According to a study published on Wednesday, mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) worked just as well as a standard drug used to treat anxiety in people. The results were based on the participants’ daily use of a popular mindfulness programme, while others were given a generic drug sold under the brand name Lexapro, which is commonly used to treat anxiety and depression.
Anxiety disorders are quite common, as well as highly distressing and can disrupt a person’s daily life; the various types of disorders include social and generalised anxiety, as well as panic attacks.
Mindfulness, on the other hand, refers to a type of meditation that requires a person to focus solely on the present moment and dismiss all distracting thoughts.
According to the study published in the journal JAMA Psychiatry, the mindfulness programme included two and a half hours of classes per week and daily home practise for at least 45 minutes.
Practicing mindfulness over time, as stated by Elizabeth Hoge, lead author and director of Georgetown University’s anxiety disorders research programme, ‘changes the relationship people have with their own thoughts when they are not meditating.’
The study’s lead author also mentioned how this is the first of its kind, as previous research has shown that mindfulness helps people deal with anxiety, depression and other mental health issues better than no treatment at all.
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