Birthing consciousness and the flow experience during physiological childbirth

PROBLEM

It has been demonstrated that birth without medical intervention conveys significant physical and psychological benefits to the mother and her newborn baby. However, there is a need to include women's subjective experience of physiological birth to understand and promote it.

BACKGROUND

The theoretical concept of "birthing consciousness" hypothesizes that women during natural childbirth sometimes experience a specific altered state of consciousness, which is a positive peak experience that resembles "flow" in many aspects.

AIM

To investigate the underexplored connection between the physiological mode of childbirth and altered states of consciousness during childbirth.

METHODS

Israeli women with childbirth experience were recruited through social media (Facebook groups with a focus on childbirth and motherhood). Participants (n = 766) completed an online survey: the Flow State Scale (FSS) and a demographic questionnaire.

FINDINGS

Differences were found between modes of birth as to flow state, as women who experienced physiological childbirth (i.e., with no epidural anesthesia or instrumental interventions) had a higher flow state during birth.

DISCUSSION

This link empirically confirms the phenomenon of birthing consciousness. All nine dimensions of the mental state of flow apply to childbirth: challenge-skill balance, action-awareness merging, clear goals, unambiguous feedback, concentration on the task, sense of control, loss of self-consciousness, transformation of time, and autotelic experience.

CONCLUSION

Understanding a women's subjective experience during physiological birth can enhance clinical understanding of physiological birth thus promoting positive physiological birth experiences - which has crucial health benefits. We propose that more studies need to be done to promote experiencing flow during physiological birth.

Defining Transformative Experiences: A Conceptual Analysis

The concept of transformative experience (TE) has been widely explored by several disciplines from philosophy to neurobiology, and in different domains, from the spiritual to the educational one. This attitude has engendered heterogeneous models to explain this phenomenon. However, a consistent and clear understanding of this construct remains elusive. The aim of this work is to provide an initial comprehensive interdisciplinary, cross-domain, up-to-date, and integrated overview on the concept of TEs. Firstly, all the models and theories on TEs were reviewed to extract and analyze TEs’ main components emerging from different disciplines. Then, this preliminary analysis was integrated with an in-depth examination of redundancies and particularities across domains and disciplines, to provide an integrated theoretical framework of TEs and a preliminary interdisciplinary operational definition of TEs. This examination, in turn, can help organize current research and theories, thus providing suggestions for operationalizing TEs as well as encouraging new interdisciplinary research endeavors.

The Value of Nature During Psychotherapy: A Qualitative Study of Client Experiences

Nature is considered to have restorative qualities that can potentially improve psychotherapy success. However, little is known about how clients experience nature during psychotherapy. The research aim of this phenomenological qualitative study was to study how clients experience nature during individual outpatient psychotherapy that took place while walking in nature. More specifically we were interested in clients’ inner world experiences. All participants (N = 12) received treatment through licensed therapists for a DSM-5 classified disorder. Semi-structured interviews were conducted. To uncover true lived experiences during these interviews, participants were asked to close their eyes and envision themselves during a psychotherapy session in nature. The verbatim transcripts were coded by means of inductive thematic analysis and the results were member checked. Results showed that nature brings clients closer to their inner worlds. How nature brings this about is unfolded in a conceptual model of lived experience. We argue that psychotherapy can be enriched by considering nature as a supportive environment because bringing clients closer to their inner worlds is of essential value in facilitating successful treatment interventions.

Pivotal mental states

This paper introduces a new construct, the 'pivotal mental state', which is defined as a hyper-plastic state aiding rapid and deep learning that can mediate psychological transformation. We believe this new construct bears relevance to a broad range of psychological and psychiatric phenomena. We argue that pivotal mental states serve an important evolutionary function, that is, to aid psychological transformation when actual or perceived environmental pressures demand this. We cite evidence that chronic stress and neurotic traits are primers for a pivotal mental state, whereas acute stress can be a trigger. Inspired by research with serotonin 2A receptor agonist psychedelics, we highlight how activity at this particular receptor can robustly and reliably induce pivotal mental states, but we argue that the capacity for pivotal mental states is an inherent property of the human brain itself. Moreover, we hypothesize that serotonergic psychedelics hijack a system that has evolved to mediate rapid and deep learning when its need is sensed. We cite a breadth of evidences linking stress via a variety of inducers, with an upregulated serotonin 2A receptor system (e.g. upregulated availability of and/or binding to the receptor) and acute stress with 5-HT release, which we argue can activate this primed system to induce a pivotal mental state. The pivotal mental state model is multi-level, linking a specific molecular gateway (increased serotonin 2A receptor signaling) with the inception of a hyper-plastic brain and mind state, enhanced rate of associative learning and the potential mediation of a psychological transformation.

The Wilderness Solo Experience: A Unique Practice of Silence and Solitude for Personal Growth

Silence is now acknowledged by science as a significant construct of healthy human development and well-being, linked to humans’ neurobiology, psychology, physiology, and spirituality. This paper focuses on a particular form of silence experienced through the solo experience in the wilderness. The solo experience, involving varying periods of time spent in solitude and silence in the wilderness is a common method of intervention implemented among therapeutic and educational nature-based approaches. Numerous studies and personal accounts in the field underscore the solo experience as one of the most significant nature based interventions linked to various beneficial outcomes. These studies emphasize the significance of the wilderness, far from daily demands, and devoid of technological stimuli allowing the silence, time and space for self-reflection and contemplation on the sacredness and meaning of life. Although new to modern culture, solitude in nature is an ancient form of initiation used ceremonially by indigenous cultures worldwide. These practices challenge the individual who alone in the wilderness battles fear and loneliness only to discover inner strengths and true identity. The solo experience, viewed as enacting these ancient rituals in modern form may serve as an antidote to the loneliness, stress, and depression on the rise in the current era, which have been linked to our overly stimulated urban environments and lifestyles. This paper sheds light on how the wilderness solo is experienced and understood, specifically as contributing to therapeutic outcome and personal growth. The empirical and theoretical literature is reviewed pointing to the significance of solitude and silence as basic components of the wilderness solo. These are linked to profound personal outcomes including the discovery of new and expansive ways of knowing the self and the world, specifically as interconnected in the larger web of life, enhancing a sense of personal belonging and purpose.

The Wildman Programme. A Nature-Based Rehabilitation Programme Enhancing Quality of Life for Men on Long-Term Sick Leave: Study Protocol for a Matched Controlled Study In Denmark

Many men have poor mental health and need help to recover. However, designing a rehabilitation intervention that appeals to men is challenging. This study protocol aims to describe the ‘Wildman Programme’, which will be a nature-based rehabilitation programme for men on long-term sick leave due to health problems such as stress, anxiety, depression, post-cancer and chronic cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), cardiovascular disease, or diabetes type II. The programme will be a nature-based rehabilitation initiative combining nature experiences, attention training, body awareness training, and supporting community spirit. The aim of the study will be to examine whether the ‘Wildman Programme’ can help to increase quality of life and reduce stress among men with health problems compared to treatment as usual. The study will be a matched control study where an intervention group (number of respondents, N = 52) participating in a 12-week nature-based intervention will be compared to a control group (N = 52) receiving treatment as usual. Outcomes are measured at baseline (T1), post-treatment (T2), and at follow up 6 months post-intervention (T3). The results of this study will be important to state whether the method in the ‘Wildman Programme’ can be implemented as a rehabilitation offer in the Danish Healthcare System to help men with different health problems.

Growing Resilience through Interaction with Nature: Can Group Walks in Nature Buffer the Effects of Stressful Life Events on Mental Health?

Nature-based activities have been used as therapeutic interventions for those experiencing stress and mental ill health. This study investigates whether group walks could be a nature-based intervention to foster resilience, by buffering the effects of recent stressful life events on mental health. An observational research design with propensity score-matched samples compared the mental health of individuals who did (Nature Group Walkers, n = 1081) or did not (Non-Group Walkers, n = 435) attend nature group walks. A sub-sample of Frequent Nature Group Walkers (at least once per week, n = 631) was also investigated. Data were analyzed using multiple regression with an interaction term. All analyses were controlled for age, gender, and recent physical activity. Results showed that neither nature group walking, nor doing this frequently, moderated the effects of stressful life events on mental health. Using a main effects model, the positive associations of group walks in nature were at a greater magnitude than the negative associations of stressful life events on depression, positive affect, and mental well-being, suggesting an 'undoing' effect of nature group walks. Group walking schemes in natural environments may be an important public health promotion intervention for mental health.