Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy may reduce the demand for primary care visits

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Can’t get an appointment with your GP? Don’t stress, mindfulness-based cognitive therapy may help by reducing the demand for primary care visits by distressed patients, according to a new study in the Journal of Psychosomatic Research.

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Meditation programmes may improve anxiety, depression and pain but better quality research is needed, says systematic review

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There’s little doubt about it – meditation is in vogue. In fairness, it probably always has been. However, clinical and research interest in the effects of meditation programmes on psychological wellbeing has grown considerably in recent years. The development of mindfulness-based interventions has no doubt driven much of this interest. For example, running a PubMed keyword [read the full story…]

#MindfulnessMonday Mindfulness-based stress reduction can alleviate stress and improve quality of life and mental health

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This month in the woodland (and the Twittersphere) we’ve given you #MindfulnessMonday. It’s been our attempt to highlight some of the potential benefits that mindfulness can have on our mental well-being in a variety of different health conditions including breast cancer, depression and anxiety, and psychosis. This last #MindfulnessMonday blog examines the effectiveness of Mindfulness-Based Stress [read the full story…]

#MindfulnessMonday – Mindfulness-based stress reduction works for patients with breast cancer

Patients with breast cancer commonly have lots on their mind (psychological distress)

Within the woodland October is a month of themes. Many of you will be familiar with #Stoptober, which always helps any elves who sneak round the the back of the woodshed, to give up smoking. You may be less aware of our #MindfulnessMonday activities that will be sprinkled across the month; showcasing the potential benefits that [read the full story…]

Mindfulness-based stress reduction programmes help reduce anxiety, depression and stress

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Mindfulness has become a popular self-management technique to relieve stress and cope with busy day-to-day lifestyles. This review defines mindfulness as the ability to “non-judgementally observe sensations, thoughts, emotions and the environment, while encouraging openness, curiosity and acceptance”. It looks specifically at a technique called Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) programmes, which is a training programme [read the full story…]