The effects of mindfulness-based stress reduction therapy on psychopathology symptoms and stress response in patients with multiple sclerosis: Short communication

BACKGROUND: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic inflammatory condition that affects the central nervous system (CNS). The purpose of this study was to examine how a mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) intervention impacted psychopathology symptoms and stress responses in patients with MS. METHODS: In the second half of 2018-2019, a quasi-experimental study was carried out with a pretest-posttest control design, followed by a one-month monitoring period in Kerman City, Iran. Through purposeful sampling, 30 patients were selected and then randomly divided into experimental and control groups, with 15 individuals in each group. The experimental group underwent MBSR therapy sessions, structured individually, spanning eight 90-minute sessions, and held weekly, following Kabat-Zinn's MBSR program. Data collection for the study was done using the Stress Response Inventory (SRI) and the Symptom Checklist-90-Revised (SCL-90-R). The collected data were analyzed using repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) through SPSS. RESULTS: Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MESR) did not significantly impact psychosis and paranoia symptoms (P < 0.05). The therapy also helped with stress response in these patients (P < 0.05). This effect lasted through the follow-up phase. CONCLUSION: The study showed that MBSR therapy helped reduce psychiatric symptoms like anxiety and depression in patients with MS.