Minutes into our conversation about mindfulness in the workplace, Dr. John Patterson, a integrative family practice physician, produces a small plastic bottle from his desk and proceeds to blow bubbles until I “belly laugh,” as he calls it.
“It’s better than morphine,” he says, quoting an assessment by the late author Norman Cousins in his best-selling “Anatomy of an Illness.”
Patterson, who has been practicing for more than 40 years in a career combining family and integrative holistic medicine, is leading the first course on mindfulness-based stress reduction offered by the University of Kentucky through the employee health and wellness program.
Patterson says he doesn’t think bubbles are a cure-all but that MBSR programs provide a range of benefits.
Mindfulness, Patterson says, means paying attention in a way characterized by curiosity, openness and acceptance.
“It means paying attention, in the present moment, on purpose, without judgment — as if your life depended on it,” he said, quoting Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn, who in 1979 developed the first MBSR program at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center to help patients with chronic conditions and pain.
Patterson holds a master's of science in public health, is a Fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians and is board certified in both family medicine and integrative holistic medicine. He founded Lexington’s Mind Body Studio, where he teaches a menu of research-based mind-body skills, including mindfulness, meditation, yoga, and even Argentine tango.
Jody Ensman, manager of UK’s health and wellness program, said offering the MBSR course is not only a good idea for employees but also the university.
“There is a business case to it, but there’s also the personal case as well,” Ensman said. “From a business standpoint, you’re going to look at productivity and absenteeism. So anything that would allow for employees to live a more fulfilled life — whether at work or outside of work — behooves the employer.”
The eight-week MBSR program involves a weekly session of about two and half hours, as well as independent home practice and a single full-day retreat. Participants are taught meditation, relaxation and gentle exercise practices aimed at helping to reduce stress and improve well-being.
“I’ve said for a few years that I’m tired of typical stress management programs. They’re not getting the job done,” said Ensman. “It’s like putting a Band-Aid on a problem, because the issue is much deeper than time management or prioritizing or deep breathing. MBSR delves deeper into the true issues that are going on and allows you to address them and experience them and work through them.”
UK currently offers the full eight-week MBSR program as well as a single-day mindfulness retreat three or four times each year.
Carrie Davidson, a wellness coordinator for UK, said the MBSR program gave her tools to manage anxiety and focus at work and feel more focused at work and at home.
“For me, this is why we offer this class,” said Ensman. “Do we have tangible cost savings yet? No. But this is the type of impact that we’re wanting these individuals to walk away with.”
Patterson also touted the program’s ancillary benefits.
“The well-being of health professionals is integrally related to the wellbeing of their employees, their colleagues, their patients, their families and their communities,” he said.