Anne Sexton

New research has shown the mindfulness is an effective therapy for people suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

The research was conducted with American soldiers who had experienced combat. They were enrolled in a 16 week programme, which included mindfulness. Their results were compared with soldiers who were undertaking a form of PTSD treatment known as present-centered group therapy (PCGT), which has been long-established as an effective therapy.

The soldiers were randomly assigned to one of the two groups, and they were not obliged to finish the treatment. Only 18% of the soldiers in the mindfulness group chose to leave the programme, compared with 65% of those in the PCGT group. Although both groups showed improved over the course of the treatment, mindfulness proved to be the more effective therapy. Functional MRI studies performed before and after treatment showed that veterans in the mindfulness program experienced changes in the default mode network with greater connectively to areas of the brain that control executive function and attention. (For more information on the “default mode network” see our blog post Exploring the Neuroscience of Mindfulness.)

Anthony King of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, one of the researchers, posited that the positive results may be because mindfulness teaches us to concentrate on the now.

“People with PTSD ruminate, and rumination is all about not being present. It’s all about focusing on something terrible that happened in the past or something frightening that will happen in the future, so these patients are stuck in a rut,” he explained.

More research needs to be done on using mindfulness as a treatment for PTSD — which is something that can effect anyone who has been through a traumatic experience — but the results are certainly promising.

Over the last few years, colouring books for adults have become incredibly popular. Not only do these help you rediscover the fun of colouring in, but concentrating on colours and shapes helps you clear your mind of chattering, persistent thoughts.

I was recently asked what I thought about knitting as a mindful activity. Over the past few months, knitting has been promoted as a form of mindfulness — something that will help you unwind but also give you something to show for your time. In some ways, this is absolutely true. Knitting, and any form of craft-making, can certainly help you to de-stress — unless you realise you dropped a stitch several rows back!

If you enjoy knitting, then of course it is a relaxing activity. If you don’t, it may feel like a chore — or something you ought to be doing to be more mindful. While I certainly recommend any activity that helps you relax, there is not any specific one you have to do in addition to the mindfulness exercises in our course.

Knit away if you fancy it, but don’t feel obliged to do this, or any other craft, if it is not for you. The most important mindful activity everyone should practice is their breathing exercises. With mindfulness it always comes back to the breath. Paying attention to your breathing is the quickest and easiest way to calm your thoughts and regain your equilibrium — which is what we all want and need. But of course, a new scarf is lovely too!

An Irish election has just past, and an American election is looming, but have you ever considered how exactly you decide who to vote for?

Now, presumably you’ll say that you choose a candidate based on his or her platform, promises, political party affiliation and other such rational criteria. However that is not the whole story. There may be many reasons why we choose candidate A over candidate B, but not all of these are a part of the conscious decision-making process.

For one thing, most of what you know about political candidates you learn in the media. If a political candidate was previously elected in your area, you may have met them in person or had dealings with them yourself. If so, that will make a big impact on your decision. But what if that candidate is not affiliated with the party that is tipped to win? Most voters will not have personally met the taoiseach, the prime minister or president of their country. Instead we watch debates on television, read analyses in the newspapers and chat to our friends about the election on social media. All of these present us with information we use to make decision before voting.

The Harmony Institute in the USA is a non-profit research institute that specialises in measuring the impact of media on social issues, such as voting. They observe voters’ neural responses as they watch excerpts from the presidential debates held within each party. After viewing a live debate excerpt, voters are asked which candidate they prefer, if they would like to support that candidate by a donation, a ‘Like’ on Facebook, or a one-time vote.

The aim of this research is to find the neural signal that predicts a voter’s choice. At the moment science is not able to tell that, but the results from the Harmony Institute are fascinating. For example, during a political debate there are moments of time when the majority of voters listen carefully to what candidates are saying, and moments when voters tune. This research suggests that certain issues compel voters to listen, while others cause them to disengage — even though we know we could be missing information that could cement our voting decision or get us to change our minds.

Although science cannot tell where and when a decision happens —  in fact it may not even be possible to signal out the point when a person decides between A or B — knowing that voters have different neurological responses to what a politician says is a huge leap forward in our understanding of the decision-making process.

Imagine this scenario: You are driving to work and your car stalls at the red light. Behind you impatient drivers start honking. How do you feel?

Here’s another one: You’re giving a presentation at work, and Joe from accounts disputes your figures. You’ve gone over them carefully, but he’s adamant. Later you double-check the numbers and you were right all along, but it hardly matters since your presentation was not the success you’d hoped. Ever time someone mentions your presentation or Joe, how do you react?

Here’s a third: You comment on an article online. Someone reacts to your comment, telling you you’re wrong, that you don’t understand the topic, and furthermore, you’re a nincompoop with cotton wool for brains — although given it’s the Internet, that’s probably not the phrase they used. You decide to respond — but what do you say?

In all of these, people have decided — rightly or not — that you are in the wrong. And if there is one thing that makes most of us act in ways that seem unrecognisable to others, it’s conflict. Conflict can last for years — consider bitter divorce disputes, family rivalries or even competition between companies working in the same field.

There seems to be a simple — although complex — reason why: self-esteem.

Self-esteem is one of the most powerful motivators for conflict. We like to think well of ourselves, and to believe that despite our flaws, we are good, smart and valuable people. More than that, we want other people to think so too. When someone disagrees with us, calls us stupid, or tells us we are wrong, this humiliation knocks our self-esteem and we are motivated to restore it.

Neurological evidence suggests that self-esteem is not just a psychological phenomenon, but a neurological one too. Humiliation is “social pain” and activates the same circuits of the brain as physical pain. So if someone verbally attacks you, you process this the same way you would as if you had been slapped.

Now here’s another scenario: You’re at home, and you and your partner have a disagreement. You are still smarting from Joe earlier — this is not your best day — and so you start shouting. Afterwards, things have calmed down but neither of you has made the first move to repair the damage. Now how do you feel? Probably ashamed of shouting, and you may realise that you are taking your work frustrations out on someone who doesn’t deserve it.

You almost definitely should say “sorry.” Unfortunately, Elton John was right — sorry seems to be the hardest word! Apologising is admitting you were wrong, and our brains react to this the same way it would to physical pain.

When we are physically attacked, the “fight or flight” instinct kicks in. This is governed by the amygdala, which controls instinctive responses. The “fight or flight” reflex is obviously quite useful — it enables us to act swiftly when we are in danger — but it can also be activated by perceived attacks on our self-esteem. When the amygdala takes over, brain signals are diverted from the cortex, which is the thinking and reasoning part of the brain. This prevents us from acting logically — instead we go into defence mode.

This is why we don’t like to be accused of being wrong. But as human beings we can learn to recognise our instinctive reactions and modify our behaviour. If you are having a disagreement, the smartest thing you can do is step back, take three deep breaths and try and see things from the other person’s perspective. It’s not easy, but it is certainly worth it.

Are you a religious person? Perhaps you attend mass every week and pray daily. Maybe you prefer the term “spiritual” because you believe in a higher power, but you’re not an adherent of any particular religion. Then again, you could be someone who has lost their faith — or someone who never had any to begin with.

As you may know, mindfulness meditation grew out of Buddhist teachings and practices. This may make mindfulness seem like something that’s not for you. If you are a Christian, you may be concerned that it conflicts with your faith; if you’re an atheist, you may feel any meditation with a religious basis simply won’t work for you.

Mindfulness — particularly the kind of contemporary mindfulness that is practiced in the West — doesn’t require any kind of religious belief. In fact, one of the reasons it has become so popular in Ireland, the UK, Canada, the USA and beyond, is that mindfulness has proven neurological benefits. We are going to discuss one of these here.

A 2007 study conducted at the University of Toronto found that people have two distinct ways of interacting with the world. Norman Farb and his team of six scientists discovered that we use two sets of neural networks. One of these — called the “default network” —  uses regions of the medial prefrontal cortex, along with memory regions such as the hippocampus. The default network is in operation most of the time — that’s why it is called the default network.

Imagine you, like Otis Redding, are sitting on the dock of the bay. It’s a spring evening and the sun is shining. You’re not doing anything except admiring the scenery and listening to the seagulls. The beautiful weather makes you remember the family holiday to Spain you took last year and wonder if this year’s holiday to Italy will be as enjoyable.The seagulls make you think of fish and this thought leads to another: how much you would like fish and chips for dinner, and how happy your family will be if you surprise them all with this — all except for your youngest son who would definitely prefer a hamburger. You decide that you’ll go to the restaurant a block down and get three portions of fish, one cheeseburger, chips and ice cream for dessert. This is the default network at work. You use it for planning and daydreaming.

We also use the default network to think about other people. The default network uses a “narrative” to store all the information it needs about people, their histories, futures and your interactions with them. That’s why you use this to remember last year’s holiday, and think about your upcoming one. This narrative aspect of the default network allows you to think about your family’s reaction to fish and chips for dinner — and consider how upset your youngest son would be if you forgot he doesn’t eat fish.

When you use the default network to experience the world, information is filtered and interpreted through it. That’s why the spring evening is not just a spring evening — it reminds you of past memories and future plans.

Along with the default network, Farb and his team found we can also experience the world through direct experience. When you use the “direct experience network” the insula and the anterior cingulate cortex are activated. When you are using this network, you are not thinking about the past or the future, yourself or other people — instead you are experiencing sensations in real time. So instead of thinking about holidays or dinner, you are simply feeling the warmth of the sun on your skin, listening to the seagulls crying, and smelling the sea breeze.

The default and the direct experience networks are inversely correlated. If you have lunch at your desk you’ve probably answered your emails or finalised a project while eating only to realise that you finished your sandwich without really tasting it. If however, you had concentrated on your food — the freshness of the bread, the tang of the tomato — you would have stopped worrying about your work for a few minutes and given yourself some much needed breathing space.

Using the direct experience network allows you to experience the here and now. You experience the world as it is happening, allowing you to have a better understanding of it and gives you more flexibility in how you respond.

Let’s go back to our dockside scenario. You are walking up to the restaurant and wondering if you’ll get cod or haddock for yourself. You cross the road without looking and a car narrowly avoids you. The driver honks and shouts at you. Your reverie has been interrupted and now you’re angry, both with the driver and yourself. You shout back and stomp on towards the restaurant.

Now imagine you’d been using your direct experience network. You are looking at the cars, and listening to the sounds they make as they pass by you. Of course, under these circumstances you are very unlikely to walk out into traffic. But let’s say the person standing next to you does. Because you are experiencing all the sensations around you, instead of being wrapped up in your thoughts, you have more ways you can respond. You could grab the person and pull them back or shout a warning. You might hold up a hand to tell the oncoming car to stop. You’re not inhibited by your habits and thoughts, which makes you better able to react to the situation at hand.

We need both networks. You can’t live only in the moment without planning for what’s to come, but you can’t always live in the past or project yourself into the future either. Farb found that people who practice meditation and mindfulness are better able to distinguish between these two networks and can switch between them easily. Those who don’t meditate are more likely to automatically use the default network.

Being able to use the direct experience network will help you shut off the chatter and noise in your mind. Next time you are lying in bed unable to sleep because you are worrying about work, bills or the children, try experiencing the world around you instead — the warmth of the blankets, the steady rise and fall of your breath — and let these lull you to sleep. This is pretty tricky without practice — and your mind will soon revert to your worries. But by becoming more mindful it gets easier to do. This is one of the most important aspects of mindfulness — learning to engage different parts of the brain when it is most suitable to do so. And that doesn’t require any kind of religious faith at all.