From Body to Mind and Spirit: Qigong Exercise for Bereaved Persons with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome-Like Illness

Abstract

Bereavement may bring negative impacts on the mind, body, and spiritual well-being of grieving persons. Bereavement as a major negative life event is also a risk factor for chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). . Some bereaved persons with chronic fatigue syndrome- (CFS-) like illness experience a dual burden of distress. This study investigated the effects of bereavement on CFS-like illness by comparing bereaved and nonbereaved participants. It also adopted a random group design to investigate the effectiveness of Qigong on improving the well-being of bereaved persons with CFS-like illnessparticipants. The Qigong intervention comprised 10 group sessions delivered twice a week for 5 weeks and home-practice for at least three times a week lasting 15-30 minutes each lasting 15–30 minutes each. The participants’ fatigue, anxiety, and depression, quality of life (QoL), and spiritual well-being were measured at baseline and 3 months after treatment. The bereaved participants experienced significantly greater mental fatigue (16.09 versus 14.44,