# Development of Workshops aimed at Reducing Stress and Anxiety using Mindfulness

> **NIH NIH T34** · CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY SAN MARCOS · 2023 · $86,378

## Abstract

Project Summary
 The CSUSM URISE (5T34GM136481) and B2PhD (R25GM066341) programs support
the NIH/NIGMS goal of increasing the diversity of the biomedical workforce. This Supplement
Proposal aims to develop and deliver a series of workshops on mindfulness to reduce stress
and anxiety and improve the overall wellbeing of our students. The goal of this activity is to offer
students mindfulness tools that can help: (i) Quiet the habitual chatter of the mind; (ii) Cultivate
a capacity for deep awareness; (iii) Reduce emotional reactivity; (iv) Increase feelings of
connectedness, compassion and belonging; and (v) Help students thrive and develop resilience
in an uncertain and rapidly changing world. This two-semester series of workshops will be an
introduction to mindfulness and how participants can make mindfulness part of their everyday
lives. These practices are intended to increase student capacity for pausing, reflecting, and then
responding from a place of wisdom and compassion. It will introduce students to mindfulness
practices such as mindfulness of breath, mindfulness of body, mindfulness of thought, mindful
eating, mindful movement, mindfulness of emotions, joy, and compassion practices. We will
offer practices that help students deal with everyday challenges with equanimity. We will help
students develop capacity for dealing with difficult emotions with kindness. We will help students
learn that making mistakes is not a sign of failure. Instead, we will help them develop confidence
that they can learn from their mistakes and be stronger and more resilient in the process. We
will also discuss how and why mindfulness practices are relevant to our everyday lives and can
help us heal from the trauma of othering and isolation. We will also include specific evidence-
based practices to reduce procrastination. According to psychologists, we procrastinate to avoid
the negative emotions associated with doing the task. When we procrastinate, we prioritize
short term mood repair over long term pursuit of intended goals. In that sense, procrastination is
not a time management issue but rather an emotion management one. Procrastination is also
about making a temporal trade-off. When we procrastinate, we sacrifice the future for the
present for the sake of mood repair. Some of the strategies that we will offer students include
self-compassion, mindfulness of emotions, finding meaning in tasks that we typically
procrastinate on and connecting with our future selves. The B2PhD and URISE Programs, in
concert with a highly supportive campus environment, will prepare students from UR groups to
be thoughtful scientists who have the knowledge, skills, research experience and character that
prepare them for doctoral studies in the biomedical and behavioral sciences and that allow them
to become future leaders in science and academia.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10793886
- **Project number:** 3T34GM136481-04S1
- **Recipient organization:** CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY SAN MARCOS
- **Principal Investigator:** Denise Garcia
- **Activity code:** T34 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2023
- **Award amount:** $86,378
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2020-04-01 → 2025-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10793886

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10793886, Development of Workshops aimed at Reducing Stress and Anxiety using Mindfulness (3T34GM136481-04S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-26 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10793886. Licensed CC0.

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