How does mindfulness-based stress reduction benefit patients with chronic illness?

• A. It increases rumination.
• B. It reduces rumination, improves coping, decreases anxiety and depression, and may improve quality of life and some symptoms.
• C. It worsens depression.
• D. It only improves sleep.

Answer: (B)

Mindfulness-based stress reduction helps chronic illness by changing how people relate to their thoughts and symptoms. It trains attention to the present moment with nonjudgmental awareness, which reduces rumination about illness and stress. With less repetitive negative thinking, coping improves because individuals feel more in control and better able to respond to symptoms rather than react to them. As rumination and distress decline, anxiety and depressive symptoms typically lessen, and overall quality of life often improves. It can also help with related symptoms such as sleep disturbances, fatigue, and pain through lowered stress reactivity. This approach does not increase rumination or worsen depression, and its benefits go beyond sleep to broader psychosocial well-being.