Recent research published in the journal Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin shows that
mindfulness meditation is an effective antidote to the phenomenon of the worry
of waiting, whether waiting for exam results, medical test results or whatever.
The research involved 150 California law students who had taken the bar
exam and who were awaiting their results. There was a period of some four months
between the exam and the date on which the results were posted online. The
students completed a series of questionnaires in that four-month waiting
period. During
that waiting period the students were asked to participate in a 15-minute
audio-guided meditation session at least once a week.
It was found that the practice of mindfulness meditation helped to postpone the
phenomenon of ‘bracing’, which we do when we prepare ourselves for the worst.
You may well ask, ‘What’s wrong with bracing? Surely, it’s a good thing to hope
for the best while preparing yourself for the worst.’ I’m not so sure of that. If
bracing sets in too early in the waiting period, most of us will start to worry
… and worry … and worry.
Now, here's something especially interesting. The study shows that even 15 minutes of
mindfulness meditation once a week, which was the average amount of meditation
practised by the participants, was found to be enough to ease the stress of
waiting.
We all worry, some of
us more than others. The English word ‘worry’ comes from the Old English word wyrgan and Old High German word wurgen,
both meaning ‘to strangle, to choke’. When we worry, we strangle
ourselves, so to speak. Actually, not so to speak, but well-nigh literally.
Worry is very bad for the body, the mind and the spirit. People say, 'I'm sick with
worry,' or 'I'm worried to death.' Do they really know the truth of what
they're saying? People can literally worry themselves sick--and in some cases
even to death. Corrie ten Boom wrote, ‘Worry does not empty tomorrow of its
sorrow. It empties today of its strength.’ That’s so true, my friends.
The regular practice
of mindfulness, as well as mindfulness meditation, helps one to accept, and not
resist or fight against, our thoughts, feelings and bodily sensations and, as J Krishnamurti [pictured right] used to say, ‘On the acknowledgement [that is,
acceptance] of what is, there is the cessation of all conflict.’ Got that? All conflict—whether physical, mental or
emotional.
I used to think that whenever
a negative thought—say, a thought of anticipated or feared failure—entered the
mind that it was necessary to substitute for that negative thought a positive
thought. That works for some people but it is not necessary to do it. Simply
observe the negative thought. Give it no power. Don’t resist it. Just watch it
arise and vanish, for it will not last long. Bracing yourself for the worst is generally
advocated by Stoics—and it definitely has its place. When? Later. Don’t brace
yourself too early, lest worry set in.
Journal reference
Sweeny K and Howell J L. ‘Bracing Later and Coping Better: Benefits of
Mindfulness During a Stressful Waiting Period.’ Personality and
Social Psychology Bulletin, 2017; 43 (10): 1399 DOI: 10.1177/0146167217713490
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