title: Living life in the balance at midlife: lessons learned from mindfulness.
abstract: The purpose of this qualitative study was to describe the perceived effects of a Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) Program on stress and quality of life of women in midlife. A total of 20 nurses, aged 45 to 55 years, who participated in a stress reduction course were contacted for interviews. A total of 9 nurses agreed to be interviewed. Content analysis was used to analyze these interviews. The five themes that emerged from the analysis were as follows: strengthening of interpersonal communication through social support, increased personal awareness through becoming more mindful and reflective, a spiritual awakening, effective ways of dealing with stress, and living life in balance by taking hold of one's life. This study increased the authors' understanding of effects/benefits, adherence, and application of MBSR techniques for women in midlife. It is concluded that MBSR may be a useful intervention for nurses in midlife to develop successful strategies for dealing with stress and to improve their quality of life.
authors: University of Minnesota, School of Nursing, Minneapolis 55455, USA. fris0056@umn.edu
authors: Melissa H
authors: MH
authors: Frisvold
authors: Ruth
authors: R
authors: Lindquist
authors: Cynthia Peden
authors: CP
authors: McAlpine
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged / Q000523:psychology*; D015146:Midwestern United States; D026441:Mind-Body Therapies; D033262:Narration; D009726:Nurses / Q000523:psychology*; D036301:Qualitative Research; D011788:Quality of Life; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000517:prevention & control*