Elizabeth Scott, M.S. has written for About.com that the practice of mindfulness can bring many benefits to your emotional and physical health, and also to the relationships in your life. Mindfulness is a great tool for stress management and overall wellness because it can be used at virtually any time and can quickly bring results that last. On March 15, 2013, Alpha Galileo Foundation reported on materials from Ku Leuven, Mindfulness at school reduces (likelihood of) depression-related symptoms in adolescents.
Secondary school students who follow an in-class mindfulness program reported lowered indications of depression, anxiety and stress up to six months later. Furthermore, these students were not as likely to develop pronounced depression-like symptoms. This study was conducted by Professor Filip Raes of the Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, KU Leuven. This is the first study to examine mindfulness in a large sample of adolescents in a school-based setting.
Mindfulness is a form of meditation therapy which is focused on exercising attentiveness. Depression is generally rooted in a downward spiral of negative feelings along with worries. Once a person learns to more quickly recognize these depressive feelings and thoughts, he or she can use mindfulness to intervene before depression sinks in. This study was carried out at five middle schools in Flanders, Belgium with about 400 students between the ages of 13 and 20.The results of this study have suggested that mindfulness can lead to a decrease in symptoms which are associated with depression and, moreover, that it protects against the later development of depression-like symptoms.
