Meditation Helps Conquer Stress, LVH Doctor Says

Want to know how to beat stress? Try meditation, Dr. Susan D. Wiley, a psychiatrist and co-founder of the Center for Mindfulness, told a class of eager students at Mini Medical School, a free community program offered by Lehigh Valley Health Network.

Wiley's lecture last week at was the fourth and final lecture this semester on the mind/body connection.

The correlation between stress and health, and how the brain affects the cells in our bodies, has been well-documented in science. Stress not only affects our mood and our mental state, but our ability to manage and fight off diseases.

Wiley described a type of meditation called mindfulness-based stress reduction, which employs a state of relaxation and alertness, that can help change your brain and improve your overall health.

"We walk around completely disconnected from what our bodies experience. We're not paying attention. How can we take care of our bodies if we're not paying attention?," she said. "Relaxation is a byproduct of mindfulness."

One of the biggest causes of stress in our society is our obsession with multitasking, Wiley said.

"How often are we washing the dishes while we're solving the problems of the world, planning dinner, rehearsing what's for tomorrow, thinking about what happened today, maybe having some thoughts about our husband not helping to wipe the dishes?," Wiley said.

Instead, using mindfulness-based stress reduction, just pay attention to the moment, to the water, to the plates, she said. Then notice what it feels like.

"By bringing your mind out of the past, bringing it out of the future and bringing your attention to what is here right now, all your worries can drop away," Wiley said.

"Even the worriest worrier among us is capable of being mindful. It is a natural innate capacity that all human beings have."

Wiley noted some of the physiological benefits of meditation include:

• lower blood pressure, improved immune function, higher serotonin production and increased blood flow to the brain.

Psychological benefits of meditation include:

• decreased anxiety, more optimism, improved coping, concentration and memory, better sleep habits and reduced aggression.