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Harvard Health Blog
Meditation helps manage stress and other tips from Harvard Medical School
- By Michael Craig Miller, M.D., Senior Editor, Mental Health Publishing, Harvard Health Publishing
In early March, I had the privilege of participating in a seminar on stress at Harvard Medical School. The talk was part of a free series called the Longwood Seminars which covers common medical topics.
Although I was asked to talk about stress and the heart, I devoted most of the talk to basic points about stress—what it is, what it is good for, what it is not so good for, and how to manage it. It’s not the whole answer, mind you. The topic of stress is enormous and there are no simple rules for managing it. I made a few small, practical suggestions.
Even if you’re not worried about your heart, understanding a little about the relationship between stress and cardiovascular disease may give you some insight into the biology of stress.
You can view it here. Thanks for watching! I hope you find it useful. Let me know what you think.
Disclaimer:
As a service to our readers, Harvard Health Publishing provides access to our library of archived content. Please note the date of last review or update on all articles. No content on this site, regardless of date, should ever be used as a substitute for direct medical advice from your doctor or other qualified clinician.
Comments
Meditate and you can see many of your physical and emotional issues slowly go away forever.
Hi Michael,
Thank you for your post. I’ve been interested in meditation for a long time so I went to see your presentation back in March. I loved it and now feel a lot less stress in my life. Thanks again.
Harold.
nice work
i agree that meditation helps in managing stress so this is necessary.
Excellent video! Have already posted to our social media sites to remind people about the importance of reducing the stress in their lives, especially if they are fighting a disease or illness right now.
Thanks for sharing!
MedEx Associates.
Excellent .. Amazing .. I’ll bookmark your blog and take the feeds also…I’m happy to find so many useful info here in the post, we need work out more techniques in this regard, thanks for sharing
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Like Dr. Miller mentioned, its very hard indeed to make big changes in your life. Many of us who start meditation are looking for the magic pill – the answer to all our questions, and then give up after a few tries when they see no change. Like anything, change takes time. Meditation has a tremendous impact on your body and mind.
For one, it can get you motivated to exercise. Sticking to a routine and making small changes is imperative. Start with 10 minutes a day, and have a mentality “i will not expect change for 30 days.” This is the frame you need to keep you motivated and keep going. Change will come, and the great thing about change through meditation is that its permanent and irreversible.
I do agree that mediation can help you to manage stress. Even ten minutes can offer a power prompting relief from the day’s work, and the probabilities are you won’t lose time, but instead gain time, and work more effectively.
Jael,
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This is really great, I always knew meditation had some effects on the body such as removing stress or depression but it goes beyond that. Buddhist meditation offers even more!
Great article, thank you.
Yes, I agree that meditation helps in managing stress and Practitioners of this art report increased awareness, focus, and concentration, as well as a more positive outlook in life.
Wow this seminar is amazing. It’s great to know that the best in the business are researching heavily into Meditation. Meditation has changed my life and I believe everyone should have a daily meditation practice. Studies like this will help it go mainstream and ultimately cure humanity, keep up the amazing work!
Great video! I love how you highlight the benefits of meditation, especially in regards to stress relief. If more people meditation when facing stress, instead of self-medicating, their health would soar instead of the opposite occurring.
Once again great post and video!
Cheers,
Kevin Wood
I have been searching for information on how to manage stress in a way or ways that will not involve medication, this video is an eye opener to me. I want to suggest if you can make it as newsletter or form of ebook. Thanks and God bless you.
If you have time would urge others to watch the entire video. The other two speakers had excellent points to make as did Dr. Miller.
Thanks for the kind comments. For those who would like to view the entire seminar (90 minutes), here is a link —
http://is.gd/ZoTJqy
Information and video from other medical seminars is also available at the Longwood Seminars website — http://hms.harvard.edu/public/longwood/
Damn, I wish I could think of sotmehing smart like that!
watched Dr.Miller’s video.very informative talk in lay man’s language.clarified basic facts about the impact of stress on mental and physical health.
I recommend watching Dr. Craig Miller’s video. Well spoken Mr. and greetings from Semmelweis University of Budapest, Hungary.
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