Mindfulness Can Rival Antidepressants For Anxiety, Study Finds

New research shows that certain types of exercises can be as effective as drugs for anxiety disorders.

The findings show how meditation can be used to treat these conditions.

A course of stress reduction techniques was put up against a course of escitalopram in a study.

The Clinical Global Impression of Severity scale (CGI-S), measured on a scale of 1 to 7 with 7 being severe anxiety, was used to carry out follow-up surveys.

Those who had tried meditation saw their scores fall by an average of 1.35 points. Both interventions are on the same level.

"Our study provides evidence for clinicians, insurers, and health care systems to recommend, include and provide reimbursement for the use ofMindfulness-based stress reduction as an effective treatment for anxiety disorders."

The researchers prescribed treatment for two-hundred-and-eight patients. There were two-and-a-half hour in-person classes once a week and a day-long retreat during the fifth or sixth week of the program. There were 45 minutes of at- home exercises each day.

Even though antidepressants can be helpful in treating anxiety, they don't work for everyone, and even though escitalopram falls just below the standards used to evaluate adherence to medications, a lot of patients fail to renew prescriptions. Side effects such as nausea can come from them.

"Mindfulness meditation doesn't need a clinical degree to be trained to be a mindfulness facilitator," says Hoge. There are sessions that can be done outside of a medical setting.

It is thought that more than 300 million people are living with some form of anxiety disorder. agoraphobia is a condition that can lead to an increased risk of suicide.

While the programs have been shown to help with anxiety, they haven't been compared with an antidepressants. The results show that MBSR techniques can reduce anxiety in a similar way as well as give individuals tools they can use in the future.

The researchers say that taking medication doesn't require as much commitment and time as the other way around. It is not clear how effective app-based meditation exercises can be.

Not everyone is willing to invest the time and effort to successfully complete all of the necessary sessions and do regular home practice which enhances the effect.

If the live components are retained, virtual delivery via video conference is likely to be effective.

The research was published in a mental health journal.