Public speaking has been found to be one of the greatest fears people face in their lifetime. Students, in particular, may feel extremely nervous about public speaking or the anticipated event of speaking to an audience. The purpose of this research study is twofold: (1) investigate the contemplative practice of mindfulness meditation, and (2) to understand the experiences of students who practice mindfulness meditation while enrolled (or previously enrolled) in a Public Speaking course at a community college. Data was collected using a Transcendental Phenomenology methodological approach. Moreover, methods used included open-ended, semi-structured interviews as well as descriptive field notes. Qualitative data was transcribed, coded and categorized into salient thematic findings. The findings of this study detail students’ perceptions about the use of mindfulness meditation. This study informs Public Speaking practitioners about how to proactively manage anxiety and uncertainty by employing contemplative practices to increase successful communication outcomes.

Long-term mindfulness meditation for anxiety, depression, pain and stress has not been adequately investigated in academic literature. The majority of literature in relation to mindfulness meditation and these ailments concerns Kabat-Zinn's Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program. This is a short-term 6-8 week program that requires a licensed professional, is limited in availability, high cost, and combines other elements aside from mindfulness meditation, such as yoga, martial arts, group discussion, poetry and other teaching techniques meant to increase mindfulness concentration. Furthermore, efficacy studies, which have assessed the long-term impact of MBSR are inconclusive. Although these studies on long-term practice demonstrate a sustained positive impact from MBSR, they neglect the role that sustained individual practice and group practice played on participants. These participants continued long-term mindfulness meditation practice after the MBSR program had concluded. Moreover, there is a need to explore long-term mindfulness meditation and whether this is more efficacious regarding anxiety, depression, stress and pain than MBSR alone. This dissertation study explored, through 37 semi-structured qualitative interviews, the perceived effect of regular mindfulness meditation on practitioners in West Central Florida who have practiced longer than 6-8 weeks and maintain a consistent individual and group practice. No study of this kind is currently in existence. This exploratory study could provide further insight into dose-responses most beneficial for reducing anxiety, depression, stress and pain, and the potential role of mindfulness meditation alone in this relationship.

Stress är i sig inte farlig om den inte blir långvarig och konstant, den här rapporten har tittat på vilka effekter och eventuella konsekvenser stress har på de fysiologiska och kognitiva systemen hos människan. En långvarig aktivering av HPA-axeln, vilken kan kallas prestations/stressaxeln, leder bland annat till kroniskt förhöjda kortisolnivåer vilket har negativa effekter för hälsan. Strukturer i hjärnan vilka ofta kopplas till stressrelaterade sjukdomar är hippocampus och prefrontala kortex. De konsekvenserna som kan följa på långvarig stress är kognitiva nedsättningar och skador på bland annat hippocampus, brister i immunförsvaret, hjärt- och kärlsjukdomar, ångest, kroniskt utmattningssyndrom, mag- och tarmbesvär samt depression. I rapporten visas att stress har stora negativa konsekvenser på individnivå både gällande kognitiva funktioner, så som minne, och även på det fysiologiska systemet. Det finns åtgärder att använda för att reducera upplevelsen av stress samt de negativa effekterna av stress, så som fysisk aktivitet, mindfulness meditation och muskulär avslappning.

Physical activity can be beneficial to both physical and mental health, but can also lead to injuries. While injury rehabilitation through physical therapy is mostly focused on physical exercise, there are also other factors, which may influence rehabilitation outcome. The factorsreviewed are: rehabilitation adherence, mindfulness meditation, mental imagery, action observation, self-talk, goal-setting and social support. This essay investigates the neural correlates of these factors, as well as how they can affect rehabilitation outcome and wellbeing, to a lesser degree, during rehabilitation. Among the effects found are performance enhancement, increased self-efficacy, increased pain tolerance, increased motivation and reduced strength loss. Suggestions for future research is also provided.

Stress is a global health issue and effective stress management techniques are much needed. Mindfulness meditation in the form of mindfulness-based interventions have been shown to be effective interventions for self-reported stress reduction. However, the effects of mindfulness meditation on the objective physiological markers of stress are less clear. Heart rate variability, the variation in time between each consecutive heartbeat has been shown to be such an objective physiological marker of stress. The aim of this systematic review was to investigate how mindfulness-based interventions affect heart rate variability to better understand the utility of mindfulness meditation as a stress management technique. A literature search was conducted on March 8th, 2022, with the databases Web of Science, Scopus, and MEDLINE EBSCO to identify randomized controlled trials that examined the effects of mindfulness-based interventions on heart rate variability. A total of 10 studies met the inclusion criteria with a total of 970 participants. The results from the systematic review were mixed and indicate inconsistencies across the literature. Thus, there are uncertainties on how mindfulness-based interventions affect heart rate variability. Although the systematic review was limited by a small sample of studies, it highlights that further research on how mindfulness-based interventions affect heart rate variability is needed to better understand the utility of mindfulness meditation as a stress management technique.

The COVID-19 pandemic left no one unaffected as it spread across the world and changed the lives of billions of people. The pandemic has not only resulted in physical sickness and death, but also increased mental health issues due to fear, uncertainty, and social isolation. This review aimed to investigate whether mindfulness interventions can decrease symptoms of mental illness, such as depression, anxiety, stress, and burnout, and increase symptoms of mental well-being, such as psychological well-being, during the pandemic. All studies included in this thesis used different mindfulness interventions and different self-report measures to evaluate various mental health aspects, such as psychological flexibility, tolerance of uncertainty, empathy, self-compassion, and more. Statistically significant improvements in mental health were observed across all studies and is further supported by existing literature on mental health and mindfulness meditation and interventions.

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Mindfulness meditation (MM) has been used as an intervention tool for mental health diagnosis in the field of social work for some time and there are numerous empirical literature and research about the benefits of MM in practice. Despite the evidence and the use of MM in the field, there is very limited incorporation or MM programs and courses in the Master of Social Work (MSW) education and curricula. This study aimed to explore MSW students’ perspectives on mindfulness meditation and whether they would find it beneficial in their curricula. The study collected qualitative data through interviews MSW graduates at a Southern California University. The data collected was analyzed through ATLAS software. The findings of the study give way for future research to help note the interest of MM within MSW students and how it can help benefit MSW students personally and professionally by providing education and practice in the MSW education field. Participants expressed desire to learn more about MM, as they did not feel equipped to confidently practice it in the field. Including MM practice and education could help fortify the field of social work by creating better MSW professionals due to its benefits.

Despite the gap between the demands of the global work environment and the maturity of its leaders, minimal research exists on the trend of the practice of mindfulness meditation and the developmental experiences of leaders, thereby resulting in a growing divide between theory and practice. Consequently, leadership scholars have little understanding of how an increasing number of leaders experience mindfulness meditation. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to understand the perceived impact mindfulness meditation had on leader development for 20 manager-leaders who had a regular (at least 3 days a week) mindfulness-meditation practice. The primary recruitment strategy included outreach to potential participants affiliated with professionally oriented mindfulness groups on the social networking site, LinkedIn (geographic location was not relevant in this study). The primary conceptual framework was Day's conceptualization of leader development. The central research question addressed leaders' perceptions and experiences of the impact of mindfulness meditation on their development as leaders. A modified Stevick-Colaizzi-Keen data analysis procedure was used in this study. Key results included the identification of 10 core themes and the associated conclusion that leaders who want to contribute solutions to global challenges will have to access more of their potential, which may require consideration of techniques that foster vertical learning. The primary recommendation includes the serious consideration of mindfulness meditation by leaders and organizational decision makers of development investments. This study has implications for positive social change in that a better understanding of how leaders experience mindfulness meditation may provide direction for leaders and organizations about developmental practices that support leadership effectiveness.