Reducing anxiety, geriatric depression and worry in a sample of older adults through a mindfulness training program

Abstract

this study aimed to analyze the effects of a mindfulness training program on anxiety, worry, and geriatric depression in a sample of older adults. a randomized controlled trial with pretest-posttest measurements was used on an experimental group (n = 42) and a control group (waiting list; n = 45). participants in the experimental group completed the short cognitive examination, the penn state Worry Questionnaire (psWQ), and the Geriatric Depression Scale. Analyses showed significantly stronger reductions in geriatric depression, anxiety and worry in the experimental group than in the control group, confirming the effectiveness of mindfulness techniques in reducing these conditions and, especially, for the trait-worry variable, followed by important changes in anxiety, depression and meta-worry. this is one of the few studies examining the effects of mindfulness training in the elderly. results are especially noteworthy because traits are quite resistant to change. implications for future research and intervention are underlined.Resumen se analizan los efectos de un programa de entrenamiento en mindfulness en la ansiedad, la preocupación y la depresión en una muestra de adultos mayores en este estudio controlado y aleatorizado con medidas pretrest-posttest con un grupo experimental (n = 42) y control (lista de espera; n = 42). el grupo experimental completó el Mini-examen cognitivo, el inventario de preocupación de pensilvania, y la escala de Depresión Geriátrica. Se obtuvieron mayores reducciones significativas en este grupo comparado con el grupo control, confirmándose la efectividad de las técnicas de mindfulness en la reducción de estos transtornos y, especialmente, en la variable preocupación de rasgo, seguida de importantes cambios en ansiedad, depresión y metapreocupación. este es uno de los pocos estudios que examinan los efectos del entrenamiento en mindfulness en la tercera edad. los resultados son especialmente importantes porque los rasgos son resistentes al cambio. se destacan implicaciones para la investigación futura e intervención. Palabras clave: Mindfulness, Depresión geriátrica, ansiedad, preocupación, adultos mayores. * correspondence: alberto amutio careaga. Facultad de relaciones laborales y trabajo social. Universidad del país Vasco (UpV/eHU). Barrio sarriena, s/n. campus de leioa, 48940. telf: +34946013133; Fax: 946012277 72

Effects of Mindfulness Training on Sleep Problems in Patients With Fibromyalgia

“…This is consistent with previous studies of Meditación-Fluir in which mindfulness was shown to improve state and trait anxiety, depression, and anger regulation in FMS patients ( Amutio et al, 2015a ) and in other populations including adolescents with high levels of aggressiveness and lack of impulse control ( Franco et al, 2016 ) and older adults with high levels of anxiety, depression, and worry ( Franco et al, 2017 ). These previous findings concerning improvements in anger regulation are particularly relevant since the use of adaptive coping strategies to recognize and express emotions has been associated with reduced burden of FMS ( Castelli et al, 2012 ; Geenen et al, 2012 ; Sancassiani et al, 2017 ; Di Tella et al, 2018 ).…”

“…The beneficial outcomes observed in the present study were maintained for a minimum of 3 months. Similar maintenance effects have also been observed in other studies of mindfulness involving patients with FMS ( Grossman et al, 2007 ; Amutio et al, 2015a ; Cash et al, 2015 ; Van Gordon et al, 2017 ), as well as in studies following a similar approach to the model of mindfulness training adopted by the Meditación-Fluir intervention used in the present study ( Amutio et al, 2015a ; Franco et al, 2017 ). Some plausible explanations as to why the effects of mindfulness training programs are frequently maintained at follow-up assessments is that mindfulness is a technique that enhances positive affect and that it is relatively easy to integrate into daily life ( Davis and Zautra, 2013 ; Amutio et al, 2015b ; Galvez-Sánchez et al, 2018 ).…”

“…Additionally, pre-sleep arousal has also been found to be a partial mediator in the relationship between mindfulness and reported level of rest during sleep ( Li et al, 2018 ). Therefore, in the present study, in addition to decreased hyperarousal of the sympathetic nervous system and increases in parasympathetic activation through relaxation, mindfulness may have improved sleep quality via the cultivation of new metacognitive resources (e.g., detachment from self-referential processing and acceptance) that increase perceptual distance from painful and/or distressing sensory and psychological stimuli ( Lauche et al, 2013 ; Labelle et al, 2015 ; Van Gordon et al, 2016 , 2017 ; Franco et al, 2017 ; Wheeler et al, 2017 ).…”

“…The training program included: (i) mindfulness exercises from Kabat-Zinn’s (1990) stress-reduction program, (ii) mindfulness techniques used in acceptance and commitment therapy ( Hayes et al, 1999 ; Wilson and Luciano, 2002 ; Carrascoso, 2006 ), and (iii) exposure to and debate on metaphors and exercises used in Zen ( Deshimaru, 2006 ) and Vipassana meditation ( Hart, 1994 ) which promote values such as acceptance, forgiveness, and non-identification with mental events. The effectiveness of Meditación-Fluir has been tested in various treatment studies with acceptable size effects ( Amutio et al, 2015a ; Franco et al, 2017 , 2016 ). The program includes existential, ethical, and spiritual aspects and values, and thus conforms to Van Gordon et al’s (2015 ) criteria for Second Generation Mindfulness-Based Interventions (SG-MBIs) .…”

Differential Effect of Level of Self-Regulation and Mindfulness Training on Coping Strategies Used by University Students

“…In addition to these four MBIs, the recent mindfulness training program “Flow Meditation” (FM) should also be noted [ 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 ]; its primary objective is not to try and control thoughts, sensations, or feelings or to modify or change them, but conversely, to allow them to be free, accepting any private event that might occur or emerge spontaneously. FM employs mindfulness breathing, body scan meditation from MBSR, and metaphors and exercises from ACT.…”