of practicing it.
- Explains that a pilot study conducted by hanne e. reese revealed that meditation techniques improved tic severity and impairment in patients suffering from ts and ctd.
- Explains how a trial conducted by hannah reese and her associates revealed that meditative techniques produced visible and measurable positive results in the maintenance of external and internal stimulus in relation to tourette's syndrome.
- Opines that meditation is a strong alternative to drug heavy therapies that have the potential of losing their effectiveness and increasing the dosages of patients.
1273 wordsRead More - Essay On Mindfulness Mediationexplanatory essayFor thousands of years people have practiced mediation for spiritual, emotional, and physical well-being. Albeit there are many mediation types, in this paper I will be discussing and focusing on mindfulness mediation. Before further exploring mindfulness mediation, it is crucial to define mediation as a whole. Tang, Holzel, & Posner, 2016 state “Meditation can be defined as a form of mental training that aims to improve an individual’s core psychological capacities, such as attentional and emotional capacities” (p.213). Having that in mind, we can dive into mindfulness mediation. Mindfulness meditation is defined as “nonjudgmental attention to present-moment experiences (Tang, Holzel, & Posner, 2016).” A useful analogy to consider is going to the gym, going to the gym allows one to enhance the body, well similarly, practicing mindfulness is akin to taking the mind to the psychic gym, it enhances it. Mindfulness meditation involves focusing on your breathing and then bringing your mind’s attention to the present all while dismissing discursive thoughts and maintaining a special focus on breathing.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that meditation is a form of mental training that aims to improve an individual’s core psychological capacities, such as attentional and emotional capacities.
- Explains that meditation is a cultivating process, it requires serious patience and tenacity, and consistency is key in this practice.
- Explains how mindfulness meditation can be beneficial for both psychological and physiological health. it can help reduce stress, anxiety, and depression.
- Explains that mindfulness meditation is comprised of eight key factors: non-judgement, being in the present moment, patience, beginners mind, trust, nonstriving, acceptance, and lastly, letting go.
- Explains that ayurveda translates to "the science of life" and is a natural healing system that was founded in india.
- Opines that financial factors may also play a huge role in the appeal of complementary and alternative therapies in health care.
- Explains the ayurvedic medical system and mindfulness meditation's goal of utilizing a purely holistic approach to achieve optimal health. western medicine treats the disease rather than treating the individual.
- Explains that cognitive behavior therapy and mindfulness based behavioral therapy are often applied in union. 90 patients were randomly selected and divided into three groups of 30 patients each.
1024 wordsRead More - Analysis Of Mindfulness By Ellen J. Langeranalytical essayCelebrated by a 25th Anniversary Edition publication in 2014, Mindfulness by Ellen J. Langer explores the ideas of mindlessness and mindfulness and their implications on health and wellbeing. Langer is a very accomplished psychologist having received her BA from New York University and her PhD from Yale. She has been a Professor of Psychology at Harvard since 1977. A few of her achievements include the NYU Alumni Achievement Award, the Arthur Staats Award for Unifying Psychology, and the World Congress Award. Langer has authored 11 books and over 200 research articles on topics such as perceived control, successful aging, and decision-making. However, all of her research has a focus on mindfulness.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that mindfulness by ellen j. langer explores the ideas of mindlessness and mindfulness and their implications on health and wellbeing.
- Explains langer's goal of writing mindfulness is to share the practical implications of her studies with the general public.
- Analyzes how langer introduces strategies for people to use in order to remain mindful in the decisions they make throughout their day without even realizing it. mindfulness adjusts thinking in a way that incorporates creative and critical thinking skills.
- Explains mindfulness's importance of creativity, stating that creative people come up with novel solutions to everyday problems. creativity fosters mindfulness and critical thinking.
- Explains that mindlessness hinders critical thinking, leaving one with maladaptive decision-making skills that may hinder adjustment. mindfulness allows individuals to come up with solutions to old problems that they may otherwise discount due to rigid views.
- Explains how increased mindfulness may improve health through several experiments mentioned in mindfulness. it encourages awareness and creative thought while providing the added benefits of improved health.
- Explains that mindfulness brings awareness to how much people live their life without really contemplating what they are actually doing. it allows people to live a fuller life that can help them adjust to daily stressors and improve health.
854 wordsRead More - Have you ever wondered if your brain could process quicker, come to conclusions easier, stay focused longer, make decisions swifter, be healthier, or even live longer? If you answered yes, there is indeed a way to do so; you two just haven’t been introduced yet. If you’re thinking of some breakthrough technology, a revolutionary medicine, or perhaps that someone has finally discovered the fountain of youth, think again. Not a breakthrough technology, but rather one of the oldest practices in human history, mindfulness meditation. Regular practice of mindfulness meditation is capable of increasing an individual’s mental efficiency and physical well-being, which allows for an increase in productivity among individuals in the workplace, classroom, and ultimately, our society.
In this essay, the author
- Opines that mindfulness meditation is one of the oldest practices in human history and can increase an individual's mental efficiency and physical well-being.
- Explains that mindfulness meditation is the focus upon introspective consciousness and present-moment awareness to allow an individual to become cognizant of sensations, emotions, and thoughts without judgment.
- Explains that mindfulness meditation, even for twenty minutes per day, has been proven to increase working memory, strengthen focus, and decrease stress levels.
- Analyzes the relationship between an individual and the environment that the individual appraises as potentially endangering to their well-being. cohen's perceived stress scale is the most widely used psychological instrument for measuring the perception of stress.
- Analyzes the correlation between mindfulness and compliance among children with adhd. mindfulness helps treat disorders such as adhd and can substantially increase focus for any individual.
- Explains that mindfulness meditation increases an individual's working memory, observance, and learning due to an increased rate of processing, learning rates, error types and other process data.
- Explains that mindfulness may help protect one's telomeres, the protective caps at the end of the chromosome, to allow for a longer life.
- Explains that while some people disagree with the promising effects of mindfulness, others believe it is an unhealthy way to deal with problems.
- Explains that mindfulness meditation has been proven to positively affect the mind and the bodies of individuals who practice it, leading to an overall increased well-being of the individual.
- States davis, daphne m., and jeffrey a. hayes, "what are the benefits of mindfulness?" american psychological association.
- Describes epel, elissa, elizabeth blackburn, and susan folkman's research, "can meditation slow rate of cellular aging?"
1834 wordsRead More - Mindfulness Essayexplanatory essayMindfulness is a concept or practice that was founded nearly 2600 years ago. It is a very integral component of the Buddhist faith and is believed to be associated with many benefits including self-control, tolerance, flexibility, objectivity, concentration, mental clarity, emotional intelligence, kindness, compassion, acceptance, and equanimity.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that mindfulness is a concept or practice that was founded nearly 2600 years ago and is believed to be associated with many benefits including self-control, tolerance, flexibility, objectivity, concentration, mental clarity, emotional intelligence, kindness, compassion, acceptance, and equanimity.
- Explains that mindfulness refers to the psychological state of awareness and the practices that facilitate this awareness.
- Explains that meditation is an activity while mindfulness is a state of awareness. there are certain practices that can cultivate mindfulness including yoga, tai chi, and mindfulness meditation.
- Explains that mindfulness helps us stay calm and reduces stress. researchers have analyzed the use of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy and mindfulness based stress reduction and found that both can increase positive effect while decreasing the negative effect and anxiety.
- Explains that meditation practices that promote mindfulness have a positive impact on our working memory capacity making it stronger and more stable over time.
- Explains that mindfulness improves our physical health, including our heart, blood pressure, pain, sleep, and gastrointestinal system.
- Explains that mindfulness helps decrease depression and anxiety and reduce stress. it can also help deal with other disorders such as substance abuse, eating disorders, alcohol dependency, marital conflicts, obsessively-compulsive disorder and other similar conditions.
- Explains that mindfulness helps us achieve a balance between past experiences and future expectations. it allows us to reduce our stress and anxiety related to issues in our past or anticipated issues.
- Explains that mindfulness is easy to achieve and requires no special training or skill. it is a simple technique that requires focus and practice.
- Explains that mindfulness is affordable for everyone, as it doesn't require big budgets or heavy spending on equipment or visits. there are numerous free online resources and free meditation groups in many cities.
- Explains that mindfulness is a state of being, and if you want to get rid of negativity and tension in your life and train yourself to focus on the positives, it is the right path.
- Opines that our lives are so busy we sometimes lose sight of what is important and what really matters. mindfulness can help us think clearly and prioritize things according to their importance in our life.
997 wordsRead More - What Is Mindfulness And Mental Stress?explanatory essayResearches carried out with a sample of undergraduate students have explored a negative correlation between mindfulness and mental distress (Bowlin & Baer, 2012; Kiken & Shook, 2012). Stress, anxiety and depressive symptoms are commonly stated experiences among university students (Sreernamareddy, Shankar , Binu, Mukhipadhyay, Ray, & Menezes , 2007) Stressors may result in anxiety, depression and poor sleep quality (Lemma, Gelaye, Berhane, Worku, & Williams , 2012) poor academic performance (Stewart, Lam, Betson, Wong, & Wong , 1999) alcohol and substance abuse, reduced life satisfaction and quality of life (Said, Kypri, & Bowman, 2013; Adlaf, Demers, & Gliksman , 2005). Literature shows a significant increase in major psychological problems such as stress, depression, anxiety, and panic disorder among collage students (Dyson & Renk, 2006). Research has found a positive correlation between emotional capability and psychological health (Schonert-Reichl & Lawlor 2010) and benefits in mental and physical health conditions (Germer & Siegel, 2012). A study carried out with nursing professionals suggest that mindfulness can be an successful and low-cost way to reduce symptoms of stress and burnout and improve quality of life (Cohen-Katz, Wiley, Capuano, Baker , & Shapiro,
In this essay, the author
- Explains that mindfulness is a 2,500-year-old practice of meditation known as vipassana, or insight meditation.
- Explains that the negative effects of stress among university students are well discovered in the literature. stressors may result in anxiety, depression, and poor sleep quality.
- Explains that diener defines satisfaction as a reflection of an individual’s evaluation of his or her life. a positive relationship between mindfulness and life satisfaction is found in literature.
- Explains that mental health disorders are the most widespread source of disability for youth aged 10 to 24 years. stress and depression levels of university students are increasing due to rapid changes in modern society.
721 wordsRead More - Do Mindfulness- Based Interventions Influence Psychological Health?argumentative essaySauer-Zavala et al.(2013) exaamined if meditation practice in mindfullness-based interventions influenced changes in psychological health. Mindful yoga, body scan, and sitting meditation were all studied during different time periods. The participants were undergraduate students that were majoring in psychology. They volunteered for the study online to receive one credit. The participants were assigned to a random condition based on the time they chose to participate in the study. They only participated in one of the three conditions. They did not know anything about the condition that was assigned to them before they signed up. They were also given a questionaire and introduction before they started the intervention. The results showed that psychological well-being increased with all three methods of meditation. Mindful yoga had a higher association with an increase in psychological well-being than the other two methods. Therefore, yoga would help reduce my stress and help me improve my well-being as a whole. By reading this article, I feel more confident in my choice that yoga will help relieve my stress. I don’t expect to see quick results in the level of stress from starting yoga. I hope over time I will be able to live a less stressful life.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that sauer-zavala et al. (2013) exaamined whether meditation practice in mindfullness-based interventions influenced changes in psychological health.
- Compares mindfulness-based intervention strategies: different effects of sitting meditation, body scan, and mindful yoga.
- Concludes that yoga is not only useful for health conditions, but also psychological conditions. however, they realized that many of the articles they found were not reliable.
- Cites chugh-gupta, baldassarre, f. g., and vrkljan, b. h.
- States that gard et al. (2012) investigated whether yoga had an effect on the quality of life in young adults. they concluded that yoga improved life satisfaction while decreasing stress and anxiety.
- Explains that they chose the health belief model because it matched well with the goal they were trying to reach.
- Explains that they will tell their friend about their goal, which she will keep asking about.
- Explains that they will have the yoga dvd standing on their dresser so they can see it from all angles of their room.
- Explains that when they complete their goal, they will reward themselves by having a free day from schoolwork for the first week.
- Analyzes the effects of a yoga-based intervention for young adults on quality of life and perceived stress.
- Explains that they will put a note on their calendar, calendar reminders, computer home screen, and bathroom mirror.
914 wordsRead More - Benefits Of Mindfulness Meditationexplanatory essayOver twenty-five hundred years ago, Buddha Guatama practiced meditation and came to what is known as “The Four Noble Truth,” an important principle in Buddhism (Elder, 2010). This principle informs the reader of what suffering is and how affect is. This is a great example of how valuable meditation is- on the very first session ever recorded, the awareness that came from it would later be the foundation of a new religion. This proves how powerful meditation can be. Furthermore, some form of meditation can be found in various religions. Although the styles, techniques, and ideology behind the meditation can vary per religion, personal transformation is the key goal (Modi, Singh, 2012). Today, in Western society, mindful meditation (a form of meditation) has grown in popularity, used for relaxation and to help treat those who suffer from mental illness’ and mood disorders. Viewed as alternative medicine for the mind and soul, it is beneficial for our emotional and mental
In this essay, the author
- Explains the benefits of mindfulness meditation, a basic script written by andy puddicombe.
- Explains the importance of mindfulness meditation in western culture. buddha guatama practiced meditation and came to what is known as "the four noble truth."
- Explains that mindfulness meditation helps individuals who suffer from depression, anxiety, and stress to achieve a self that is emotionally stable and confident.
- Explains that mindfulness meditation is a popular form of meditation, available in local programs and accessible through applications on our phones. andy puddicombe and rich pierson created headspace.
- Explains that mindfulness meditation has brought awareness and attention to the world around us, mending the mental health of individuals suffering from mental illness, mood disorders, and everyday people with lots of stress.
833 wordsRead More - The Mindful Use Of Mindfulnessexplanatory essayAccording to Anderson (2005), mindfulness can help therapist and therapist trainees gain some of the necessary skills it takes to be a therapist or counselor. One of those skills is empathy. They found that subjects who participated in mindfulness meditation training showed increase of empathy after. The therapists are able to become in tune with their own thoughts and emotions; this then helps them relate to their clients and become more aware of how they feel. Another aspect of counseling mindfulness can help with is compassion. Shapiro, Schwartz, and Bonner (1998) found that nonjudging and nonreacting (two key components of mindfulness) to be highly correlated with compassion. Newsome, Christopher, Dajlem, & Christopher (2006) investigated the effect of mindfulness overall on the basics of counseling. They discovered in their four-year study that counselors who participated in mindfulness were m found to be more comfortable when a silence in the conversation arose, as well as more attuned to the clients and their needs. Overall, when the therapist or counselor attuned with themselves, they can do a better job helping their
In this essay, the author
- Explains that mindfulness has piqued the interest of many counselors and researchers in the area of cognitive psychology.
- Explains that mindfulness can be traced back to the beginning of buddhism.
- Explains the benefits of mindfulness in counseling, and argues that there is still a lot of progress to be made.
- Explains that mindfulness promotes a healthy well-being and is beneficial to patients and therapists.
- Explains that a study conducted by hagen, lien and hauff & heir found no correlation between the mindfulness technique and protection of ptsd symptoms.
1077 wordsRead More - Meditation as a Preventative Measure to Reduce Morbidity and Stressargumentative essayIn Eastern cultures, meditation has been practiced for over two thousand years. Through this training a culture has developed in which an individual is empowered to engaged in preventative behaviors, which reduce stress and morbidity, resulting in a general state of wellbeing, with stability and mental peace in the face of everyday challenges (Richardson and Lutz, 2008). Over the last half-century, the western-scientific community has begun to evaluate the efficacy of the eastern methods of meditation. In the modern western world there is an over abundance of stress, pressure and over stimulation. These conditions often result in stress-related morbidity, high levels of anxiety and mental illnesses. This cause and effect relationship is well established, and typically emphasis is placed on symptom control and less on preventative behavior modification. There are clinically documented see table 1, meditation practices that can be taught over a short period of time to an individual which have been shown to have positive results. Meditation can be used preventatively in supporting immune function and during illness as a method to aid healing and wellbeing for nominal costs. This paper will make an literary examination of a variety of studies of which examine the role of meditation training in regards to promoting immune function in athletes, recovering cancer patients, in addition to reducing stress and promoting well being in business professionals, cancer patients and seasoned meditation practitioners.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that meditation has been practiced for over two thousand years in eastern cultures. the western-scientific community has begun to evaluate the efficacy of the eastern methods of meditation.
- Argues that meditation could be integrated into modern culture as a means of reducing stress, supporting immune function, expanding productivity, and improving mental health.
- Explains that davidson et al. and the tibetan monastic community led by h.h. the dalai lama demonstrated how meditation can affect the physiology of the brain in a positive direction.
- Describes carlson, e. l., speca, m.
- Opines that mann, r., cheung, t.w. j, ialomiteanu, a.
- Explains that solberg et al. examined the effects of meditation on immune response after physical stress.
- Explains how hopkins and proeve examined the efficacy of an eight-week mindfulness-based cognitive therapy on a group of trainee psychologists.
- Concludes that meditation counteracted the immune suppression after strenuous activity. carlson et al. concluded meditation aided in the over-all wellbeing of cancer patients.
1934 wordsRead More