Unexpected Effect of Muscle Relaxation on Grief Severity
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A first-of-its-kind study evaluating a mindfulness intervention to ease grief unexpectedly showed that the control treatment, progressive muscle relaxation, was more effective. Both progressive muscle relaxation and mindfulness training were shown to improve grief severity, yearning, depression symptoms, and stress; [but] the results from this study suggest that progressive muscle relaxation is most effective compared to a wait-list control condition for improving grief
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@dikshita Approximately 10% of individuals grappling with loss "get stuck" in their grief and develop disordered grief, which is distinguished by repetitive thought processes of yearning and grief rumination, the investigators note. The researchers hypothesized that mindfulness training, which has been shown to reduce maladaptive repetitive thought, could be an effective intervention to prevent disordered grief. To investigate, they enrolled 94 widows and widowers (mean age, 67.5 years) who were experiencing bereavement-related grief and were between 6 months and 4 years postloss.