using mindfulness interventions with problem gamblers rory c. reid, ph.d., lcsw research...
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Using Mindfulness Interventions with Problem Gamblers
RORY C. REID, Ph.D., LCSWResearch Psychologist / NeuropsychologyLicensed Clinical Social Worker
Semel Institute for Neuroscience & Human BehaviorDepartment of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences
Mindfulness is a philosophy and a practice of cultivating increased awareness of our moment-to-moment experience in a non-judgmental way.
The practice of mindfulness, although based on many principles of Buddhism, was medicalized by Dr. Jon Kabat-Zin and has been applied to a variety of psychological and medical issues.
What is Mindfulness
The Spirit of Mindfulness
The Movie: A Beautiful Mind
TEXT
Outcome studies have provided evidence that mindfulness can be helpful for attenuating psychological distress associated with a number of mental health issues including:
Anxiety
Depression
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders
Pathological Gambling
Substance-Related Disorders
Hypersexual Behavior
Mindfulness Applications
Gambling
SufferingCravings
Stress
ImpulsivityBoredom
Attention
Emotion
Goodness of Fit for Mindfulness & Gambling
Shame Entitled/Ungrateful Emotionally Reactive Intolerance for Discomfort Critical/Judgmental Rumination Anticipatory Anxiety Tug of War with Cravings Special Status to Thoughts Thought Suppression Disconnecting/Inattention
Self-Compassion Gratitude/Humility Emotionally Present / Aware Being Present w/h Suffering Curious/Non-Judgmental Reflection Present in the Present Acceptance of Cravings A Thought is Just a Thought Noting, Curiosity, Present Connecting / Attentive
Gambling Problems Mindfulness
Healing Gambling Problems through Mindfulness
Research Supporting MBSR for Emotion Regulation
Reduction of Food Cravings
Reduction of Food Cravings
Alberts, Mulkens, Smeets, & Thewissen (2010). Coping with food cravings. Investigating the potential of a mindfulness-based intervention. Appetite, 55, 160-163.
“…acceptance was found to reduce the extent to which participants experienced loss of control when exposed to food cues. This finding is not only practically relevant, but interesting from a theoretical point of view as well. After all, acceptance requires one not to control cravings, which paradoxically leads to higher levels of perceived control.”
Mindfulness Increases Cortical Gray Matter
Mindfulness Increases Cortical Gray Matter
Baby Steps to Meditation
3 Minute Mindfulness
Exercise
Being Present with the Present
In meditation, nothing happens next. This is it!”
PositiveComfortable
GoodPleasant
AwkwardUncomfortable
BadUnpleasant
Emotionally avoidant people become numb and detached from both good and bad feelings. True, they’ve avoided pain and negative emotion, but they’ve also diminished or extinguished their ability to feel positive emotions.
PornographyGambling
SexFood
Drugs / Alcohol
Bandwidth of Positive Emotions
Emotional Avoidance
Tug of War with Cravings Doesn’t Work
Thoughts on Thought Suppression
“Trying not to think about ‘it’, in some funny way, is just what makes such thoughts happen…and any attempt at mental control contains the seeds of itsown undoing. Under certain conditions, in other words, mental control may not only fail to achieve desired states of mind, but can ironically create precisely the most undesired state of mind. Trying to be happy can make us sad, trying to be relaxed can make us anxious, trying not to think of alcohol can make us obsessed with our next drink. A person innocently engaged in what seems to be a program of self-improvement may unwittingly create the very psychological problem he or she is working so hard to overcome.”
Daniel M. Wegner, Ph.D., ProfessorDepartment of Psychology
Harvard University
Irony of Thought Supression
Boredom and Emotional Dysregulation
Research on Boredom
“Boredom, in some form, appears to be a common and perhaps unavoidable part of human experience. Nevertheless, it is important to consider ways in which individuals and society as a whole might alleviate boredom and the distressing psychological conditions with which it has been linked. In this regard, the present results are intriguing because they suggest the common antidote for boredom — getting busy or plunging into stimulating activity — might, in the long run, be counter productive.”
Research on Boredom
In his provocative essay ‘In Praise of Boredom’, Brodsky (1995) proposes: “When hit by boredom, go for it. Let yourself be crushed by it; submerge, hit bottom. In general, with things unpleasant, the rule is, the sooner you hit bottom, the faster you surface.” On the contrary, our typical impulse when bored is to fight the experience with frenetic activity and intense, varied stimulation. However, like the trap of quicksand, such thrashing only serves to strengthen the grip of boredom by further alienating us from our desire and passion, which provide compass point for satisfying engagement with life. This is the insidiousness of boredom.
Research on Boredom
“In the short run, bombardment by intense stimulation will surely alleviate boredom, but tragically, this leaves us more susceptible to future episodes of boredom and in need of yet more intense experience imposed from without.”
Dr. Hedy Kober, Assistant ProfessorYale University School of Medicine
Developing a New Relationship with Cravings and Urges
Attention Regulation [3 min exercise]
Necessary in Conflict Monitoring
Body Awareness
Attention to Somatic Experience, “What am I really craving?”
Emotion Regulation
Being present with uncomfortable / unpleasant emotions
Change in Self-Perception
Observing mental processes with increased clarity
Non-Judgmental Self-Appraisals
Hypothesized Mechanisms of Action in MBSR
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Feasibility Study MBSR
Frequency TimeBaseline
Frequency TimeAfter 10 Weeks
8 week Mindfulness (n=15)
8 week Psycho-Education (n=10)
6 Minute MindfulnessWorking with Difficult
Emotions Exercise
Being Present with the Present
Mindfulness: Being Present with the Present
Mindfulness Exercises Freely Downloadable at:marc.ucla.edu insightla.org mindfulrp.com
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