Lifelines

Some Factors Enhancing Quality of Life Other Articles in this Issue: Director's Welcome Some Factors Enhancing Quality of Life Interview: Jack Childs: Holistic Perspectives on Quality of Life What the Studies and Experts Say Recommended Readings

Some Factors Enhancing Quality of Life Meditation- Enhancing Quality of Life The effects of studies done on meditation according to the National Institute of Health’s Office of Alternative Medicine (OAM), have shown that regular meditation reduces health care use, enhances longevity and quality of life and increases intelligence-related measures. Meditation also reduces serum cholesterol and cortisol levels and lowers blood pressure, decreases anxiety, chronic pain, substance abuse and post-traumatic stress. They define meditation as a state of relaxed alertness, with a certain focus of attention in the present moment to which we continually return after each distraction -- and with an attitude of non-involvement toward intruding thoughts. De Monterice, A. (1999). The Healing Power of Meditation. Share Guide. February 28, N.41,18-19. Empowerment- Enhancing Quality of Life While stress is identified as a major psychological and health hazard, and numerous programs exist to help people reduce stress, there are serious problems with the present approaches to managing stress. Stress management programs are often designed for, and attended by, educated, middle-class participants. For most people confronted with the serious stressors of poverty, racism, and environmental pollution, the typical stress management program is not only unavailable and inaccessible, but also irrelevant, inappropriate, and ineffective. In addition, current stress management programs oversimplify the problems of stress, support a "blame the victim" attitude, and are ultimately self-defeating because they encourage a passive attitude which reinforces conditions in the system that create stress. Personal adjustment strategies and empowerment approaches to stress management must be encouraged. Echterling, L.G., Wylie, M.L. (1982). "Stress Management as a Pacifier." Paper presented at the American Psychological Association’s annual meeting held in Washington, DC from February 23rd to 27th.. Education- Enhancing Quality of Life A coping-oriented treatment program was developed for groups of those with schizophrenia providing information about the illness and treatment interventions on the basis of the vulnerability-stress-coping-competence model. It aims at improving coping with the illness as well as developing a lifestyle that supports health and quality of life. Two pilot studies were done with a mean age of 30.33 years for the first study and a mean age of 33.71 years for the second study to evaluate the clinical feasibility of this program. The development of coping-oriented treatment programs both from a theoretical point of view and on the basis of coping research is considered especially promising and could enable patients to be more socially integrated and live more independently. Schaub, A., Andres, K., Brenner, H.D., Donzel, G. (1997) Developing a group format coping-oriented treatment program for schizophrenic patients. Brenner, Hans Dieter, Boeker,Wolfgang in (eds.). Towards a comprehensive therapy for schizophrenia 228-251. Kirkland, Washington: Hogrefe & Huber Publishers..