Your friend, Rosalia, tells you that she has recently begun to feel stressed, even though nothing in her life has changed. Rosalia wants your advice on how to help reduce her level of stress. Outline the advice you would give to Rosalia, using your knowledge of the study by Hölzel et al. (mindfulness and brain scans).

Mark scheme

Marking points from the official mark scheme (May/June 2025). The mark or mark type is shown in brackets.

1. [4] 1 mark per piece of advice clearly based on the study by Hölzel et al. Rosalia should engage in mindful yoga with some stretching exercises. These are slow movements in conjunction with breathing. She can be taught to become “fully aware” of her body sensations. And use the deep breathing exercise to help control feelings of stress. She can also use meditation to become aware of different sounds/feelings/emotions. She can be encouraged to practise this for 45-minutes per day/daily. She can join an (8 week) MBSR course. She can practice mindfulness when eating/walking/at home. There are other creditworthy pieces of advice. No credit for justifying advice as this is not what the question is about. Do not credit 'mindfulness' by itself. 1 mark max can be awarded for identification of a relevant task, e.g., yoga, meditation, body scan etc. Only credit any timeframe once, e.g., 8-weeks, 45 mins, long-term, daily etc. e.g., she should attend an 8-week MBSR course = 2 marks total (1 for MBSR and 1 from the timeframe). Credit descriptions of what would happen in body scanning, yoga, meditation etc. Doing it in her 'daily life' as a statement by itself = 0 marks.