Worrying, overthinking, replaying things that happened in the past. Your thoughts keep spinning around – sometimes useful, but they can also trap you in a negative, recurring spiral. Researchers at the Donders Institute are trying to find out how we can break free from such streams of thought. Does mindfulness help? Or is simple distraction enough?
Many young people between 16 and 25 years suffer from psychological symptoms such as anxiety or sadness. Research shows that mindfulness training can have positive effects in adults with mental disorders such as depression, but the effect in youth remains understudied. In this article, we discuss whether mindfulness could possibly help young people become more resilient to mental illness.