Mindfulness meditation – a stress buster for kids and seniors

Dr. Norm Farb, Women of Baycrest Postdoctoral Fellow, Rotman Research Institute and Janet Murchison, Occupational Therapist.

In an article published Nov. 11, 2011 in The Globe and Mail, we learned about the promise of mindfulness meditation for children and teenagers. In an increasingly fast-paced and distracting world, it seems there are substantial benefits for teaching kids to relax and take the time to clear their minds, particularly in stressful situations such as taking tests or in heated discussions with parents. In some cases, mindfulness training has helped children to overcome clinical disorders such as ADHD and anxiety. It may also help parents and children to reconnect by learning to listen to each other before responding. The article also highlighted one of the common and liberating insights offered by mindfulness meditation – that “thoughts are not facts.” Mark Twain understood this to be true when he famously stated: “I am an old man and have known a great many troubles, but most of them never happened.”

All too often we are distracted by thoughts about the past or focused on what we want to or need to do in the future, reacting to imagined situations as though they were really happening. These preoccupations draw us away from being aware of what is going on right now. The irony is that while we are worrying about or planning our lives, we are missing the very moment in which we live life, this present moment, right now!

We all have the innate capacity to pay attention, but generally this is not something we have actively cultivated. Mindfulness meditation provides us with this opportunity. It involves systematic training in paying attention to present moment experience with an attitude of curiosity and acceptance. Through this practice, people can become empowered to try out different perspectives and explore their ways of reacting, often with powerful benefits to their sense of well-being.

Here at Baycrest, we have begun looking at mindfulness training for seniors, who face their own challenges and anxieties often related to the losses and life transitions that are an inherent part of aging. Possible changes in health, ability to manage day- to-day life, roles, responsibilities and social circumstances, raise real and valid concerns for the aging population. The problem is, at some point all of these concerns and worries can themselves become the biggest contributor to a person’s stress!

In our work as mindfulness instructors, we have begun to explore these issues in a pilot research program through the Mood and Related Disorders clinic. We are delighted to find that these mindfulness practices seem to hold a great deal of promise for helping seniors to deal with the stressors they encounter. Many of the participants reported benefits such as feeling less worried, less rushed and better able to cope. One participant commented: “The program was a gift. I never knew that daily life could be therapeutic.”

It is never too late to come to the present moment with greater kindness and acceptance, and learn to let go of one’s stress. It does however take diligent practice – the participants had to do meditations everyday over the eight-week course, meeting once a week for group sessions – but the reward may just be a calmer more enjoyable life.

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This blog was co-written by Janet Murchison and Dr. Norm Farb. Ms. Murchison is an Occupational Therapist in Neuropsychology and Cognitive Health and the Brain Health Centre - Mood and Related Disorders Clinic. Dr. Farb is the Women of Baycrest Postdoctoral Fellow, Rotman Research Institute at Baycrest.