Mindfulness has become mainstream in the past decade gracing the covers of magazines and making waves in wellness circles and beyond while transforming the lives of celebrities and business leaders alike. As we ring in the next decade, eMindful weighs in on what to expect in mindfulness in the year ahead.

Precision mindfulness will be the way of the future. One size does not fit all, but the same mindfulness and resilience interventions are often applied generically across distinct behavioural health conditions. Vanderbilt University Medical Center researchers, in collaboration with eMindful, recently published findings in Mindfulness for a new taxonomy that will advance the field to a targeted, skills-based approach allowing for greater precision in applying mindfulness to clinical conditions.

Mindfulness will help address the health epidemic of the new decade. WHO has characterized stress as the health epidemic of the 21st Century estimated to cost businesses $300 billion a year. Mindfulness has been found to reduce stress and associated healthcare costs and improve productivity.

Mindfulness will be used in non-traditional ways. While Western medicine has its place, mindfulness is key to addressing the underlying cause of chronic conditions while helping individuals cope with their circumstances.

Mindfulness will be the antidote for opioid misuse. An estimated 92 million U.S. adults use prescription opioids for pain, and 11.5 million misuse them, according to the 2015 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. Opioid misuse recently led prominent medical organizations to support greater use of nonpharmacological therapies, such as mindfulness, for chronic pain. Using applied mindfulness practices reverses the disabling effects of chronic pain and limits the need for medication.

Professions will turn to mindfulness to address their unique needs. Doctors, veterans, first responders, and others all have unique stressors that are consistent with their circumstances. Applied mindfulness programs that can be integrated into everyday life to address their needs will become more common in 2020.

Purpose-driven mindfulness will become a movement. Altruism builds social support and connectedness, lowering stress. Activities that connect us to a greater purpose will be a priority in the new decade.