Topline
Following guided mindfulness-based stress reduction programs like meditation can be as effective as using antidepressants in combating anxiety disorders, according to a clinical trial by Georgetown University, as an estimated 40 million people in the United States experience symptoms.
Mindfulness techniques are as affective as common antidepressants, research shows.
Key Facts
By assessing the symptoms of anxiety using a scale between 1 and 7–with a 7 representing severe cases–two groups across 276 participants experienced a reduction of about 4.5 points, as a group that focused on meditation dropped by an average of 1.35 points while one using the antidepressant drug escitalopram dropped by 1.43 points.
A group that focused on mindfulness-based stress reduction was offered weekly two-and-a-half-hour in-person classes, a day-long retreat weekend class during the fifth or sixth week and 45-minute daily home exercises.
The clinical trial spanned eight weeks–with anxiety symptoms being recorded as participants enrolled in the study and following its completion–and will include follow-up assessments at the end of 12 and 24 weeks.
Elizabeth Hoge, director of the Anxiety Disorders Research Program at Georgetown, suggests findings will provide evidence for insurers to provide reimbursement for mindfulness-based stress reduction.
While physicians typically prescribe antidepressants to treat anxiety disorders, only 15% of the U.S. tried some form of meditation in 2017 according to Georgetown’s research–and its effectiveness in alleviating symptoms was suggested in a 2009 study.
Olga Cannistraro, a participant who focused on mindfulness techniques, said the trial offered her an expanded view on how to handle symptoms and noted “once you have awareness of an anxious reaction, then you can make a choice for how to deal with it.”
Big Numbers
374 million. That’s the number of people estimated to live with anxiety disorders globally. This is a one-year increase of about 76 million between 2020 and 2021.
Key Background
Physicians have recently been recommended by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force to start screening for anxiety disorders in adults between the ages of 18 and 64. The recommendation followed findings by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention which indicated about 5.8 million children were diagnosed with anxiety between 2016 and 2019, while 2.7 million were diagnosed with depression. Mindfulness-based approaches–or teaching the mind to become more aware of what is happening in the present–have become popular to some in efforts to alleviate symptoms associated with anxiety disorders.
Further Reading
What Is Mindfulness–And How Can I Incorporate It Into My Daily Routine? (Forbes)
A Psychologist Breaks Down New Anxiety Screening Guidelines For Parents (Forbes)
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