Mindfulness – the practice of attending to thoughts and feelings in the present moment – has been the focus of a lot of research attention recently and even under the full glare of science, it just keeps getting better.
In the first ever large scale study of its kind, researchers explored whether teaching people mindfulness would be as effective as maintenance doses of antidepressants in managing relapse in depression.
According to Willem Kuyken, lead author of the study and Professor of Clinical Psychology at the University of Oxford, without ongoing treatment four out of five people who struggle with depression will relapse.
The Study: What They Did
424 adults with diagnosed major depression participated in the two year study. Half were required to stay on their antidepressant medication for the duration of the study. The other half slowly come off their medication and participated in mindfulness practice. People in this group attended eight weekly 2 ¼ hour group sessions consisting of guided mindfulness practices, group discussion and other cognitive behavioural exercises. They were also required to practice daily at home.
What They Found
At the end of two years, mindfulness was shown to be as effective as medication in preventing relapse, with the rates of relapse being 44% for the mindfulness group and 47% for the medication group.
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