sven van zanten

  With the increasing swirl of interest around mindfulness, resilience and innovation we can’t forget that there are many who have trodden this path before us with important lessons we can borrow. Stoicism is the branch of ancient western philosophy that focuses on mindfulness, resilience, creativity and more, all of which allows us to flourish and live the good life, achieving eudemonia (translated from Greek as happiness, or human flourishing). The principles have had a profound influence on Western thought, and compared to other schools of philosophy often consumed by intellectual enterprise and endless debate it’s bracingly practical and straightforward. Whilst stoicism hasn’t been popular for a while it’s making a comeback with a strong international following. Whilst it’s seen by some as a western form of Buddhism, helping to overcome destructive emotions, it actually originated in the Greco-Roman Empire. It had three principle leaders: Marcus Aurelius, who wrote ...

  Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy reduces activation in brain regions related to self-blame in patients in remission from depression     New research suggests mindfulness-based cognitive therapy protects remitted depressed patients from relapse by reducing tendencies toward self-blame. The findings were published in Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging . Major depressive disorder is a common mental health issue with a relatively high relapse rate. In an effort to reduce the likelihood of relapse, Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) trains depressed individuals to respond to negative self-thoughts with acceptance and compassion, and studies suggest that the approach is effective. Researcher Kate Williams and her colleagues wanted to delve further into the effectiveness of MBCT, by investigating changes in the brain after treatment. As the reduction of self-blame is thought to be a key component in avoiding a relapse into depression, the researchers wer...