Effects of natural stress relief meditation on trait anxiety: a pilot study.
Natural Stress Relief meditation, a mental technique which is practiced for 15 minutes twice a day, aims to reduce stress and anxiety by eliciting a specific state of physiological rest along with mental alertness. The meditation is taught in a self-administered program, requiring one hour of training during the first three days, followed by the regular twice daily practice. Each 15-min. session consists in sitting quietly with closed eyes while applying a specific mental procedure. To test the effectiveness of meditation in reducing trait anxiety, Spielberger's State-Trait Anxiety Inventory was administered to 25 participants four times over a 3-wk. period: one week before starting to practice the meditation, a few hours before starting, 1 wk. after, and 2 wk. after. The difference in Trait Anxiety score between pretreatment and before starting the practice was not significant, while it was significant both after the first week of practice (Cohen d=.46) and after the first 2 wk. of practice (d=.67).
Coppola
Fabrizio
F
Istituto Scientia, Massa, Italy. scientia@ipotesi.net
D000328:Adult; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D019122:Meditation; D008875:Middle Aged; D010865:Pilot Projects; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016896:Treatment Outcome