Summary of Meditation as a Stress Management Technique

Summary of Meditation as a Stress Management Technique

Stress has become a common phenomenon among people. Frustrations at work, failed relationships, and disappointments have all been piling up pressure on people leading to stress. Meditation is one of the most straightforward relaxation techniques viewed as effective in calming a depressed mind (Olpin, & Hesson, 2014). It is the act of deliberately focusing on one thing, which helps in clearing the mind. The body and the mind come to a state of balance and alert relaxation. Through meditation, there is self-awareness, and the mind is open to new ideas. Meditation has numerous benefits, such as lowering stress levels. This calms the body and allows the breathing patterns to improve. Additionally, anxiety levels significantly lower, and there is general job satisfaction and improved performance.

Firstly, there has to be a mental device for meditation to be effective. This is called a mantra, which is a phrase or word that, when repeated, calms the mind. It is a phrase that the mind focuses on hence shifting attention from other things. Mantra meditation is simple as an individual; just select a phrase that is exciting and easy to recall (Manocha et al., 2011). Secondly, meditation requires a passive attitude with no efforts. A person should be in a relaxing mood and focus on the mantra only. Thirdly, meditation requires a comfortable sitting position. One may choose to sit on a chair, on the floor or in a lotus posture. The sitting position should not induce sleep but should allow the body to experience deep rest. At last, meditation requires a quiet environment with no interruptions or disruptions (Varvogli & Darviri, 2011). The eyes should also be closed, and the lights turned off to allow the mind to focus on one item.

The Use of Meditation in the Articles

In the pilot study for yogic meditation, the technique was selected due to the high depression levels of family dementia caregivers. Since caregivers work in a hostile environment, they are prone to experiencing stressful thoughts. Besides, the meditation technique was selected due to its simplicity and effectiveness of calming the mind. The caregivers on dementia patients experience multiple challenges that affect their minds. The frustrations of handling people who are prone to forgetting are discouraging. The study aimed at examining the benefits of yogic meditation on the cognitive abilities of the caregivers (Lavretsky et al., 2013). Several caregivers aged 60 years were sampled, and the meditation exercise involved listening to cool music. The caregivers were expected to set their preferred time to listen to music. The results indicated a significant improvement in the mental health of the caregivers. Most of their depressive thoughts lowered, and their cognitive abilities improved.

The mindfulness program for nurses working in a hospital was selected due to its effectiveness in calming the nurse’s minds. Nurses are some of the professionals who work in a stressful environment. The medical field is full of stressors that make it hard for nurses to work without stress. They work for long hours, suffer emotionally, experience pain for losing their patients, and watch as families cry for their loved ones. The mindfulness program was undertaken since the nurses would meditate on their own. Through meditation, nurses would lower the stress levels that are inherent in their job (Botha, Gwin, & Purpora, 2015). Additionally, meditation would help to reduce their anxiety and pain after losing patients. The mindfulness program was effective since most nurses exhibited positive changes after the exercise. Most of them showed general happiness while working since their minds were relaxed.

The meditation technique was also recommended to the palliative care teams due to their high-stress levels (Schmidt et al., 2017). Medical practitioners who offer palliative care often experience challenges in their line of work. Diagnosing some of the illnesses is a challenge that makes their job difficult. The provision of patient care also faces financial burdens that trouble the palliative care team. Besides, some of them work for long hours without rest. The meditation technique was chosen due to its effectiveness in calming the mind. The palliative care teams were expected to choose different meditation styles that suited them. The results showed a significant improvement in their mental health. Emotional distress, anxiety, and burnout feelings lowered for the care teams.

However, there were some significant differences in how the meditation technique was applied in the three articles. For the family caregivers on dementia patients, a meditation technique was selected for them. They were expected to listen to cool music at their chosen time (Lavretsky et al., 2013). They were also expected to engage in yogic meditation to improve their cognitive abilities. In contrast, the mindfulness program for the nurses working in the hospital had the objective of lowering anxiety and depressive thoughts. The nurses were also given the liberty to select the meditation style they preferred. In the meditation program for the palliative care team, the main objective was to lower emotional distress and burnouts. There was also no specific meditation style which they were supposed to adopt.

Whether Meditation was a Good Fit for the Articles

Meditation was a good fit for all the three articles due to its simplicity and effectiveness in lowering anxiety. For the family caregivers on dementia, they were prone to high levels of stress. Since they work in a stressful environment of caring for patients who keep on forgetting, meditation fitted them well. Through listening to music, they relaxed hence calming their minds that lowered their emotional distress. The mindfulness program for the nurses working in hospitals was also useful. Nurses are exposed to a stressful environment that creates anxiety hence exposing them to mental distress. Therefore, the meditation technique was fit for them as it allowed nurses to relax. Nurses exhibited significant improvement in their mental health, thus lowering their emotional distress. Additionally, the application of meditation for the palliative care team was effective. Individuals offering palliative care suffer from the pain of watching their patients in agony. Besides, some work for long hours that leads to boredom and exhaustion. Meditation was fit for them as they showed significant improvements in burnout levels and emotional distress (Schmidt et al., 2017).

Recommendation of the Meditation Technique

I recommend the meditation technique since its effective in calming the mind. It is also effective in mental relaxation and reduction of stress levels. It leads to an emotional balance of the body hence improving the mental wellbeing of an individual. Meditation also lowers anxiety, depression, and leads to self-awareness (Deshpande, 2012). Besides, it is a simple process that lower stress levels at a faster rate. There are also no special equipment’s or instructors needed to practice meditation. Focusing the mind on one item in a comfortable environment and sitting position is a simple task that can be done by anyone. Additionally, different types of meditation can be done to relax the mind. People can opt for mindfulness programs, mantra, and guided meditation.

References

Botha, E., Gwin,  T., & Purpora, C. (2015). The effectiveness of mindfulness-based programs in reducing the stress experienced by nurses in adult hospital settings: a systematic review of quantitative evidence protocol. National Center for Biotechnology Information, U.S. National Library of Medicine.

Deshpande, R. (2012). A healthy way to handle workplace stress through Yoga, Meditation, and Soothing Humor. International Journal of Environmental Sciences, 2(4), 2143-2154.

Lavretsky et al. (2013). A pilot study of yogic meditation for family dementia caregivers with depressive symptoms: effects on mental health, cognition, and telomerase activity. International Journal on Geriatr Psychiatry.

Manocha, R., Black, D., Sarris, J., & Stough, C. (2011). A randomized, controlled trial of meditation for work stress, anxiety, and depressed mood in full-time workers. Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 2011.

Olpin, M., & Hesson, M. (2014). Stress Management for Life. A Research-based Experiential Approach.

Schmidt et al. (2017). Mindfulness and compassion-oriented practices at work reduce distress and enhance self-care of palliative care teams: a mixed-method evaluation of an “on the job” program.

Varvogli, L., & Darviri, C. (2011). Stress Management Techniques: evidence-based procedures that reduce stress and promote health. Health science journal, 5(2), 74.