My Internship Experience at Sant'Anna Institute Sorrento
Working with Daphne, the Mindfulness Counselor here at Sant'Anna Institute, I have had the opportunity to help plan & program the Mindfulness Events put on this summer. I have also helped with the creation of Sant'Anna's Mindfulness Club, De-Stress Week, as well as doing research on the mind-body connection and its relation to stress and mindfulness.
My Projects
Sant'Anna's First Ever De-Stress Week!
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One of my projects was to assist Daphne in Sant'Anna's De-Stress Week. We worked together to highlight the skills and methods these specific events would target in order to reduce stress. Especially while studying abroad, I think it is important to create an environment in which students can de-stress.
Mindfulness Club
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Mind Body Connection Research
The mind and body are interconnected, specifically in the relationship between stress and physical health. The body’s stress response is essential for keeping ourselves away from potential threats and dangerous situations, yet, when this stress response becomes chronic, the body remains in an elevated state of adrenaline and cortisol levels. This long term activation allows for a greater susceptibility to adverse health outcomes. Growing research continues to support that physical ailments can arise as a result from emotional distress, yet, stress is less likely to manifest in the body when a person has an emotional outlet to express their emotions (Vitietta et. al). Therefore, there is a major benefit to cultivating effective stress management skills. Practicing mindfulness is an effective way to cope with negative emotions, as well as increase the ability to efficiently problem solve (Zandi, et. al). As college students deal with a wide variety of stressors including exams, financial issues, the pressure to perform well, and balancing school and social life, mindfulness training can help with reducing anxiety and lead toward better academic performances, emphasizing the importance of mindfulness in a school environment.
Vitietta, et. al. (2005), Mind-Body Medicine: Stress and Its Impact on Overall Health and Longevity. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1057: 492-505. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1749-6632.2005.tb06153.x
Zandi, et. al. (2021). The effectiveness of mindfulness training on coping with stress, exam anxiety, and happiness to promote health. Journal of education and health promotion. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8249950/
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Stress & Substance Abuse
Emotions have an undeniable affect on mental health and wellbeing. The ability to recognize and process emotions effectively has a direct impact in how a person responds to stressful life-events. While positive emotional experiences affect mental health positively, the act of suppressing and refraining from effectively communicating emotions may impair health (Saxena et. al.). Coping with complex emotions is a task that proves to be a rather difficult challenge, especially when paired with the stigma and difficulties associated with accessing mental health services. With emerging research detailing the clinical effectiveness of mindfulness-based interventions, the mechanism by which mindfulness practices thrive in one’s day to day life must be described and explained, in order to create accessibility for the average person. Mindfulness, associated with psychological well-being, promotes awareness and nonjudgmental acceptance of one’s present experience (Keng, et. al). However, in order to operationally define mindfulness, a two component model has been suggested. These components include self regulation of attention and adopting curiosity, openness, and acceptance towards one’s experiences in the present moment (Bishop et. al). Self-Regulation of attention refers to the feeling of alertness towards one’s thoughts, feelings, and sensations. However, mindfulness practices are meant to be used as a tool to acknowledge emotions, not intellectualize them. There is a common misconception that an acute awareness of emotions means a person must seek to logically analyze and attempt to understand them. Intellectualizing is a defense mechanism in which an emphasis on facts and logic is employed to gain control over unpleasant emotions (Cariola, et. al.). In contrast, mindfulness aims to prevent maladaptive thought processes brought on by elaborative processing, and to promote experiencing events without preconceived assumptions, expectations, or desires (Bishop et. al.). Furthermore, the second component emphasizes committing to an attitude of curiosity in which all thoughts, feelings, and sensations are subject to observation without interpretation (Bishop et. al). Therefore, operationalizing mindfulness and its aim creates a better understanding to then focus on its mechanisms in promoting healthy emotional regulation.