Study: Mindfulness meditation could replace antidepressants

In the first of its kind research scientists from the Georgetown University Medical Center compared mindfulness meditation with antidepressants in clinical trials aimed at patients with anxiety disorders.

The results showed that the eight-week mindfulness program was just as effective in reducing anxiety levels as drug treatment.

Mindfulness techniques have long been an important tool for therapists helping patients with a variety of mental health issues. One method, known as Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MCBT), has been shown to be as effective in treating depression as antidepressants.

The new study looked at another mindfulness technique called Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (CBR). Unlike the CBTBT method, which is based on CBT techniques and is largely guided by a therapist, CBTBT is built around daily meditation practice.

More than 200 people with a clinically diagnosed anxiety disorder participated in the study. Half were randomized to an eight-week course of an antidepressant, and the other half underwent an eight-week CCHSS program.

The program included weekly guided mediation sessions, daily 45-minute home exercises, and a one-day mid-course session. At the end of eight weeks, the level of anxiety of each participant was assessed by clinicians who did not know how the patient was treated.

Both groups showed a reduction in anxiety scores of approximately 30% by the end of the eight-week experiment.

Study author Elizabeth Hoge noted that these results support the fact that meditation can be viable alternative to antidepressants, especially if the patient is unable to take necessary drugs. In addition, the practice of CCHSS can be a much more affordable treatment than medically supervised drug therapy.