Western cognitive psychologist John Paul Minda is collaborating with San Francisco-based lawyer and author Jenna Cho on a project designed to investigate the relationship between mindfulness training and the well-being of attorneys. “We’re hoping to uncover whether or not there are specific things in relation to lawyers,” said Minda, a member of the Brain and Mind Institute. “The specific kinds of stress attorneys deal with is something research really hasn’t done. We just don’t know because this is a relatively new venture. This is definitely exploratory work which will allow us to generate a more specific and targeted hypothesis.” Read the rest of the story.
Will Meditation Help Stressed-out Lawyers?
With Depression, Sometimes it Pays to Be Patient
Blogger Therese Borchard writes, “The harder you try, the more negative things can get. A study published in August 2007 in The Journal of Neuroscience showed that there was a breakdown in normal patterns of emotional processing that prevented depressed and anxious people from suppressing negative emotions. In fact, the more they tried, the more they activated the fear center of their brain — the amygdala — which fed them more negative messages.” Read the Blog
When Family Members and Friends Don’t Understand Depression
Depression blogger Therese Borchard writes, “Whenever I hit a severe depressive episode, I am reminded once more that I can’t make people understand depression any more than I can make a person who hasn’t gone through labor understand the intense experience that is unique to that situation. Some people are able to respond with compassion to something that they don’t understand. But that is very rare.” Read the Blog
Breakthrough: This Treatment Could Battle Depression
A groundbreaking new study has found evidence that a new treatment could be an effective tool in the battle against depression. Scientists have found that mindfulness therapy may be key in reducing repeated bouts of depression. Read the News
Why Lawyers are so Stressed Out and How to Prevent It
The New York City Bar met recently to discuss stress in the legal profession. The workshop–titled Resilience for Lawyers: Practical Skills to Decrease Stress and Avoid Burnout–was run specifically by the Mindfulness in Law program, a group that meets monthly at the New York City Bar to discuss using meditative practices in the legal profession. Read the News
Anxiety Management for Lawyers
Lawyer Jenna Cho writes, “Many lawyers view anxiety as a necessary part of life. It’s what fuels their motivation. And at the same time, it’s also an annoyance. This sort of unwelcomed feelings of anxiety, which frequently shows up coupled with other somatic complaints such as insomnia, backaches, headaches, etc somehow becomes an acceptable state of being.” Read her Blog
3 Lies Lawyers Should Stop Telling Themselves
Lawyer and author of the new book, “The Anxious Lawyer: An Eight-week Guide to a Happier, Saner Law Practice Using Mindfulness,” Jenna Cho writes that lawyers tell themselves three big lies: that they aren’t good enough, that more is better and that they must sacrifice themselves and their well-being for others. Read her Blog
How to Design a Self-Care Prescription for Depression
Depression blogger Therese Borchard’s great piece about developing our own “healing packages” of activities, resources and comforts. Read her Blog
Life Experience and Cognitive Science Deepen the Case for Mindfulness in Law
University of San Francisco Law Professor Rhonda Magee writes in the ABA Journal, “Few would disagree that if the purported benefits of mindfulness prove to be true, no profession is in greater need of them than ours. And indeed, the legal profession is responding. Law schools, lawyers and judges are reviewing the research detailing benefits: reduced stress, lower blood pressure, increased empathy, improved performance on exams and during arguments, more ethical decision-making, and more satisfying and effective client counseling conversations. And they are practicing mindfulness to assist in handling the stress of legal practice and to improve performance.” Read her Blog
Stop Living in Misery: You Deserve Better
From Above the Law, lawyer blogger Jenna Cho writes, “When you decided to go to law school, was it your aspiration to hate your job, hate your life, and live in misery? Of course not. Which begs the question: why are so many lawyers unhappy?” Read the Blog
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