1. Meditation can help individuals with mental health issues cope with stress, anxiety, and depression, according to Healthdirect - an initiative of the Australian Government that provides free health advice. Professor Willem Kuyken and his colleagues agree. In 2016, the researchers found that mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) is as effective as antidepressants. With one out of five Australian adults reporting that they experienced mental health conditions based on 2007 data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS),  the study comes as a welcome addition to the techniques used by psychologists and healthcare professionals that provide mental health services at the Department of Social Services.

Meditation as Therapy

Kuyken, a clinical psychologist at the University of Oxford, notes that although mindfulness-based cognitive therapy is not a panacea, it is a new way to stay well. Meditation, a type of mindfulness therapy is defined by Shafii in his study Silence in the service of the ego: psychoanalytic study of meditation published in 1973 as “a psychological state of active passivity and creative quiescence.” The impact of meditation and self-reflection on mental health has been studied for centuries but the research done by Kuyken and his team provides a more structured approach to the technique. According to Kuyken, MBCT is a form of mental training that allows individuals to arrest depressive relapse by being in tune with the early signs of depression.  

As Good as Medication 

What truly makes Kuyken’s findings special is the fact that mindfulness is as good as psychiatric medication. Based on the study, individuals who participated in MBCT sessions without the aid of medication were able to avoid a relapse for a period of two years. Drugs, the study shows, also have the same efficacy. It must be noted though that older meditation techniques such as tarot reading or yoga are just as beneficial. Tarot reading, for example, can help individuals reflect while yoga offers inner peace for its practitioners.

Awareness of Your Own Thoughts

Meditation and concentration can provide clinically depressed individuals with better awareness of their own thoughts. According to Kuyken, knowing that thoughts are not facts is essential in the practice. This knowledge can be quite helpful especially for men and women who get depressed due to negative thoughts. Proponents of the practice also say that mindfulness techniques such as meditation do not only improve mental health but can also help reduce stress.  

However, Kuyken reiterates that despite being a compelling alternative to psychiatric drugs, this holistic technique is merely one of the ways to ease mental distress. Australians who do not have access to MBCT sessions can take a look at Kenneth E. Miller’s advice. Miller, an expert in psychology, notes that mindfulness is not just about meditation and that it can be as informal as eating a meal, walking, running, biking, or taking a shower. Mindfulness, according to Miller is being present in the moment which means that anyone who has experienced anxiety or depression can take advantage of this technique to improve their mental well-being.

Supplemental Tool

Meditation may not be able to cure or prevent mental health problems on its own but it is a good addition to the tools and techniques that can calm the mind. With stress being a major factor of mental health issues, managing it through meditation can help those who experience depression or anxiety. Meditation, based on the study, can also give individuals a chance to get in touch with their thoughts and countering those thoughts through introspection.

Author- Cassie Steele, 23 June 2018