WashU researchers explore an ancient remedy for modern worries.
If you’re anxious about work, finances, the state of the world, or anything else, you might try a moment of mindfulness. 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 & Practice research cluster. “A lot of research has shown that mindfulness can reduce anxiety symptoms,” she said.
The calming power of mindfulness is well-known to people who have made the practice a part of their daily lives. Still, experts continue to investigate how it works and which types of mindfulness might be most useful for different types of anxiety, ranging from fleeting bouts of worry to more chronic, clinical anxiety disorders. “We all experience anxiety, but it can manifest in many different ways,” Gupta said. “It’s a tough problem to pin down.”
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, Gupta said.
Todd Braver, the William R. Stuckenberg Professor in Human Values and Moral Development and a professor of psychological and brain sciences, is a co-author of the paper. The other co-author is Wendy Heller, a professor of psychology at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The work was supported in part by the Mindfulness Science & Practice cluster and the Arts & Sciences’ Incubator for Transdisciplinary Futures.
Braver said that the new paper is emblematic of the kinds of work being done by the cluster. “There is a growing recognition that these practices can be incredibly useful in enhancing psychological well-being,” Braver said. “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.”
Gupta, Braver, and Heller suggest that mindfulness combats anxiety by improving a mental process called cognitive control. “Cognitive control is the ability to regulate your thoughts and your actions in a way that helps you achieve your goals,” Gupta said. “For example, if you know you have to go to the grocery store right after work, you can keep that goal in mind during the workday and turn down an offer to do something else after work.”
As Gupta explained, mindfulness and anxiety have opposite impacts on cognitive control. People who are more mindful generally perform better on tasks requiring cognitive control. That observation is supported by neuroimaging studies, which have shown that mindfulness meditation can effectively modulate activity in brain regions that support cognitive control.
On the other hand, anxiety can worsen cognitive control. “Worry occupies a lot of space in the brain’s working memory system,” Gupta said. “This is where your goals are stored.” This impairment in cognitive control can intensify worry symptoms, but using mindfulness to improve cognitive control can help interrupt the harmful cycle of worry.
Depending on the type of anxiety people are experiencing, some approaches might work better than others, Gupta said. People who spend a lot of time worrying may especially benefit from a type of mindfulness meditation called focused attention. “Focused attention teaches you to choose an anchor, such as your breath or a sound,” she said. “You keep bringing your attention back to that anchor every time your mind wanders. Instead of focusing on the worry, you're focusing on the present moment experience.”
People who are hypervigilant 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.”
WashU’s Mindfulness Science & Practice cluster offers many resources for university and community members who want to add mindfulness to their lives. The cluster sponsors regular talks as well as other events, including those in which participants can learn mindfulness practices from trained practitioners. “We’re dedicated to helping the WashU and greater St. Louis community get access to tools to learn about mindfulness science and practice,” Gupta said.
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. “People have different options they can choose from, so it becomes easier to find one that best fits your particular temperament, concerns, or current situation,” he said. “It’s quite empowering to learn these types of practices, and to feel like we can be in charge of how we use them to improve our quality of life.”
