OBJECTIVES: The goal of this study was to examine the effectiveness of meditation on depression and anxiety in psychiatric outpatients. METHOD: Meditation group which had taken the meditation and participated in 20 meditation sessions, and control group which had only taken the medication were given Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory(STAI) at pre-test and post-test periods. RESULTS: Comparing pre-test score with post-test score, scores of BDI and STAI decreased at a statistically significant level in meditation group. However, scores of control group did not change significantly. CONCLUSION: The results of present study suggest that meditation have positive effects on depression and anxiety in neurotic patients.
Anxiety* ; Depression* ; Humans ; Meditation* ; Outpatients

OBJECTIVES: This study was to investigate the EEG changes induced by Danhak which is one of the Korean traditional mediation. METHODS: Sixteen meditators and 9 controls were recruited. Spectral analysis and visual inspection of EEG during meditation(meditators) and relaxation(controls) were performed. The absolute power and interhemispheric coherence in earth frequency band were obtained. Ratio of change in absolute power and interhemispheric coherence was calculated to compare the EEG changes between meditators and controls. To evaluate episodic changes of EEG with time, all recorded EEGs were reviewed by visual inspection. RESULTS: Eleven meditators and 4 controls were excluded from the analysis due to drowsiness or poor compliance. Both meditators and controls showed various EEG changes and the degree of variability was more prominent in meditators than in controls. These differences were evident in absolute power of alpha and theta and coherence of beta at frontal, and coherence of theta at occipital. Meditators showed the increase in absolute power of alpha and theta at frontal, and interhemispheric coherence of theta at occipital. In visual inspection, a number of theta bursts were observed in three of 5 meditators and only one theta burst appeared in one control. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that great variability of EEG change and the appearance of theta bursts is the characteristics of EEG changes of meditators and that the state of meditation Is more diverse and dynamic than that of relaxation.
Compliance ; Electroencephalography ; Meditation* ; Negotiating ; Relaxation ; Sleep Stages

Stress can increase the risk of various diseases, exacerbate many medical disorders, and change healthy life-style behaviors. Therefore, effective management of stress is essential to decreasevulnerability to illnesses and to improve the quality of life. There is considerable evidence that mindbody interventions such as relaxation, meditation, imaginary technique, cognitivebehavior therapy, and biofeedback can be used as effective adjunctive therapy to conventional medical treatment for a number of medical disorders. The author will introduce the principles of stress management and briefly overview stress management methods and techniques.
Biofeedback, Psychology ; Meditation ; Quality of Life ; Relaxation

Yoga originated in India more than 5,000 years ago and is a means of balancing and harmonizing the body, mind, and emotions. Yoga practice is useful in the management of various lifestyle diseases, including type 2 diabetes. Psycho-neuro-endocrine and immune mechanisms are involved in the beneficial effects of yoga on diabetes. Incorporation of yoga practice in daily life helps to attain glycaemic control and reduces the risk of complications in people with diabetes. In this review, we briefly describe the role of various yoga practices in the management of diabetes based on evidence from various clinical studies.
Diabetes Mellitus ; India ; Life Style ; Meditation ; Yoga*

BACKGROUND: The government staffs studied in this research has been easily exposed to excessive job stress, which can lead to a variety of psychosocial problems and poor quality of life. In this study, we examined the effect of the self reflection meditation program on the psychosocial health and stress responses of government staffs, to suggest the intervention program improving psychosocial health and quality of life in government staffs.METHODS: In this study, we measured the conditions of 36 local government staffs based on self reflection scale, psychosocial health and stress score before and after implementing the short-term intensive meditation program.RESULTS: The results showed that there were significant increase in social role performance and self confidence(p=.003), general health and vitality(p=.019) and significant decrease in stress(p=.010). This change was prominently showed in administrative officer and depression and anxiety(p=.034) also significantly decreased after program.CONCLUSION: Self reflection meditation program was effective in improving the psychosocial health and physical health of government staffs. Therefore, self reflection meditation program could be proposed as program for stress management and promotion of quality of life in government staff.
Depression ; Local Government ; Meditation ; Quality of Life

INTRODUCTION

Burnout is becoming more common among healthcare professionals, notably during the COVID-19 pandemic. It can result in lower performance and effectiveness at work as well as employment withdrawal, all of which affects the standard of healthcare services provided.

In order to ascertain the effectiveness of mindfulness meditation-based interventions (MMBIs) in reducing burnout among healthcare workers, a systematic review and meta-analysis was done.

Two investigators searched records in CENTRAL, PubMed/MEDLINE, Google Scholar, Preprints, Grey Literature, and cross-referencing to acquire articles using search terms related to “mindfulness meditation”, “healthcare workers”, and “burnout”. Inclusion criteria included randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and nonrandomized controlled trials (NRTs) that assessed the effectiveness of MMBIs on burnout as measured by the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) among healthcare workers in the hospital setting. Study selection, data extraction, risk of bias assessment were done by the investigators independently. Analysis was done using RevMan 5 software, forest plots were generated, and subgroup analyses were done.

Of 25,453 identified records, 28 studies were included. The studies were rated with low to unclear selection bias and high risk of performance bias. MMBIs were associated with significant reduction on the emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and personal accomplishment subscales with pooled mean differences of -2.60 (95% CI = -3.64, -1.55), -0.51 (95% CI = -0.77, -0.26), and 0.82 (95% CI = 0.24, 1.39), respectively. On subgroup analyses, the types of MMBI implemented had no influence in the intervention effect noted on all subscales among RCTs but had significant influence among NRTs. Reduction of burnout was noted to be higher in nurses compared with physicians and mixed healthcare workers. Overall quality of evidence for RCTs was low to moderate and very low to low for NRTs.

The results suggest that MMBIs can reduce the burnout symptoms of healthcare workers. To address the high risk of bias of included studies and improve quality of evidence, future research should be done with high-quality RCTs.

PURPOSE: This study was done to evaluate the effects of meditation therapy on self esteem, social avoidance and distress. METHODS: The participants in this study were 97 nursing students (49 in the experimental group, 48 in the control group). For the research, a nonequivalent control group pretest-posttest quasi-experimental design was used. The research was carried out from February 23rd to June 1st, 2006. The experimental group received the therapy a total of 6 times over 3 weeks: 60 minutes per session, twice a week. Data was collected by self-reported structured questionnaires. Collected data were analyzed using t-test with the SPSS/WIN 12.0 program. Measurement of self esteem was done with a Self-Esteem Inventory (SEI), and social avoidance and distress with the Social Avoidance and Distress Scale (SADS). RESULTS: Scores for self esteem were significantly increased, and for social avoidance and distress significantly decreased after the meditation therapy in the experimental group. CONCLUSION: The results indicate that meditation therapy has a positive effects on self esteem, social avoidance and distress in nursing students.
Humans ; Meditation* ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Self Concept* ; Students, Nursing*

PURPOSE: The purpose of this research was to examine the effects of a Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program on stress response and power in psychiatric inpatients in a closed ward. METHODS: For this study a quasi-experiment design was used to examine the effects of the intervention. The MBSR program conducted in this study was a six-session program, in which participants were asked to meditate for 45 minutes twice a week for 3 weeks. Homogeneity between the experimental and control group was assessed using χ² test, t-test, and Fisher's exact test. The results of the assessment showed that the variances of the two groups were equal. Demographic variables of the study participants were analyzed using descriptive statistics. The study hypotheses were verified using t-test. Cronbach's α was measured to assess the reliability of each test. RESULTS: Compared with the control group, patients in the experimental group showed significant improvement in scores for stress response (t=3.62, p=.001) and power (t=-3.42, p=.001). CONCLUSION: These results suggest that the mindfulness meditation program can be used as a psychosocial rehabilitation intervention for psychiatric inpatients by capitalizing on its positive effects on emotional reactivity and behavioral regulation.
Humans ; Inpatients* ; Meditation ; Mindfulness ; Psychiatric Nursing ; Psychiatric Rehabilitation

PURPOSE: This study examined the effects of spirituality promoting intervention for the stomach and colon cancer patients. METHOD: A quasi-experimental design was used. Data collection was carried out from April 2004 to June, 2004 at a cancer center in Korea. The intervention included pray, meditation, group education and discussion for coping with cancer. The experimental group were received a 1-hour intervention per week for 6 weeks, while the control group received usual care. Data collection was done at pre and post intervention. The degree of spirituality was measured by the Korean version of WHOQOL-SRPB pilot test(WHO Quality of Life-Spirituality, Religiousness and Personal Beliefs pilot test) Module, and social support was measured using scores on a PRQ 85(Personal Resources Questionnaire). Fighting spirit was measured by the scores of MAC(Mental Adjustment to Cancer) scale. RESULTS: The experimental group showed significant increase in the scores of social support and fighting spirit compared to those in the control group after the intervention. There were no significant changes in terms of the spirituality score compared to the baseline score in the experimental group and the control group. CONCLUSION: This intervention appeared to be effective in increasing social support and fighting spirit, which considered to be very helpful in cancer adjustment.
Colonic Neoplasms ; Data Collection ; Education ; Humans ; Korea ; Meditation ; Spirituality* ; Stomach

BACKGROUND: A worshipper lives a well-regulated life with rigid discipline. This study aims at measuring the stress level of the acarins (preliminary monks) using BEPSI-K (Brief Encounter Psychosocial Instrument-Korea) and finding out their stress management. METHODS: One hundred forty six male acarins and 111 female acarins who participated in an educational program at a local temple in Sep. 2001 are included in this survey. Using BEPSI-K, we asked them how they use their spare time, their stress management and physical symptoms. SPSS ver. 10.1, one-way ANOVA and independent t-test were used for statistical process. RESULTS: Average BEPSI-K score was high among the age group of 15-19 by age (P<0.05). In academic career, the lower the average BEPSI-K score, the higher in education (P<0.01). In physical symptoms, the average score of headache (P<0.05), epigastric soreness (P<0.05), fatigue (P<0.01), GI problem (P<0.01) were significantly high. Prayer, Zen meditation, bowing, sutras study, and sound a wooden gong were counted as the stress management, which were not significant. CONCLUSION: The stress level of the acarins was lower than normal population. The physical symptoms from stress were significant. Zen meditation and prayer were similar to meditation as the stress management. Further study for releasing stress is needed.
Education ; Fatigue ; Female ; Headache ; Humans ; Male ; Meditation ; Religion