By:
Kara Barton, MSW, LCSW
Breathing. If
you are reading this now, you are breathing. We all do it, but we don’t usually
pay much attention. It will happen even if we don’t think about it, but what if
we do pay attention to our breath? Mindfulness is about paying attention – to
our breath and to what is happening in the present moment.
As a social
worker in a neurology clinic I teach mindfulness practice with some of my
patients and have facilitated a weekly mindfulness meditation group. While
anecdotal, the reports I hear from those who practice mindfulness include
improved mental, physical, and spiritual well-being. Using mindfulness, or
present attention, allows people to manage racing thoughts, blame about the
past, panic about the future, and to notice what is actually going on right
now. In fact, mindfulness can increase the ability to recognize what is working
or going well in your life.
Common
complaints from people living with MS are related to the past and the future:
Why me? How did I get this? What if I had (insert imagined panacea)? What
is going to happen to me? What if (insert imagined misery) happens to me? While
there is a place for these questions during the process of coping with a
chronic illness, such questions can understandably cause fear, anxiety, and
depression. Inviting presence of mind into this context can be an invitation to
feelings of calm, gratitude, and even joy.
Mindfulness
does not diminish or inhibit the ability to process the past or plan for the
future, which can be helpful in moving forward with life in the context of
living with a chronic illness. However, mindfulness can help decrease complete
absorption in these other “time zones” that prevent us from noticing what is
going on in the moment. Usually we believe we are paying attention “in the
moment,” but what we are actually doing is layering our interpretations of what
is happening on top of the actual experience.
What
the Research Shows
In a study on
“Mindfulness Training for Multiple Sclerosis” reported in Journal Watch
Psychiatry, 2010, Jonathon Silver notes that people living with MS and symptoms
of anxiety, depression, and fatigue demonstrated improved quality of life after
an eight-week intensive training in mindfulness-based therapy.
“MS is an
unpredictable disease,” said study author Paul Grossman, Ph.D. “People can go
for months feeling great and then have an attack that may reduce their ability
to work or take care of their family. Mindfulness training can help those with
MS better to cope with these changes. Increased mindfulness in daily life may
also contribute to a more realistic sense of control, as well as a greater appreciation
of positive experiences that continue to be part of life.”
Mindfulness can
also increase awareness of movement and improve safety for people living with
MS, according to a pilot study in the UK. “Mindfulness of movement as a coping
strategy in multiple sclerosis: A pilot study” indicates that training in
mindfulness can not only improve psychological function, but improve balance
issues as well. People living with MS who have balance or gait issues can be
challenged by the demands of our culture to multi-task; if attention is divided
it can often lead to injury.
Living with MS
impacts the family system, so it is not only the person diagnosed who is
impacted. However, the diagnosis becomes a new feature of an already existing
relationship. It is up to each individual and family to assess the quality of
their functioning and access existing resources to continue to improve their
well-being as a whole. Researchers at the University of Queensland, Brisbane
School of Psychology investigated the impact of mindfulness and acceptance on
couples coping with MS and noted increased ability to adjust and a decrease in
anxiety and depression, therefore improving the quality of the relationship.
Is
mindfulness for me?
This is a
question many people ask themselves, believing that if they have an active mind
they will be unable to practice mindfulness meditation. Yet, mindfulness is not
the absence of thought; it is the practice of not engaging the thoughts as we
are used to in our daily life.
It can help to
come to this new practice with a beginner’s mind, not needing to “get it right”
or be perfect. Gentle kindness towards your own process allows the mindfulness
practitioner to notice what is happening in the mind and body without judgment.
Resources
Book/CD’s:
When Things
Fall Apart by Pema Chodron (Shambhala Publications, Inc., 1997)
Wherever
You Go, There You Are: Mindfulness Meditation in Everyday Life by John Kabat-Zinn
(Hyperion, 1994)
Full
Catastrophe Living by John Kabat-Zinn (Delta, 1991)
Meditation
for Beginners by Jack Kornfield (Sounds True, Inc., 2008)
DVD’s:
Fierce
Grace
documentary about Ram Dass
Free
Meditation Podcasts: http://marc.ucla.edu/body.cfm?id=22
Insight
Meditation Society: http://www.dharma.org/
Kara Barton
is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in the USC Department of Neurology in Los
Angeles, CA. She is part of the Center for Psychological Excellence (COPE) within
the neurology department. She provides counseling and resources to patients and
families living with MS and other neurological conditions. She and her
colleagues believe in cultivating hope and joy during difficult times. Teaching
mindfulness has become an integral part of her clinical practice.
(Last reviewed
11/2012)
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