SILENTLY REPEATING A SPIRITUAL WORD or phrase may ease tension and turmoil, finds a new study from the Veterans Administration San Diego Healthcare System. Volunteers who practiced mantras such as “Shalom,” “Ave Maria” or “Om Shanti” at calm moments learned to associate them with a feeling of relaxation they could summon up when stressed out.

Of those participants who later employed mantras, 75 percent were able to reduce frustration and tension. They used mantras to shut out unwanted thoughts, defuse emotional situations, and cope with problems including insomnia, traffic and work pressures.
“Mantras are a pause button for the mind,” says lead researcher Jill Bormann, PhD, RN. And taking mental time outs, she adds, may be particularly helpful for harried caregivers. “Our pilot studies of caregivers of veterans with dementia suggest that employing mantras can significantly reduce stress when you feel impatient or overwhelmed.”

For example, Dr. Bormann explains, one caregiver uses her mantra when her husband repeatedly asks the same question; another, to help keep her emotions under control so she can deal more lovingly and compassionately with her parents.