Leaves on a stream: The effectiveness of a mindfulness-based exercise on the frequency, and difficulty in "letting go" of, anxious self-statements

A controlled trial was conducted to investigate the effect of a brief mindfulnessbased intervention on the frequency, and difficulty in “letting go” of anxious self statements. Each day for a week participants in the treatment group (n = 28) listened to the Leaves on a Stream mindfulness exercise (LeJeune, 2012), while those in the control group (n = 29) listened to a passage of prose of equal duration. The mean scores of both groups improved from pre- to post-intervention. However, after intervention, the treatment group did not display lower frequency or difficulty in letting go of anxious self-statements than the control group. Explanations for, and practical implications of, these results are discussed.