The effectiveness of mindfulness training program on the defense mechanisms of MS patients

Multiple sclerosis is a progressive and degenerative disease of the myelin sheath of nerve cells in the central nervous system. MS patients have much higher levels of psychological disorders than healthy individuals that affect their quality of life. Defense mechanisms are strongly associated with the degree of stress tolerance in stressful situations, on the other hand, the experience of pain plays an important role in the mental health and quality of life of MS patients. The present study aimed at investigating the effectiveness of mindfulness on defense mechanisms in patients with MS. The population of the case group was people with MS in Urmia in ۲۰۱۹ who had medical and neurological records in hospitals. In this experimental study, the sample selected through availability sampling consisted of ۴۰ MS patients who were randomly divided into two groups of experimental and control groups. Defense Mechanisms Questionnaire (DSQ) was used to collect data. The data were analyzed by multivariate analysis of variance. The results showed that the differences between the means of the groups were significant for immature mechanisms (F = ۲۲.۶۴۹), mature mechanisms (F = ۲۵.۹۹), and psychiatric mechanisms. Thus, mindfulness training had affected defense mechanisms effectively. It is suggested that implementing the necessary training to MS patients and their family can enhance their mindfulness.

Keywords:

mindfulness , defense mechanisms , MS patients