cording to the Mayo Clinic, an ability to use focused breathing
and related techniques to achieve inner peace is directly connected
to increased life span, lower rates of depression, greater resistance
to the common cold, improved cardiovascular health and better
physical and psychological well-being. While its earliest adherents
may not have been able to explore the internal mind-body mechanisms
that lower blood pressure or improve mental neuroplasticity,
today’s scientists continue to gather evidence that mindfulness,
as well as a positive outlook, keeps us healthier and happier.
It’s true everywhere and anywhere, and truer than ever in Silicon
Valley’s frenetically paced start-up crunch and tech giant culture.
The bigger, better, faster ingenuity ethic takes its toll on Valley
workers who are competing to generate the next billion-dollar
juggernaut. In an environment where multitasking is a given and
speed seems valued over all else, the counterintuitive trend is that
mindfulness is gradually gaining an unexpectedly firm foothold.
Ironically, taking time away from work to meditate doesn’t
impede an employee’s productivity, corporations have discovered.
Mindful awareness enhances it.
Not All in the Head
The stress response behaves like a series of electrical switches that
trip in lightening-speed succession. The hypothalamus sends a
Tension is no longer a badge of
honor, and short-circuited need
56 South Bay Accent
hormone to the pituitary gland which then speeds a second hormone,
adrenocorticotropin (ACTH) through the bloodstream to
the adrenal glands. That triggers the adrenal glands to produce
cortisol and epinephrine, which in turn trigger the “fight or
flight” response. All this neural and hormonal switch-tripping
comes in handy when being chased by a mastodon, as our huntergatherer
ancestors discovered—at least the ones who survived.
But the toll it takes, if that response becomes chronic, as it does
for many stressed-out techies, can be devastating.
As long as the brain perceives a threat, it continues to produce
hormones that raise blood pressure and increase the risk of a number
of ailments including obesity, heart disease, Alzheimer’s disease,
diabetes, depression, gastrointestinal problems and asthma.
“I experienced firsthand the emotional and physical effects of
anxiety, witnessing its impact on myself, my family, friends and
colleagues,” says South Bay physician Dr. Oscar Segurado. “As
an immunologist, I know too well how stress and anxiety trigger
serious immune-mediated diseases, including cancer, chronic
infections and autoimmunity.” Segurado’s personal connection
to mastering the debilitating effects of chronic stress led him to
tackle the subject in his newly released book, “Mindful Framing—
How to Transform Anxiety into Vital Energy.”
Dr. Michael Fujinaka, a professor in Stanford University’s Department
of Anesthesiology in the Division of
Pain Medicine, encourages patients to partake in
mindful therapies such as yoga and guided imagery
right at their bedsides. “It’s a good way for
our patients to reduce stress and let go of some
of the concerns that come from chronic pain.”
With the opioid epidemic very much in the
news, these alternative treatments are more
crucial than ever. “This is more than a passing
movement,” says pain management specialist
Fujinaka. “This might be the key to ending
dependency or avoiding addiction for so many
who are stuck in a cycle.”
Dr. Lucas Campos, a neurologist, concurs.
“It may sound unorthodox to some old-school
physicians, but I encourage my patients to
incorporate mindfulness to treat their chronic
pain.” Campos, a pain management specialist
based San Francisco, recalls a patient who suffered
from debilitating nerve pain. “She would
notice flare-ups when she was stressed, and her
job was very intense.” He recommended a yoga
class that emphasized mindful focus. “It helped
for her to have that structure of the class, so that
she was guaranteed at least that hour of focusing
her energy and releasing her pain.”
Mindfulness Over Melancholy
Numerous studies, along with plain old common
sense, support Campos’s argument. A
large-scale meta-analysis from the Mayo clinic
shows that in staving off bouts of depression,
patients who received mindfulness training
saw their relapse rates plummet by 30 percent
compared to patients who received no such
training. Bay Area based neuroscientist Sara
Isbell offers some insight into the scientific
KERRY
MACDONALD
WITH HER
DAUGHTERS
not be a state of mind.
COURTESY OF KERRY MACDONALD