Mental health - anxiety, depression, stress

• Up one level
• See also PTSD and Trauma
• Autism spectrum disorder
• Disaster Relief for the Japanese Earthquake–Tsunami of 2011: Stress Reduction through the Transcendental Meditation® Technique
  Mitsunobu Yoshimura, Etsuko Kurokawa, Takayuki Noda, Yasuo Tanaka, Koji Hineno, Yuji Kawai, Michael C. Dillbeck. Psychol Rep August 2015 vol. 117 no. 1 206-216 Abstract: This study examined changes in self-reported stress symptoms after instruction in the Transcendental Meditation® technique among 171 residents of two cities (Sendai and Ishinomaki) directly affected by the 2011 Japan earthquake and tsunami disaster compared with 326 non-disaster Tokyo participants previously tested before and after learning the technique and a no-treatment control group (n = 68). The participants completed a rating checklist of mental and physical symptoms. Disaster area participants who learned the Transcendental Meditation® technique in contrast to controls showed a significant drop in total symptom score from pre-test to post-test (effect size = −1.09). Results were comparable for an ordinal measure of symptom intensity. The findings suggest the potential value of this procedure for relief from disaster trauma.
• Effects of the Transcendental Meditation Technique on Trait Anxiety: A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials
  Orme-Johnson David W. and Barnes Vernon A. The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine. May 2014, 20(5): 330-341.
• Kenneth Eppley et al. - Differential effects of relaxation techniques on trait anxiety: A meta-analysis
• Meditation Programs for Psychological Stress and Well-being - Systematic Review and Meta-analysis
  Meditation Programs for Psychological Stress and Well-being - Systematic Review and Meta-analysis Madhav Goyal; Sonal Singh; Erica M. S. Sibinga, et al. JAMA Internal Medicine, March 2014;174(3):357-368
• Self-transcending meditation is good for mental health: why this should be the case
  Alex Hankey, Rashmi Shetkar. International Review of Psychiatry 2016;28(3):236-240 Abstract: A simple theory of health has recently been proposed: while poor quality regulation corresponds to poor quality health so that improving regulation should improve health, optimal regulation optimizes function and optimizes health. Examining the term ‘optimal regulation’ in biological systems leads to a straightforward definition in terms of ‘criticality’ in complexity biology, a concept that seems to apply universally throughout biology. Criticality maximizes information processing and sensitivity of response to external stimuli, and for these reasons may be held to optimize regulation. In this way a definition of health has been given in terms of regulation, a scientific concept, which ties into detailed properties of complex systems, including brain cortices, and mental health. Models of experience and meditation built on complexity also point to criticality: it represents the condition making self-awareness possible, and is strengthened by meditation practices leading to the state of pure consciousness—the content-free state of mind in deep meditation. From this it follows that healthy function of the brain cortex, its sensitivity,y and consistency of response to external challenges should improve by practicing techniques leading to content-free awareness—transcending the original focus introduced during practice. Evidence for this is reviewed.
• Transcendental Meditation for the improvement of health and wellbeing in community-dwelling dementia caregivers [TRANSCENDENT]: a randomised wait-list controlled trial
  Transcendental Meditation for the improvement of health and wellbeing in community-dwelling dementia caregivers [TRANSCENDENT]: a randomised wait-list controlled trial Matthew J. Leach, Andrew Francis and Tahereh Ziaian BMC Complementary and Alternative MedicineThe official journal of the International Society for Complementary Medicine Research (ISCMR) 201515:145
• The Effects of the Transcendental Meditation Program on Mindfulness
  Melissa A. Tanner, Fred Travis, Carolyn Gaylord-King, David A. F. Haaga, Sarina Grosswald, Robert H. Schneider. Journal of Clinical Psychology 2009;65(6):574--589 As part of a 3-month randomized waitlist-controlled trial of the effects of the Transcendental Meditation (TM) program on university students (N=295), we examined the impact of TM practice on mindfulness as measured by the Kentucky Inventory of Mindfulness Skills.
• Effect of Meditation on Emotional Intelligence and Perceived Stress in the Workplace: A Randomized Controlled Study
  Laurent Valosek, Janice Link, Paul Mills, Arthur Konrad, Maxwell Rainforth, Sanford Nidich. Perm J 2018;22:17-172. DOI: https://doi.org/10.7812/TPP/17-172 ABSTRACT Context: Research highlights the role of emotional intelligence and perceived stress as important factors associated with mental and physical health and organizational effectiveness. Objective: To determine whether a mind-body technique, the Transcendental Meditationa (TM) program, delivered in the context of a workplace wellness program, could significantly decrease perceived stress and improve emotional intelligence in government employees. Design: Ninety-six central-office staff at the San Francisco Unified School District were randomly assigned to either an immediate start of the TM program or to a wait-list control group. Main Outcome Measures: The Bar-On Emotional Quotient Inventory and the Perceived Stress Scale were administered at baseline and at 4-month posttest. Results: Findings indicate a significant increase in emotional intelligence total score (p < 0.003) and a significant decrease in perceived stress (p < 0.02) in TM participants compared with controls. A significant increase in general mood, stress management, adaptability, intrapersonal awareness, and reality testing composite scales for emotional intelligence were observed (p < 0.05); a significant increase was not observed in the interpersonal scale. Compliance with meditation practice was high (93%). Because of the sex composition in this study, results are most generalizable to female employees. Conclusion: The TM program was effective as a workplace wellness program to improve emotional intelligence and reduce perceived stress in employees.
• The effect of transcendental meditation on self-efficacy, perceived stress, and quality of life in mothers in Uganda
  Leslee Goldstein, Sanford I. Nidich, Rachel Goodman & David Goodman (2018): The effect of transcendental meditation on self-efficacy, perceived stress, and quality of life in mothers in Uganda, Health Care for Women International, DOI:10.1080/07399332.2018.1445254
  Abstract (excerpt):
  Our study assessed the impact of the Transcendental Meditation (TM) technique on self-efficacy, perceived stress, and mental and physical quality of life of these women. This single-blind controlled study involved 81 women who were assigned to either practice of the Transcendental Meditation program (n D 42) or wait-list (delayed start) control group (n D 39). Participants learned the Transcendental
  Meditation program over five sessions, then practiced at home for 20 minutes twice a day, and attended twice monthly group meetings over a 3-month period. The primary outcome measure was self-efficacy using the General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSES). Perceived stress using Cohen’s Perceived Stress Scale, and physical and mental quality of life using subscales of the Medical Outcomes Survey (MOS, HIV version) were secondary outcome measures. Significant improvements were shown in self-efficacy (p < .001), perceived stress (p < .010), and mental and physical well-being (p < .010). Compliance with TM home practice was >88%. This is the first controlled study to demonstrate the effect of TM in the daily lives of mothers living in impoverished conditions.
• End Anxiety!
  New book by James G Meade, PhD: "Proven Benefits of The Transcendental Meditation Program – tells the stories of scores of people who learned the simple Transcendental Meditation technique and experienced transformation in their lives."
• Improving the mental health and well-being of healthcare providers using the transcendental meditation technique during the COVID-19 pandemic
  Improving the mental health and well-being of healthcare providers using the transcendental meditation technique during the COVID-19 pandemic: A parallel population study. Mark S. Nestor, Alec Lawson, Daniel Fischer. PLOS, March 3, 2023, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0265046
  65 health care providers at three South Florida hospitals were instructed in the TM technique, with a parallel lifestyle as usual control group. Validated measurement scales were administered at baseline, 2 weeks, one and three months. After 2-weeks, symptoms of somatization, depression, and anxiety in the TM group had all shown near 45% reductions, while insomnia, emotional exhaustion, and well-being had improved by 33%, 16%, and 11% respectively; no significant change was noted in the LAU group. At 3-months, the TM group showed a mean reduction in anxiety, 62%, somatization, 58%, depression, 50%, insomnia, 44%, emotional exhaustion 40%, depersonalization, 42%, and an improvement of well-being 18% (for all p<0.004). P-values for between-group differences in change from baseline, based upon repeated measures ANCOVA covarying for baseline measurements, showed significance for all scales at 3-months.