Warding off major depression without medication is a big challenge. Mindfulness meditation may help, however. A study found that people with low-level depression who practiced meditation in a group were less likely to go on to develop major depression (Wong et al, Annals of Family Medicine, March-April 2018).
Mindfulness Meditation Sessions for Slightly Depressed People:
The investigators called their intervention behavioral activation with mindfulness. More than 200 adults who had been diagnosed with mild depression (based on their scores on a standardized scale) participated. The scientists randomly assigned 115 of their participants to get mindfulness meditation training. Another 116 volunteers received usual care. They did not accept any participants who were taking antidepressant medication.
The training sessions were two hours long every week for eight weeks. The researchers divided the patients into nine different groups for training, which focused on goal-setting, self-monitoring mood, scheduling daily activities and meditation. The participants took home CDs with recorded guided meditations for daily home practice. They learned both sitting and walking meditation. In contrast, those in the “usual care” group continued to see their individual health care providers. The investigators did not provide them with additional mental health interventions.
Positive Results for Mindfulness Meditation:
After a year, all the participants filled out the Beck Depression Inventory again. Those who had been practicing meditation and behavioral activation had significantly better scores than those in the usual care group. Even more importantly, only 11 percent of the people who had been trained to meditate had developed serious depression. In comparison, 27 percent of those in the usual care group experienced major depression by the end of the study year.
The researchers write:
“In conclusion, we have shown that BAM is a potentially feasible and efficacious intervention for reducing depressive symptoms and preventing major depression among people with subthreshold depression in primary care.”
Learn More:
If you are interested in more information about meditation, you might want to listen to our Show 999: Meditation and Yoga as Tools for Health.
Other research suggests that mindfulness meditation can help seniors beat insomnia. If you have tried mindfulness meditation to help with a health problem, we invite you to share your story in the comment section below.
