Trier Social Stress Test

For as long as humans have been around, stress has ambushed the daily activities that individuals take part in. Whether it is making progress in a collegiate setting in academics, athletics, and social life or if it is trying to take care of a family as a parent, stress seems to be an inevitable factor in the minds of many. It is universal and impacts everybody regardless of who they are and what they are doing in life. The interesting and truly remarkable aspect about stress, however, is how impactful it can be on one person versus another. Why can one person withstand copious amounts of stress while another person gets knocked down in the presence of a low stress situation? It is known that humans face taxing situations; however, the difference

From this, there are countless research papers to refer to in support of the benefits of meditative practice. For the purpose of this writing, Creswell et al. do a phenomenal job of not only carrying out a valid and reliable experiment, but also in extrapolating larger meanings stemming from the findings. The paper discusses the first adequately controlled experimental examination of mindfulness meditation training and changes in self-reported psychological and neuroendocrine stress reactivity to the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) (Creswell et al. 2014). The central question sought after was whether momentary meditation altered psychological and neuroendocrine responses to the TSST in young adults. Additionally, the researchers questioned if previous levels of a tendency to be mindful affected the results of brief mindfulness meditation on stress response. To determine an answer to these concerns, they conducted a study using 66 participants between ages 18-30 with a 60% male and 40% female makeup consisting of varying ethnicities. Over three days, subjects were randomly assigned to one of two options: a brief 3-day (25-min per day) mindfulness meditation training or an analytic cognitive training control program. A standardized laboratory social-evaluative stress challenge task, known as the TSST, was administered to all of

The complex factors that influence our behavior can be important in understanding why we experience stress and need a coping mechanism in the first place. After realizing the variability in the reasons we experience stress, we may begin to formulate a certain behavior that makes us more inclined to take part in meditation. It can also help us choose the type of meditative practice to carry out. This meditation can work to control and reform our behavior in high stress environments. Essentially, the more we understand that an ample amount of factors impact behavior, the more accessible we are to take part in approaches that can healthfully rearrange ways in which we act and feel. Moving forward, it has become evident that practicing mindfulness meditation will not only alleviate stress, but it will also progress us forward as more aware, accepting, and loving