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Together is a new resource for anyone affected by pediatric cancer - patients and their parents, family members, and friends.
Learn MoreMindfulness is a mental state achieved by concentrating on the present moment, while calmly accepting the feelings and thoughts that come to you, used as a technique to help you relax.
Anxiety, stress and depression are prevalent in our society, especially in people with chronic illnesses. Children with chronic illnesses, including pediatric cancers, are at risk for both physical and psychological concerns. Because the brain is more pliable between the ages of birth and 2 years; 4 and 6 years and around puberty, introducing mindfulness at a young age can have lasting effects.
Mindfulness-based intervention appears to be useful in improving anxiety and could improve stress, depression, quality of life and fatigue in children and adolescents with chronic diseases ages 4-18 years. Mindfulness has shown promise in these areas:
The purpose of body scan mindfulness exercise is simply to notice your body. It is not necessarily about relaxing your body, however this may occur as a kind of side effect. It is simply about being aware of your body, in the present moment.
Sitting meditation is a mindful attention on breaths or rising and falling of abdomen with nonjudgmental awareness of thoughts and distractions flow through the mind.
Visualization helps keep your focus and can help the mind from wandering. It can help keep your mind engaged in your goal of slowing your thoughts when clearing your mind feels like too daunting a task.
Mantra is a sound vibration through which we mindfully focus our thoughts, our feelings, and our highest intention. Mantras are deigned to bring you into a state of deeper presence and awareness and can be used during meditation. Mantras can be repetitions of words, phrases or sounds.
It can be beneficial to make mindfulness part of your daily life.
Here are some ways to use mindfulness in your day or during a physical therapy treatment:
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Submitted: November 2021