Transforming Reactivity: Discourse of Awareness in a Mindfulness-based Intervention (MBI) Programme

Abstract

<p>"I know that my voice was raised, my heart was racing, and I was suddenly aware of my body in themiddle of an argument!" Meily, an RPG student, reported this revelation in a Mindfulness-basedintervention (MBI) class. Her discovery demonstrates how mindfulness practice increased herawareness of the body, thoughts, and emotions, transforming her habitual reactivity into more skilfulresponses with agency and self-compassion. "After being aware of your own needs and thoughts, youthen attend to and care for yourself without ghting for others' attention," she added with delight.Stress is a common companion on the journey of RPG students, signicantly aecting their well-being.MBI has proven eective in clinical settings, but research in the general population is still in its earlystages. In this mixed-method study, we investigate the eectiveness of an 8-week online course,"Mindfulness: Finding Peace in a Frantic World," a program within the Mindfulness-based CognitiveTherapy (MBCT) curriculum, on RPG students’ well-being, using a randomized waitlist-controlled trial(RCT) with 88 participants. Quantitative results indicate statistically signicant improvements inmindfulness traits, mental well-being, and resilience, with a reduction in emotional disturbances.Qualitative analysis traces individual participants' reported changes over time, connecting quantitativeand qualitative data. Our inductive, discourse data-driven approach analyzes teacher-participantinteractions, self-reective journaling, and post-course surveys. Themes that emerge from the datainclude awareness of the distinction between thoughts and facts, and awareness of reactivity to dicultemotions, among others. These themes suggest potential changes in the participant's relationship withtheir experience and their response to the inner and outer worlds.This study indicates that MBI enhances the well-being of RPG students. The mixed-method approach,combining quantitative RCT and qualitative discourse analysis, while tracing individuals’ mindfulnessexperiences over time, provides both breadth and depth in understanding the mechanisms of changein mindfulness interventions.<br></p>