Mindfulness training: an adjunctive role in the management of chronic illness?

Narrowly defined, mindfulness is the tendency to encounter moment-to-moment experience without being lost in unhelpful or distressing thoughts triggered by the experience. Mindfulness training involves group instruction in and discussion of a variety of meditation styles aimed at enhancing this tendency in daily life. There is an accumulating evidence base, albeit of variable quality, which suggests that mindfulness training, when used as part of an integrated approach to chronic disease management, may help alleviate associated psychological distress and improve patients' quality of life.