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Table 4 Benefits quotes

From: Participants’ perspectives on mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for inflammatory bowel disease: a qualitative study nested within a pilot randomised controlled trial

MBCT as a healing/therapeutic process

Quote no.

Codes

Quote

1

Easing the pain

‘..it's, it’s mostly painkillers that I’m on — I’ve hardly used any in the last eight weeks, hardly any at all, so em…’ (P014)

2

Antidepressant/de-stress and pain relief

‘The short meditation technique is a great way to control yourself-where anti-depressants can cause bigger issues to the user/stress, helps you to relax and ease the pain away’ (P010)

3

Better sleep, sense of peace

‘I feel calmer, and the brain feels less rushed, em you’ve just got a more inner sense of peace.. I’m, I’m not a poor sleeper, but I was a light sleeper — my quality of sleep’s improved that I can sleep straight through and feel you know that I’ve had a good sleep’ (P015)

4

An antidote for anxiety, worry and depression

‘not worrying about something that's happened, or something that may, you know, and just slowing down really’ (P014)

5

Stress and pain relief

‘Gave me an insight on how I can relax, through breathing techniques and can do it anywhere anytime. Help in working through pain to relax through cramps, sleep. ‘(P001)

6

Relaxation

‘helps me to deal with immediate crisis…allows me to relax for a short period.’ (P008)

7

Helping with spiralling down (depression)

‘I still have that urge just to go to bed, just pull the covers over my head and, not sleep necessarily, but just … curl up in a ball and just lie there…. but now I go up and I just, I go ‘I’m doing meditation, I’ll be half an hour,’ and that’ll gimme the kick in the arse that I need … really, I suppose getting me out of really spiralling downward, eh or maybe that was just habit …’(P012)

8

Help with food

‘I find that food tastes differently because I’m taking time to eat it and taste it …’ (P016)

Educational and transformational process

9

Learned self-care and change of relationship with illness and self

‘I think the fact that I learnt to think about me for a while and to learn to look after myself and to learn when my body is telling me to relax and give it a rest’ (P002)

10

Realisation about taking charge of wellness

‘I understand now that it is ok to stop for 5-10 minutes & its ok to think about me for a change. The processes involved in this programme made me realize I was quite unwell and have helped me throughout’ (P013)

11

Transformed through reflection

‘I realised I was doing everything at high speed and more than one thing at a time, whether it was at home or at work, I was never switching off … I could do that as I was walking to work, and even at work you know I've seen the benefit now of focusing on what I'm doing — being in the moment’ (P008).

12

Learned acceptance

‘as it opened my eyes to accept the illness, but also the mental and physical exhaustion that comes with it.’(P001)

13

Evaluate, change

‘made me stop & evaluate my life.& realize I was able to take control of my body. No longer on auto pilot.’ (P017)

14

Alternative to getting ‘wound up’

‘You don’t have to go to class or yoga. You can actually do it anywhere at any time when you ready to do your three minute breathing you can just take that time out and that’s.. ammm to allow the anger and other things that get you all wound up ..coz a lot of time I get grrrrrr I get really wound up about over other things and full of frustration of whatever and… it and that has helped me over in a really difficult time. its It’s kind of alternative to get wound up. Aha’ (P008)

Can do it anywhere

15

Stress relief tools

‘Help me deal with stress, gave me the tools.’ (P003)

16

Everyday application

‘Now I don’t really like closed spaces, and how tight is it inside that blinking MRI thing?..And when they slid me inside I was just about to squeeze that wee thing and shout ‘get me out of here!’ And you remember on the course we did that — near the end of the course — we did that meditation where we were thinking about being a mountain?..well I used the visualisation technique in that MRI scanner, I started to breath, started to, just try and calm myself down; and I was in that thing for an hour and fifteen minutes with no problems at all’ (P015)

Process of inclusion with emotional support

17

Supported, not judged

I felt very supported and not judged for feeling emotional and not having to explain myself

18

Belonging

‘It’s almost like…little club …its like a everyone gets to know everybody and you didn’t feel …you know the barriers were coming away and everybody was…. I felt …more freely talking..’(P013)

19

Belonging

‘Being part of a group of fellow sufferers was positive…non-judgemental’ (P017)

20

Non-judgemental environment

‘But that’s what it was all about, allowing us to be, ‘cause I know I was emotional one night and I went away and I was quite relieved when I came back and nobody sort of said “are you all right?,” and I, you know I felt that it, it was comfortable to be like that.. I’ll come back and go with this and be supported, and that’s what it’s been like; nobody’s judging or … and that’s so important …’ (P013)

21

Not alone

‘To know you are not alone is a boost to moral in itself’ (P008)

22

Isolation

‘IBD can feel very alone and isolated’ (P004)

23

Share experiences with others

‘It was reassuring to meet others in a similar situation where you can share experiences which very often turn out to be very similar to your own.’ (P001)