New Delhi, May 18 (IANS) Mindfulness can combat anxiety by improving a mental process called cognitive control, according to a new research.

Paying close attention to the present moment without judgment — the basic idea behind all mindfulness techniques — can help calm anxiety and improve focus, said Resh Gupta, a postdoctoral research associate with the Mindfulness Science and Practice research cluster at Washington University in St. Louis in the US.

“A lot of research has shown that mindfulness can reduce anxiety symptoms,” she added.

“We all experience anxiety, but it can manifest in many different ways. It’s a tough problem to pin down,” she added in a paper published in Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews.

Gupta and co-authors laid out a new approach to understanding the relationship between mindfulness and anxiety. Instead of taking a one-size-fits-all approach, they propose that different kinds of mindfulness practices might be helpful for different varieties of anxiety. The proposed framework should ultimately help us understand how to match anxiety sufferers with more precise treatments.

Todd Braver, a professor of psychological and brain sciences and a co-author of the paper said there is a growing recognition that these practices can be incredibly useful in enhancing psychological well-being.

“But we still do not fully understand the mechanisms of action by which mindfulness can produce beneficial effects. That’s where the scientific research can be so valuable, by helping us more precisely identify why and how certain practices are effective,” Braver noted.

People who are hyper-vigilant and experiencing a lot of physical symptoms of anxiety — rapid heartbeat, sweaty palms, tightness in the chest — may do better with a different approach.

“For this type of anxiety, a form of mindfulness meditation called open monitoring may be beneficial,” Gupta said. “Instead of focusing on one thing, such as the breath, you can observe all internal and external experiences from moment to moment in a non-reactive, non-judgmental way.”

Braver is enthusiastic that recent research from the cluster and other institutions will help people gain a greater appreciation of the wide variety of practices that fall under the mindfulness umbrella.

—IANS

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