I had the great honour of being asked to address delegates at the Mental Health Nurse Managers of Ireland’s national conference yesterday. I was in the esteemed company of Dr. Tony Bates, Professor Mary-Jo Keitzer, Mr. Michael Chaskalson and t.v. star/comedienne and psychotherapist Ruby Wax. I have addressed and attended many conferences over the years but this conference was different. The theme was ‘mindfulness’ and I was personally captivated by the material. I normally slip away quietly when I deliver my presentations but this time I stayed around. All speakers knitted their speeches perfectly to the theme – offering a historical perspective on practice of mindfulness, empirical validation and practical examples of how to integrate it into our lives. I was the first speaker and I talked about the psychology of compassion, its health benefits and the need to practice kindness more.

There is no doubt that mindfulness is the way forward for a better quality of life and greater health outcomes! Interest in mindfulness practice continues to accelerate as studies continue to reveal its beneficial effects. Researchers have shown how the brain responds to mindfulness practice, how personal and work relationships benefit, and how physical and mental health improves, as well as emphatic positive outcomes in numerous other areas. Professor Keitzer quoted much of this research. She was the principal investigator of a $1.6 million National Institute of Health education grant and Fetzer Institute funded evaluation of the Inner Life Healers Programme and the co-principal of a five year $2.1 million funded clinical trial of mindfulness medication with solid organ transplant patients She also oversaw a clinical trial comparing mindfulness meditation with pharmacotherapy for people with chronic insomnia. I would need a few pages to detail the research that this brilliant woman is instigating and guiding as mindfulness techniques are applied to eating disorders, cancer, heart disease, mind/body interventions for caregivers of Alzheimer’s disease etc.

Of major interest to me is the dramatic effects that mindfulness has on the most complex of all our organs – the brain. Mindfulness has been shown to affect the structure and neural patterns present in the brain. Scientists have shown these results last not only during mindfulness practice, but also during the daily life of meditation practitioners. The results of one study published in NeuroReport in 2005 showed thicker cortical regions associated with attention and sensory processing in long-term meditation practitioners compared to non-meditators. The findings also suggest that meditation may offset cortical thinning brought on by aging. A recent study outlines the difference in neural functions related to emotion in expert meditators and novice meditators. However, the benefits are not solely restricted to experienced meditators. A 2003 study showed how an 8-week training course increased activation in a region of the brain correlated with positive affect (mood), as well as evidence that the immune system would react more robustly in antibody production after meditation training. Another study showed better stress regulation through a faster decrease in levels of the stress hormone cortisol. Participants in this study reported less anxiety, depression, and anger compared to a group of students who received relaxation training.

There is no doubt that there is something very powerful in mindfulness. It is the future. It will reduce levels of mental illness particularly if incorporated into the educational system. It will challenge the medical model.  Being a psychologist who has dedicated all my working life over the last years to self-help initiatives, I think mindfulness can potentially be the greatest self-help tool of all. It is imperative that we leave ourselves open to its possibilities and that we can all access it.