At first glance, we might tend to see mindfulness and politics as an unlikely pairing . . . . . . but after my conversation with US Representative Tim Ryan (D-OH) the other night, I was reminded that there is at least one politician in office who makes it seem natural. Not only does he personally practice meditation, he was telling me about how he’s been working to introduce mindfulness to more people. In fact, he’s even launched a “Quiet Caucus” for people to re-center with a bit of silence in a city (DC) that’s anything but. Tim believes that…

On-the-job stress and burnout can strike no matter what your profession . . . and unfortunately, even the classroom is no exception. Teaching is one profession that can be particularly stressful – teachers can experience detrimental effects on their health, well-being, and job performance from stress and burnout. So what can teachers do to cope with the stressful challenges they face each day in the classroom? Robert W. Roeser, PhD, from Portland State University, wanted to see if mindfulness could help. Roeser and his colleagues investigated whether training teachers in mindfulness would affect teachers’ capacity to perform more effectively in…

Sometimes it seems like there are two kinds of people in the world – those who can be so resilient in the face of stressful or traumatic events, and those who develop Post-Traumatic Stress. We know that some people are simply more vulnerable to developing PTSD than others . . . . . . but why? Naomi Breslau, PhD of the Epidemiology Department of Michigan State University wanted to find out whether chronic worrying could play a role in heightening a person’s risk of suffering PTSD following a traumatic episode. She and her colleagues analyzed data from a 10-year study…

Why is it that 33% to 53% of HIV-infected people have histories of childhood sexual abuse? Just take a look at the symptoms of childhood sexual abuse – helplessness, low self-esteem, dissociation, denial, self-destructiveness . . . these psychological difficulties that can result from childhood sexual abuse are often related to HIV risk behavior. Studies show that childhood sexual abuse is associated with avoidant coping, which can lead to increased traumatic symptoms . . . so perhaps changing the coping strategy of people who experienced childhood sexual abuse could be useful? Duke University professor Kathleen J. Sikkema, PhD conducted a…

Can trauma pass from parent to child? It’s an interesting question. Some leading-edge research suggests that it’s possible – trauma felt by survivors might even affect their children’s gene expression. But we don’t need epigenetics to study how trauma strikes across generations. For example, researchers at Auburn University studied a more mundane form of intergenerational trauma transmission. Led by Mona El-Sheikh, PhD, a research team looked at whether household stress harms children’s stress response systems. They proposed that children who experience marital conflict will experience stress that results in poorer cognitive performance. To test this hypothesis, researchers observed 251 children…

The turkey’s in the oven, pies are cooling in the garage, you’ve moved the cars so everyone has somewhere to park, and you’ve somehow squeezed every appetizer platter onto the dining room table. But you’re also dealing with family arguments, a sick nephew, a surprise “guest” (your in-laws brought their new puppy) . . . and something’s burning. Amidst all the chaos, a little mindfulness meditation might help you de-stress. In fact, mindfulness can be one of the healthiest ways to handle stress. That’s important – a recent study suggests that dealing with stress the wrong way could have lasting…