MeditationandMentalHealth 1

MeditationasaPathtoMentalandPhysicalHealth

JoshuaJ.Hill

SaltLakeCommunityCollege
Psy1010

Aug.2014

Whatismentalhealth?Whatismeditation?Andismeditationasuccessfulmethodto
achievegreatermentalhealth?

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Iwouldliketostartthisessaybyaskingsomeverybasicquestionssuchashowdo
wedefinementalhealth?Whatexactlyismeditation?Andthenwecangoontoexamine
whethermeditationcouldhelpanindividualtoachievegreatermentalhealth.Thereare
manydifferentdefinitionsofbothaccordingtodifferentindividuals,cultures,andideologies
throughouttheworld.AccordingtotheWesternAustraliaMentalHealthcommission:
Goodmentalhealthisasenseofwellbeing,confidenceandselfesteem.Itenablesusto
fullyenjoyandappreciateotherpeopledaytodaylife,andourenvironment.Whenweare
mentallyhealthywecan:
formpositiverelationships
useourabilitiestoreachourpotential
dealwithlifeschallenges
Forsimplicitywewillusethisasourmodel.So,wecangaugeourownpersonal
mentalhealththroughobservingthequalityofouremotions,ourrelationships,how
engagedweareinourinterestsandcontributionstoourcommunityandhoweffectivelywe
dealwithandsolvelifesproblems.Wewillalsorelyonsomeclinicalresearchthat
measuresobservablephysiologicalprocesses.
Nextletslookatwhatmeditationis.Thereareseveralpopularvarietiesof
meditation.MostofthemcomefromveryoldEasterntraditionsbutarequicklybeing
adaptedtoWesternlifeandbeingheldunderthelenseofscientificstudy.Someofthe
mostcommonvarietiesbeingmindfulnessmeditation,transcendentalmeditation,and
meditationonaspecificsubjectsuchasmettameditationthatfocusesonfeelingsof
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lovingkindnessandforgiveness,orvisualization.Meditationcanalsoincludeintentional
manipulationsofthebreath.Wewilllookateachanditsresults.
So,ismeditationefficacious?Actuallysomeofthesepracticeshavebeenfoundin
studiesnotonlytoaffectmentalandemotionalstates,butphysiologicalstatesaswell,
possiblybeingofspecialinterestofpractitionersofhealthpsychology.
Reliableincreasesinaxillarytemperaturefromnormaltoslighttomoderatefever
zones(upto38.3C)wereobservedamongmeditatorsonlyduringtheforcefulbreathtype
ofgtummomeditationaccompaniedbyincreasesinalpha,beta,andgammapower
Withoutvisualizationbothmeditatorsandnonmeditatorswerecapableofusingthe
ForcefulBreathvasebreathingonlyforalimitedtimeresultinginlimitedtemperature
increasesintherangeofnormalbodytemperature.(Kozhevnikov2013)
Itiswellknownthatmanyathletesusevisualizationasamethodofsharpeningtheir
skillsandtrainingthemindtoperformdifficulttasks.Andanyindividualhasseenin
themselvestheemotionalandphysiologicaleffectsofonesimaginationinavarietyof
formsfromworryingaboutpossibleoutcomesinthefuturetorecallingtraumaticmemories
toarousalcausedbysexualfantasies.Soisitasurprisethatpeopleoverthecenturies
haveusedthesameeffectforintentionalandbeneficialpurposes?
ThenthereisTranscendentalMeditation.Thisparticulartypeofmeditation
wasintroducedbyMaharishiMaheshYogiandwaspopularizedinthewestbypopculture
figureslikeTheBeatles,RaviShankar,andDonavan.Butithasquicklymadeitswayinto
therealmofprofessionalpsychology.Itinvolvesspending15or20minutesfocusingona
mantraorsoundwithnoparticularmeaning.Itistraditionallyleanedthroughadirect
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teacherstudentrelationship.NormanE.RosenthalM.D.aprofessorofclinicalpsychology
andleadingresearcherofSeasonalAffectiveDisorderDescribesthetechniquesand
studiesofitsbenefitsinhisbookTranscendence:HealingandTransformationThrough
TranscendentalMeditation(2011).AccordingtohisresearchEEGshaveshownthatT.M.
calmsthebrainwhileorganizingtheprefrontalbrainregions.Andafterregularpractice
theseresultscontinuebeyondtheperiodofmeditation.
Nowwhatabouttheotherendofmeditativepracticeknownasmindfulness
meditation.Inmindfulnessmeditationtheattentionisnotdirectedtoapredesignedidea,
thought,oremotion,butneutrallytothepresentexperienceinrealtime.Somestudies
havefoundthistechniquetoreducestressandanxietyinpatients(Zeidan,Martucci,K.T.,
Kraft,McHaffie,J.G.,&Coghill,R.C.2012)aswellastohelptherapiststobeintouchwith
theirownexperienceandtobetterunderstandtheirclients.(Grepmair2007).Before
mindfulnesswasapopularterminthewestCarlRogerstechniqueswereverysimilarto
thismethodinrelatingtohisclients,andheevenreferstohisapproachasseeming
eastern(Rogers1961).Thisisveryapplicabletothepartofourdefinitionthatsuggests
thatmentalhealthhelpsustoappreciateotherpeople.Weareobviouslymoreableto
appreciatesomeoneorsomethingifwearementallypresent.Mindfulnessisbeing
incorporatedinnationallyrecognisedtherapiessuchasDialecticalBehaviorTherapy,
MindfulnessBasedCognitiveBehaviorTherapy,andMindfulnessBasedStress
Reduction.Thesetypesofmeditationarenotexclusive,butcomplementary.Ifwecan
spendsometimeguidingourmindstowardapositiveoutlookandthenbefullypresentand
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viceversawemaystandamuchbetterchanceofhavingamorewelladjustedapproachto
ourlivesandthosearoundus.
Ofcoursehealthprofessionalsdonotdescribemeditationasasingulartreatment
formentalillness.Butmanydosupportitsuseintandemwithtreatmentsthataremore
familiartowesternmedicine.Andmostresearchpointstobenefitsforimprovingmental,
emotional,andphysicalfunctionsforpeoplewithoutseverementaldisorders.