Mindfulness practice for protecting mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Transl Psychiatry
; 11(1): 329, 2021 05 28.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1246354
ABSTRACT
Emerging evidence shows that the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is negatively affecting mental health around the globe. Interventions to alleviate the psychological impact of the pandemic are urgently needed. Whether mindfulness practice may protect against the harmful emotional effects of a pandemic crisis remains hitherto unknown. We investigated the influence of mindfulness training on mental health during the COVID-19 outbreak in China. We hypothesized that mindfulness practitioners might manifest less pandemic-related distress, depression, anxiety, and stress than non-practitioners and that more frequent practice would be associated with an improvement in mental health during the pandemic. Therefore, we assessed pandemic-related distress and symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress, as well as the frequency of meditation practice at the peak of new infections (Feb 4-5; N = 673) and three weeks later (Feb 29-30; N = 521) in mindfulness practitioners via online questionnaires. Self-reported symptoms were also collected from non-practitioners at peak time only (N = 1550). We found lower scores of pandemic-related distress in mindfulness practitioners compared to non-practitioners. In general, older participants showed fewer symptoms of depression and anxiety. In younger practitioners, pandemic-related distress decreased from peak to follow-up. Importantly, increased mindfulness training during the preceding two weeks was associated with lower scores of depression and anxiety at both assessments. Likewise, practice frequency predicted individual improvement in scores of depression, anxiety, and stress at follow-up. Our results indicate that mindfulness meditation might be a viable low-cost intervention to mitigate the psychological impact of the COVID-19 crisis and future pandemics.
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Mindfulness
/
COVID-19
Type of study:
Cohort study
/
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
Topics:
Traditional medicine
Limits:
Humans
Country/Region as subject:
Asia
Language:
English
Journal:
Transl Psychiatry
Year:
2021
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
S41398-021-01459-8
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