Using Mindfulness to Reduce the Perception of Stress During an Acute Stressful Situation

AbstractProblem statement: During their military education at the Norwegian Military Academy, officer cadets are required to take part in several challenging and difficult exercises and courses. A particular acute stressful situation is the parachute training course. One of the purposes of this course is to educate the officer cadets on how to deal with stress. Learning to cope with stress is important so that an officer can make good decisions during difficult situations. Purpose of study: The purpose of the present study was to investigate whether training on mindfulness would reduce the perception of stress before taking part in the parachute training course. Method: The experimental group was given an introduction to mindfulness training, and was then requested to practice mindfulness for a period of 12 days before the parachute course took place. The control group was not given any introduction to mindfulness or mindfulness training. The questionnaire CSAI-2 was used to measure subjective perceptions of cognitive anxiety, somatic anxiety, and self-confidence at 3 specific points in time before the parachute course. Results and findings: The results showed that the experimental group scored themselves lower on cognitive anxiety and somatic anxiety, and higher on self-confidence, compared to the control group after ground training, as well as 4.5hours before and 30minutes before the first parachute. Conclusion: The conclusion was drawn that practicing mindfulness helps reduce the perception of stress in an acute stressful situation