If you’re looking for other ways to treat anxiety without drugs, a new study published in JAMA Psychiatry found that mindfulness-based interventions such as breathing awareness exercises, body scans and mindful movements, such as stretching, may be just as effective as taking them. remedy.
The randomized clinical trial was conducted between June 2018 and February 2020 and included 276 adults with anxiety disorders from three hospitals in Boston, New York City and Washington, D.C. Participants received either the antidepressant escitalopram, also known as Lexapro, or eight weekly . mindfulness-based stress reduction course, which includes private classes, one-day retreats, and daily practice at home.
Patients’ anxiety symptoms were analyzed at enrollment in the trial and after completion, as well as post-treatment assessments at weeks 12 and 24 after enrollment, according to a press release about the study. The researchers rated the severity of the patients’ anxiety symptoms and saw that both groups experienced a 30% decrease in symptom intensity.
“It is important to note that although mindfulness meditation can be used, not everyone is willing to invest the time and effort to complete all the necessary sessions and do regular home exercises, which increase the effect,” Dr. Elizabeth Hoge, director of the Anxiety Disorders Research Program and professor of psychiatry at Georgetown and first author of the study, said in a press release.
“Also, virtual delivery [of mindfulness-based stress reduction] via videoconference is likely to be effective, as long as the ‘live’ component is kept, such as question-and-answer time and group discussions.
Meditation has several health benefits, including better sleep and lower blood pressure. It has also been found to affect gut health, according to another recent study. Researchers have found that the gut microbes of nearly 40 Tibetan Buddhist monks are significantly different from the secular population of neighboring regions and that these microbes are linked to the risk of anxiety, depression, and cardiovascular disease because of the connection between the digestive tract and the central nervous system. system, or the gut-brain axis.
“Collectively, some bacteria were enriched in the meditation group [have been] is associated with a reduction in mental illness, suggesting that meditation may affect certain bacteria that may play a role in mental health,” the researchers wrote in a press release about the study.
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