Meditation May Lessen Depression
Wednesday June 3, 2009
For people struggling with severe depression, practicing meditation may offer mood-lifting benefits. In a recent pilot study, researchers randomly assigned 28 people dealing with depression (all of whom had previous depression episodes and thoughts of suicide) to two groups: One group continued their usual treatment, while the other paired standard care with mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (or MBCT, a healing approach that combines mindfulness meditation with cognitive behavior therapy). Results showed that symptoms of depression decreased from severe to mild levels in the MBCT group, but remained the same in the group of participants receiving conventional care only.
Even in the most severe cases, depression is a highly treatable disorder. While it's critical to work with a physician in treating depression, certain self-care strategies—such as exercising regularly, practicing yoga, and using nutritional therapy—may produce mood-improving effects and ease depression symptoms.
Comments
Hi, nice posts there
thank’s for the interesting information
Hi Cathy,
Thanks so much for reporting that chronic depression can be helped by mindfulness and cognitive behavioral therapy.
I’m trained in Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy for Depression, and have offered groups in NYC since 2007. I’ve found it deeply helpful to many people. In addition to helping prevent depression relapse, mindfulness offers a radically more interesting way to relate to life as it unfolds.
Thanks, and I like your blog!
Donald Fleck DCSW
Great post and information! Deep breathing exercises are excellent for anxiety and many people report positive results from meditation, so I would definetely have to agree with you. Some other natural anxiety remedies to look into are St.John’s Wort, SAMe, L-Theanine, and Tryptophan.