Here/In This Issue and There/Abstract Thinking: Mindfulness Matters

摘要

Mindfulness Matters Mindfulness is simply defined as paying attention to the present moment, without judgement, and on purpose. Although this concept is rooted in the Buddhist tradition, the past 2 decades have seen the proliferation of secular programs designed to increase mindfulness in adults and, more recently, children and adolescents. As such, pop culture is abuzz with "mindfulness," considered an antidote to the chaos and constant motion of everyday life. Such hype often breeds skepticism because fads have a way of disappearing as quickly as they appear. However, there is reason to believe that the mindfulness trend will not follow a fad-like trajectory. Rapidly increasing scientific investment, in terms of well-controlled clinical trials demonstrating its effectiveness and exploration of the underlying neural circuitry, suggests mindfulness could be here to stay. The number of scientific studies assessing outcomes associated with mindfulness-based interventions has increased exponentially during the past decade. A comprehensive meta-analysis in 2013 indicated that mindfulness interventions, on average, significantly decreased symptoms of depression, anxiety, and pain and even improved cancer outcomes. There is a less developed but emerging body of literature on the impact of mindfulness in children and adolescents. For example, a recent study assessed the effect of an 8-week school-based mindfulness intervention in inner-city schools and found that students enrolled in the mindfulness class (compared with a health education class) had fewer depressive and anxiety symptoms and improved coping strategies.