Mindfulness and Meditation Education: Innovative Solutions for menstrual pain among teenagers at SMAN 5 Karawang
Author(s): Roni Rowawi*
Abstract
Primary dysmenorrhea is one of the most common menstrual disorders experienced by female students at secondary school level. Even though it is often considered trivial, primary dysmenorrhea can affect the quality of life, academic performance and emotional well-being of female students. Various therapies have been used to treat pain due to primary dysmenorrhea, especially pharmacological ones. However, it is no less interesting, new breakthroughs in non-pharmacological studies include mindfulness and meditation techniques which are known to have the potential to reduce pain and stress, but their effectiveness in treating primary dysmenorrhea pain has not been widely studied. This research used a randomized controlled trial method with a sample of 150 female students at SMAN 5 Karawang who experienced primary dysmenorrhea. They were divided into three groups: control group, mindfulness group, and meditation group. The intervention period was 8 weeks. Pain level was measured using a Visual Analog Scale (VAS). The results showed that after 8 weeks of intervention, compared with the control group, the mindfulness education group showed an average reduction in pain of 35% (p<0.01), and the meditation group showed a reduction in pain of 40% (p<0.001) compared with the control group only showed a 5% decrease. These results indicate that mindfulness education and meditation can be used as non-pharmacological alternatives to reduce pain in primary dysmenorrhea. Through this method, female students not only benefit from pain relief but also increased awareness and mental well-being.