Researchers have found that regular meditation can relieve anxiety, pain, and stress.
3500 people from the US participated in this study and it was concluded that meditation relieves symptoms of depression in the same way as conventional antidepressants.
El mindfulness, which has a long history in Eastern traditions, is one of many meditative techniques that have become popular in the West in the last 30 years. As usual, is practiced for 30 to 40 minutes a day with the aim of fostering acceptance of feelings and thoughts without judgment, and relaxing body and mind.
Dr. Madhav Goyal, assistant professor at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, said that:
“Many people have this idea that meditation means sitting down and doing nothing. But that's not true. Meditation is an active training of the mind to increase awareness, and different meditation programs address this in different ways. Thousands of people use meditation to relieve their stress and encourage their personal growth. In our study, meditation appeared to provide the same relief from some symptoms of anxiety and depression as the relief provided by antidepressants. "
Studies show that psychological therapies can be as effective as medications in addressing common mental health problems, and they are often more successful in the long run.
This research focused on 47 clinical trials conducted up to June 2013. Among the 3.515 participants were people with various physical and mental health problems, including depression, anxiety, stress, insomnia, substance use, diabetes, heart disease, cancer, and chronic pain.
The researchers found moderate evidence of improvement in symptoms of anxiety, depression, and pain after the participants underwent an eight-week mindfulness training program. For example, depression levels were reduced by 0.3, which is what is expected in people who use antidepressants.
Follow-up of the participants for six months showed that the improvements in their quality of life persisted. There were no side effects of any kind.
«Doctors must be prepared to talk with his patients about the role that a meditation program could play in treating psychological stress. ' said one of the researchers. Source
Ok, I just saw the source, just to say that the information could be a bit biased, in that it is a page that emphasizes the search for health through non-pharmacological tools.