CompleteLife Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction
Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) is offered at various Clarian Health hospitals in conjunction with the IU Simon Cancer Center CompleteLife Program. Patients living with cancer (and their families) who tap into their inner resources for healing develop an enhanced sense of well-being and are able to cope more effectively with the experiences encountered in treatment and recovery. Through mindfulness, the possibility of a new relationship to the physical, emotional and mental pain that arises with the diagnosis of cancer may lead to less suffering for those who face this disease.
What is mindfulness and Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction?
Mindfulness is paying attention on purpose in the present moment without judgment. It is a tool that awakens us to the truth that we are already whole, no matter what ails us. Mindfulness is universal and is cultivated through the tools shared in MBSR classes, putting us in touch with what is called awareness—also an innate part of human intelligence. MBSR classes are an eight week journey in reclaiming our wholeness by mobilizing the practices of mindfulness and learning about our input in the human stress reaction. These classes are taught at over two hundred medical centers and clinics worldwide and are offered in central Indiana through Mindfulness at the Center (www.mindfulnessatthecenter.com). A listing of MBSR teachers throughout the world can be found at: www.umassmed.edu/cfm/mbsr.
Whom may it help?
Mindfulness training through MBSR has been shown to benefit those with:
- anxiety
- multiple medical conditions including cancer
- recurrent depression
- insomnia
- chronic pain
- fatigue
- nausea associated with chemotherapy
It has also been shown to improve:
- quality of life factors in patients with pain, cancer and anxiety
- the immune response
- ability to cope with stressful life situations such as cancer
Who is the teacher?
Kathleen Beck-Coon, M.D., has practiced mindfulness meditation since 1992. Originally practicing as a board-certified OB/GYN, she has trained to teach Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction through the Center for Mindfulness (http://www.umassmed.edu/cfm/, started by Jon Kabat-Zinn (http://www.mindfulnesstapes.com/author.html) at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. She is a member of the Society of Behavioral Medicine.
How do I learn more about the classes and the research involving MBSR?
Information on classes in central Indiana at local Clarian facilities may be found atwww.mindfulnessatthecenter.com. The “Research” section refers to several research studies documenting the benefits noted above as well as several others. The “In the News” section links to some well-known publications (including National Geographic, Time, Newsweek and National Public Radio) that discuss MBSR and its relationship to healing.
Other References on Stress, MBSR and Cancer:
Calgary Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction Interest Group (University of Calgary)
Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care and Society (University of Massachusets Medical School
National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine
Stress and Cancer