Migraines and meditation: does spirituality matter?

Wachholtz, Amy; Pargäment, Kenneth I.

doi:10.1007/s10865-008-9159-2

Cited by 166 publications

(126 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…The positive impact of spirituality on pain relates to pain tolerance, headache frequency and mental and spiritual health. Spiritual meditation has been shown to decrease the frequency of migraine headaches and anxiety in individuals [39] . Moreover, the connections between spirituality and physical health in individuals with a chronic disability is another domain that is important to consider.…”

Section: Good Health and Well-beingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Motivations driving spiritual engagement based on a phenomenological study of spirituality amongst palliative care clients and caregivers

Penman

2012

JNEP

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Objective: The attention given to spirituality has dramatically increased, especially in contemporary western society, because of its significant link to good health and well-being. Spirituality has relevance for individuals with life-limiting conditions. It is heightened when individuals encounter this predicament. The purpose of this research was to determine the essence of the lived experience of spirituality and spiritual engagement from the perspective of palliative care clients and caregivers. One of the objectives was to understand the reasons why they engage in spiritual matters and this is the focus of the paper. Methods:A qualitative approach, based on van Manen's theoretical framework of hermeneutic phenomenology, was chosen for this research. This approach enabled human experience to be studied as it was lived and examined to the fullest breadth, depth and extent through a dynamic interplay of several research activities. In-depth interviews of four (4) palliative care clients and ten (10) caregivers from regional and rural Australia provided rich experiential discourse of what motivated them to engage in spiritual matters. Results:The driving force that motivated the study participants to engage in spirituality was the benefits they might derive in the process of spiritual engagement. The motivations for spiritual engagement could be categorised as intrinsic and/or extrinsic. Intrinsic motivation, defined as the innate propensity to engage one's interest in spirituality and satisfy spiritual needs, included "to have peace and acceptance", "to seek healing", "to be able to cope", and "to find positive meaning in illness and suffering". Extrinsic motivation, which comes from external influences and events that constitute the incentives and consequences to pursue spirituality, included "to communicate love and concern", "to better care for the loved one", "to build intimate relationships", and "to provide comfort to others". Once the drive or motivation arose, behavior was energised to engage in spiritual matters, reaping both self-serving and altruistic benefits.Conclusions: Spirituality provided many real and potential benefits for those who engaged in it. Simply put, it helped participants cope. It becomes imperative for nurses and other health professionals to pay attention to these phenomena. The implications of this study relate to clinical practice and the educational preparation of nurses and other health professionals involved in caring for people with life-limiting conditions.

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Section: Good Health and Well-beingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Motivations driving spiritual engagement based on a phenomenological study of spirituality amongst palliative care clients and caregivers

Penman

2012

JNEP

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“…Newshan [80] believes it is related to love, connection, meaning, and hope. Studies have found that when people connect to a meaningful source of care, comfort, and love, they are more able to tolerate pain [65][66][67]. Melzack [2] considered the brain an active system that filters, selects, and modulates inputs, and Benedetti [71] has uncovered specific mechanisms at both the biochemical and cellular level for activating the opioid system.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The effect of spiritually meaningful words was described again in 2008 by Wachholtz and Pargament [67] when they reported their effect on 83 participants who met the criteria for vascular headache. The participants were randomly assigned into four groups, Spiritual Meditation, Internal Secular Meditation, External Secular Meditation, and Relaxation.…”

Section: Pain and Spiritual Practicesmentioning

confidence: 95%

“…The subjects in both the Jokic-Begic et al and the Abbot et al studies were led to believe they would experience a reduction in pain and they did [68,69]. However, the relaxation response does not completely explain the unusual experiences reported by the subjects who received healing from the self reported healers or the reduction in headaches and greater tolerance to pain reported by the subjects who practiced a spiritual meditative mantra versus a secular mantra [65][66][67]. The penetration into the mind and body of the meaning of words that describe a caring transcendent power may create what Fabrizo Benedetti calls "molecules of hope."…”

Section: Meaning-making As a Placebo Response?mentioning

confidence: 98%

“…The spiritual meditators in both the 2005 and the 2008 study by Wachholtz and Pargament [66,67] focused on one of four phrases; "God is peace", "God is joy", God is good", or "God is love." All four phrases express a sense of goodness, support and comfort similar to what the participants in the Wiech et al study may have experienced when they viewed a picture of the Virgin Mary [65].…”

Section: Pain and Spiritual Practicesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Pain, Spirituality, and Meaning Making: What Can We Learn from the Literature?

Lysne

Wachholtz

2010

Religions

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Religion and spirituality are two methods of meaning making that impact a person's ability to cope, tolerate, and accept disease and pain. The biopsychosocialspiritual model includes the human spirit's drive toward meaning-making along with personality, mental health, age, sex, social relationships, and reactions to stress. In this review, studies focusing on religion's and spirituality's effect upon pain in relationship to physical and mental health, spiritual practices, and the placebo response are examined. The findings suggest that people who are self efficacious and more religiously and spiritually open to seeking a connection to a meaningful spiritual practice and/or the transcendent are more able to tolerate pain.

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