Why Do Meditation Decrease Anxiety?

Meditation is also appropriate in treating anxiety since persistent symptoms of anxiety, and depression, often reflect deficiencies in coping that meditation techniques often have a positive effect on (Toneatto & Ngyuen, 2007).

Do you suffer from anxiety? If you do you will understand just how debilitating this condition can be.

Research suggests that meditation may physically change the brain and body and could potentially help to improve many health problems and promote healthy behaviors. In a 2012 study, researchers compared brain images from 50 adults who meditate and 50 adults who don’t meditate. Results suggested that people who practiced meditation for many years have more folds in the outer layer of the brain. This process (called gyrification) may increase the brain’s ability to process information (Meditation: In Depth).

Meditation is a simple practice of relaxation that increases mindfulness (being in the moment), decreases stress, and helps the body heal itself (http://itoldyouiwassick.info/2015/02/13/how-meditation-eases-chronic-pain/).

This essay will address the effects of how mindfulness works to improve the negative symptoms of anxiety when used as part of a psychological treatment by describing ways that mindfulness can treat anxiety and how attention regulation is activated in mindfulness based therapies. An evolving treatment used extensively by psychologists in recent years is, mindfulness. Mindfulness is an emergent treatment, which has seen many studies being conducted around. These studies of mechanisms of mindfulness are completed to find out information on the success of mindfulness and how the mindfulness treatment is conducted. There are many mechanisms in the complex treatment of mindfulness and attention regulation has been shown to be an effective component in reducing anxiety.

In addition to this meditation is known to relieve stress, and stress can be a major factor in pain intensity. The bonus is that studies have indicated even beginning meditators see the benefits of the practice, and you don’t need to be an experience zen master to

Meditation that includes breath awareness facilitates a quieting of the mind that has been shown to provide, “(a) decreased negative emotional experiences, (b) reduced amygdala activity, and (c) increased activity in brain regions implicated in attentional deployment… Mindfulness meditation has been shown to: (1) decrease pain-related activity of the primary somatosensory cortex, (2) increase activity of the anterior cingulate cortex and anterior insula, and (3) reduce activity of the limbic gating mechanism with the thalamus (amygdala)”

I agree meditation can do wonders for the human brain. It has been proven with MRI's that  the brains of the people who meditate have a higher amount of gray matter in the hippocampus area compare to those that do not meditate. This part of the brain has to do with the way we process information and memory.  Medication can also help us synchronize the left hemisphere of the brain,  responsible for our mathematical thinking and the right hemisphere which is our creative and intuitive side the connection among the two is called "whole brain synchronization" It is believe that past inventors and great thinkers were able to use both the right and left parts of the brain in harmony.  (Meditation's Effect on the Brain: Positive Changes Through Meditative

It helps lower the levels of emotional reactivity and impulsivity as it gives a latency to the practitioner before reacting. The latency keeps increasing as the practitioner advances in the practice of meditation. It is this latency period that gives a person enough time to think before reacting, which, in its place, comes as proactive response. So, instead of giving in to the temptation of immediate gratification, you will have some time to change your mind. And it doesn't take a lifetime of practice but, on the contrary, behavioral changes to counteract reactivity have been observed after eight weeks of brief daily meditation

There was a study done on how to better test meditation and how it affects stress in the brain. The study shows that mindful meditation reduces the levels of stress hormones and inflammatory responses in the brain. In this study 89 patients with generalized anxiety disorder were randomly divided into two groups. One group took an eight week mindful meditation course and the second group, the control group, took an eight-week stress management test. The difference between this meditation study on stress and other ones done in the past is that both groups were given some form of treatment. When the control group was not given treatment in the past studies the two groups knew if they were getting treatment

Moreover, prolonged meditations have got some long time impacts to the practitioner. These positive impacts can have some good effects on the body of the practitioner biologically. Thus, the Buddhist religious tradition principle of meditation relates with the science effects it provides to the practitioner. It is noted that the Buddhist-style meditation may have not only emotional effects but also distinct physiological effects (Hall, 2003, p. 3). These physiological effects are the result of the scientific effects of the religious practice hence there

Meditation means to concentrate and connect with ones’ own mind, to explore identity and emotions in order to be aware of conscious, sub-conscious and unconscious thoughts. Meditation originates and has been has been practiced in Asia for thousands of years for different reasons such as increasing concentration abilities, religious purposes and also to train the mind. This essay will focus on how meditation affects brain plasticity (ability to change), emotionally and intellectually, leading to better performance and coping abilities in stressful situations. Things like attention span, memory functions and complexity of emotions will be further explored and may interest the reader since meditation can answer many questions on improving mental health that affects almost everyone. I will make the claim that meditation practice needs to be introduced early into educational institutions such as schools. Because evidence suggests that that meditation increases the volume of the cortex in the brain, leading to a higher and more powerful emotional intellect and cognition that improves things like memory, attention and emotional control. It is logical to assume that in order to alter thickness of cortex, mental thought functions and emotional strength, meditation should be introduced to children early in school for greater performance.

Mindfulness meditation consists of skills and methods to unplug from the busy world around you and from the busy 'monkey brain ' so often experienced in today 's life and particularly in ADHD, anxiety and depression. According to Jon Kabat-Zinn, mindfulness meditation trains and reinforces the ability to pay attention to the present moment, on purpose which helps to increase concentration, decrease anxiety, improve sleep, improve mood, decrease the stress response, and improve physical and emotional health. The studies are compelling about the health benefits of mindfulness meditation. In fact, studies show that mindfulness meditation actually changes the brain in positive ways. The cortex of the brain is thicker in certain areas of the brain in those who practice mindfulness meditation. And brainwave patterns are changed in healthy ways as well.

Start by enhancing your ability to focus. The scientifically proven way to improve your focus and therefore your ability to have more willpower is through meditation. Research to the benefits of meditation and mental health is overwhelmingly positive. In fact, it’s nearly impossible to find a study saying meditation is negative for you. It isn’t even just the positive impact on your mental strength – studies have shown meditation to be beneficial for your physical health as well. Meditating can provide you with more energy, which is useful for your mental strength as well. When you have energy, you are more able to make good decisions and have the mental and physical strength to keep moving forward.

In today’s environment, many people are suffering with the stress and anxiety of day to day living and are finding themselves unable to cope with life’s little emergencies. Prescription drugs are on the rise due to the increasing need for people to deal with their stress and anxiety. However, many people are searching for ways to be less stressed and live a happy and healthy life without drugs. If stress and anxiety are getting the best of you, then think about grabbing a mat and giving yoga and meditation a spin. With that in mind, this paper will take a look at the benefits of yoga and meditation to create a more peaceful and healthy lifestyle.