The ObservatoryWhat mindfulness can and can't do
Neither a miracle cure nor fluff: a sober guide to what attention training actually does to a mind.
Few methods have traveled as fast from monasteries to open-plan offices as mindfulness, and few have collected as much hype and as much grumbling along the way. The truth, as usual, lies in the middle, and it is more interesting than either camp.
What it IS, stripped down: training in noticing what is going on, such as thoughts, feelings and bodily sensations, without immediately reacting to it. The muscle you train isn't calm; it's the DISTANCE between impulse and response. Someone who has practiced notices the anger rising and can choose, instead of discovering it afterward, in the aftershock of what they said.
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Why does it work?
Moderate effects, on a par with other active interventions: meta-analysis Goyal et al. 2014 and others. Relapse prevention in depression (MBCT) has the strongest support (Kuyken et al. 2016) and is included in guidelines. Research on adverse effects (Britton et al.) documents negative effects in a minority. The dose-response pattern is consistent across the field.
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