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Mindfulness Meditation: Managing Stress and Shifting from Surviving to Thriving as a Law Student or Lawyer

Law Student Division and Young Lawyer Division

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Katherine M. Bender, PhD, NCCProgramming DirectorThe Dave Nee Foundationhttp://www.daveneefoundation.org/

Moderator

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Cory Muscara, MAPPLong Island Center for MindfulnessFaculty: Columbia University, UPennwww.Limindfulness.com

Instructor

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• Explore what mindfulness meditation is and why it might be worth cultivating as a lawyer or law student

• Review the research supporting mindfulness• Learn how to shift from living on “automatic

pilot” to living with greater awareness, presence, and intentionality

• What is the root cause of stress and how does mindfulness help us manage it?

• Learn how to practice mindfulness meditation and develop a practice moving forward

OBJECTIVES

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Lawyers are generally high in career dissatisfaction. Linked with: • Reduced performance• High attrition rates• Lawyers leaving the profession

Compared to other professions, lawyers are more likely to develop:• Poor health• Depression, anxiety, and hostility• Substance abuse problems• Increased risk for suicide

(Beck, Sales, & Benjamin, 1995; Daicoff, 2004; Eaton, Anthony, Mandel, & Garrison, 1990; Mauney, n.d.; Schiltz, 1999; Smith, 2013; but see Hull, 1999; Levit & Linder; 2010).

DOES IT MATTER?

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MINDFULNESS

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PAY ATTENTION TO THE SOUND OF THE BELL

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• The self-regulation of attention with the use of an attitude of curiosity, openness, and acceptance

(Bishop et al., 2004)

• The ability to pay attention, on purpose, in the present moment, nonjudgmentally.

-Jon Kabat-Zinn

• Instead of falling asleep, we’re falling awake.

WHAT IS MINDFULNESS?

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LET’S TRY IT OUT

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WHAT DID YOU NOTICE?

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MENTAL FITNESS• Recent research on mindfulness:

Reduced stress, anxiety, depression, burnout, improved joy, creativity, focus

• The brain changes in response to a meditation practice

• Mindfulness meditation is the exercise for the brain

(Holzel et al. 2011; Davis & Hayes, 2011; Grossman, Niemann, Schmidt & Walach, 2004)

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“Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and

freedom.”

VIKTOR FRANKL

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RESPONDING VS. REACTING

• We often go through life on “Automatic Pilot”

• When on automatic pilot, we are not present; we are enslaved to our thoughts and emotions

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STRESS• Perceived demands are

greater than our perceived resources to meet those demands

• Key Word: Perceived

(Mcgonical, 2015).

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WHAT IS HAPPENING NOW ?

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• There will be things in your life and job that you do not want to do and/or wish did not happen.

• These things are inevitable. This is primary pain.

• We create secondary pain for ourselves with our thoughts and emotions.

• THIS we have control over.

PRIMARY PAIN VS SECONDARY PAIN

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GUIDED MEDITATION

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SUMMARY

• You have control over your stress and wellbeing, even in very difficult situations

• Your brain is like a muscle—Mindfulness Meditation is the exercise to condition it for optimal functioning

• There is a space between stimulus and response—this is where you choose how you will respond to experiences

• Stress is caused by what you perceive, and therefore can be managed

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• Beck, C. J. A., Sales, B. D., & Benjamin, C. A. H. (1995). Lawyer distress: Alcohol-related problems and other psychological concerns among a sample of practicing lawyers. Journal of Law & Health, 10, 1-94.

• Cohen, G. L., & Sherman, D. K. (2014). The psychology of change: Self-affirmation and social psychological intervention. Annual Review of Psychology, 65, 333-371.

• Daicoff, S. S. (2004). Lawyer, know thyself: A psychological analysis of personality strengths and weaknesses. Washington, D.C.: American Psychological Association.

• Davis, D. M., & Hayes, J. A. (2011). What are the benefits of mindfulness? A practice review of psychotherapy-related research. Psychotherapy, 48(2), 198.

• Eaton, W.W., Anthony, J. C., Mandel, W., & Garrison, R. (1990). Occupations and the prevalence of major depressive disorder. Journal of Occupational Medicine, 32(11), 1079-1087.

• Grossman, P., Niemann, L., Schmidt, S., & Walach, H. (2004). Mindfulness-based stress reduction and health benefits: A meta-analysis. Journal of psychosomatic research, 57(1), 35-43.

• Hölzel, B. K., Carmody, J., Vangel, M., Congleton, C., Yerramsetti, S. M., Gard, T., & Lazar, S. W. (2011). Mindfulness practice leads to increases in regional brain gray matter density. Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging, 191(1), 36-43.

• Kreiger, L. S. (2008). Human nature as a new guiding philosophy for legal education and the • profession. Washburn Law Journal, 284-308. • Levit, N., & Linder, D. O. (2008). The happy lawyer: Making a good life in the law. New York, NY: Oxford

University Press. • McGonigal, K. (2015). The upside of stress: Why stress is good for you, and how to get • good at it. New York, NY: Avery.

REFERENCES

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LET’S STAY CONNECTED…

• Page: www.Facebook.com/CoryMuscara

• Website: www.Limindfulness.com

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QUESTIONS?

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