Application of mindfulness on stress, anxiety, and well-being in an adolescent student: A case study

BACKGROUND: Stress and anxiety are the major problems students face in their lives and specifically in their academic life, which, in turn, has a significant negative impact on their academic performance. There are different approaches to deal with stress and anxiety, for example, cognitive behavioral therapy and relaxation techniques. OBJECTIVE: The present study was conducted to evaluate the applicability of mindfulness on stress, anxiety, and psychological well-being in an adolescent student. METHODS: In this study, single-case study design was used. The Pediatric Symptoms Checklist, Youth Self-Report, Institute of Personality and Ability Testing Anxiety Scale, and Checklist of Psychological Well-Being were administered on ten adolescent students. After the initial assessment, one participant was selected who was having significant level of stress, anxiety, and poor psychological well-being. Further detailed assessment was done using the Raven Standard Progressive Matrices, Parents' Observation Checklist, Teachers' Observation Checklist, and Students' Self-Observation Checklist. The student underwent 24 sessions of mindfulness training with a frequency of three sessions in a week. After completion of sessions, post assessment was done. He was re-assessed after 3 months. RESULTS: After completion of mindfulness training, improvement was observed in stress, anxiety, well-being, and other variables, and the improvement was maintained till follow-up. CONCLUSION: Mindfulness training has the potential in effectively reducing stress and anxiety and increasing a sense of well-being, but the major barrier is getting fixated with an idea of what's the right way to do mindfulness and feel it.