Podcast Summary

Living Well with Multiple Sclerosis – S6E21

Episode Title: Webinar Highlights: Reducing stress through meditation and mindfulness with Dr Phil Startin
Host: Overcoming MS
Date: October 16, 2024
Guest: Dr. Phil Startin

Episode Overview

In this episode of "Living Well with MS," Dr. Phil Startin shares highlights from his webinar, "Reducing Stress Through Meditation and Mindfulness." Drawing from both personal experience with multiple sclerosis (MS) and his expertise as a Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) teacher, Dr. Startin explains the science and practice of mindfulness and meditation, particularly for people living with MS. He offers practical tips to integrate mindful moments into daily life, addresses challenges in adopting mindfulness, and discusses the broader benefits of these practices for mental and physical well-being.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Introducing Dr. Phil Startin and the Role of Mindfulness in MS Management

• Background: Dr. Phil Startin, diagnosed with primary progressive MS in 2007, has been following the OMS (Overcoming MS) program since 2012 and teaching mindfulness and meditation to people with MS and the general public.

  • “I was really skeptical at the beginning… It just kind of didn’t make sense. But I found a course that worked and I just loved it and it’s become a huge part of my life.” – Dr. Phil Startin [01:40]

• Mindfulness Importance: Mindfulness (the 4th OMS step) is often the hardest to adopt compared to dietary changes, exercise, or sunlight/vitamin D, but is crucial for managing stress, which can exacerbate MS symptoms and relapses.

2. The Stress Response and the Mind-Body Connection

• Fight or Flight Explained: Dr. Startin details how the stress (“fight or flight”) response, identified a century ago by Dr. Walter Cannon, impacts the body—raising heart rate, redirecting blood flow, downregulating digestion and immune function—both in real and imagined threats.

  • “Our brain really can’t distinguish between…a real threat, something that really can kill us, and an imagined threat or a worry.” [05:00]

• Negativity Bias: Humans are hardwired to focus more on negative than positive experiences (per Rick Hansen’s Hardwiring Happiness), contributing to chronic stress and mental health challenges.

  • “The mind’s like Velcro for bad experiences and Teflon for good experiences.” [06:50]

• MS and Depression: People with MS have triple the rate of depression compared to the general population, likely due to the disease’s inflammation, immune impacts, and the psychological burden.

3. Meditation and Mindfulness: Practical Solutions

• OMS Recommendation: Daily meditation (ideally 30 minutes) is at the heart of the OMS approach for reducing stress.

• Making It Manageable:

  • Even brief (10–20 minute) practices may feel daunting. Instead, integrate “mini meditations” or micro-mindful moments throughout the day (e.g., during routine activities).
  • “Think about why do we practice? ...It’s really so we can be mindful and cope better for stress for the other 23 hours and 40 minutes of the day.” [10:22]

• Types of Mini Meditations:

  • Grounding (focus on breath, feet, or bodily sensations)
  • Three-step Breathing Space: Start open and aware, narrow focus to breath, then expand awareness to the whole body [12:00]
  • Micro-meditations: Mindful attention to small acts (holding a cup of tea, feeling its temperature, weight, aroma) [12:40]

4. Guided Mini Meditation (Live Practice)

[13:49–17:00]
Dr. Startin offers a simple, accessible practice focusing on sensation in the feet, the breath in the belly, and the body as a whole, inviting a sense of kindness and connection.

• “Just resting the attention on the feet… bringing your attention up the legs and up to the hips and up to the belly… feeling the belly expand and stretch as we breathe in and fall back, relax as you breathe out… almost feeling the body, feeling quite elegant, quite grounded as we sit or stand here… bringing a sense of kindness to the body.” [14:20–16:50]

5. Expanding the Definition of Mindfulness

• Common View: Mindfulness is commonly defined (per Jon Kabat-Zinn) as “paying attention in a particular way on purpose and with no judgment,” often illustrated as the difference between a distracted “human doing” and a present “human being” (like the cartoon of a person vs. a dog observing the scenery). [18:50]

• Developing Awareness Over Time:

  • Initial practice strengthens the 'attention muscle' and calms the mind.
  • Ongoing practice deepens awareness:
    • Recognizing bodily sensations, emotional states, and habitual reactions
    • Developing resilience: “Our minds really do start to feel a little bit more spacious at this point, and we do start to develop a slightly more resilience, just an inbuilt resilience at that point.” [22:08]
    • Eventually, mindfulness becomes effortless, and deeper insights emerge naturally.

6. Broader Practices for Mental Well-being

• Three Daily Habits:

  • Gratitude: Reflecting on three things to be grateful for each night [26:20]
  • Intention Setting: In the morning, consider how you want to be that day—not your to-do list, but your attitude and approach [26:55]
  • Kindness: Practicing kindness toward yourself and others throughout the day
    • “Kindness absolutely is at the heart of meditation and mindfulness. And I know how tough I am on myself sometimes… just give ourselves a break being nice to ourselves sometimes.” [27:40]

• Living by Design:

  • Regular reflection on values, meaningful relationships, and personal goals
  • Quote: “Living your life by design and not by diagnosis, which is a phrase I really, really like.” [29:40]

• Final Quote (Jon Kabat-Zinn):

  • “We can’t stop the waves, but we can learn to surf and we can never stop the waves of change, but we can learn how to surf, how to live with a chain, how to still enjoy our lives.” [30:45]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Mindfulness Skepticism:

  • “I was really skeptical at the beginning… but I found a course that worked and I just loved it and it’s become a huge part of my life.” – Dr. Phil Startin [01:40]

• Stress Response Reality:

  • “Our brain really can’t distinguish between… a real threat…and an imagined threat or a worry.” [05:00]

• Negativity Bias:

  • “The mind’s like Velcro for bad experiences and Teflon for good experiences.” (crediting Rick Hanson) [06:50]

• Purpose of Practice:

  • “It’s not to try and relax for 20 minutes or 30 minutes, but… so we can be mindful and cope better for stress for the other 23 hours and 40 minutes of the day.” [10:22]

• On Kindness:

  • “Kindness absolutely is at the heart of meditation and mindfulness… just give ourselves a break being nice to ourselves sometimes.” [27:40]

• Living Intentionally:

  • “Living your life by design and not by diagnosis…” [29:40]

• Ending Wisdom:

  • “We can’t stop the waves, but we can learn to surf…” (Jon Kabat-Zinn, as quoted by Dr. Startin) [30:45]

Timestamps for Major Segments

• 00:00 – Defining mindfulness; Jon Kabat-Zinn's operational definition
• 01:23 – Dr. Phil’s MS journey & introduction to mindfulness
• 04:30 – The physiology of stress; fight or flight response
• 06:20 – Negativity bias and mind-body connection
• 09:20 – Stress, MS, depression, and meditation research
• 10:22 – Purpose and practice of meditation, mini-meditations
• 13:49 – Guided mini meditation (practice)
• 18:50 – Mindfulness definitions and deepening awareness
• 26:20 – Gratitude, intention-setting, and kindness as daily habits
• 29:40 – “Life by design, not by diagnosis”
• 30:45 – Kabat-Zinn surfing quote; episode closes

Takeaways

• Mindfulness and meditation can significantly help manage MS-related symptoms by reducing stress and building resilience.
• Benefits are greatest with regular practice, but even short, mindful moments integrated into daily life can be powerful.
• Kindness, gratitude, and consciously setting intentions are essential adjuncts to meditation for supporting mental well-being.
• Living well with MS involves designing your life with purpose, not letting diagnosis alone define it.

This summary provides a comprehensive review of Dr. Phil Startin’s insights on stress, meditation, and mindfulness as tools for living well with MS, in language faithful to the speaker’s tone and intent. For more resources and support, visit OvercomingMS.org.