Mindfulness for depression

There are times when certain topics or behaviours capture the zeitgeist and become all pervasive. In the 1980s it was lycra, thin ties, big hair, and all things synthetic that tapped into the prevailing mood. At the moment, the notion of “zeitgeist” has captured the zeitgeist; if you aren’t dropping the word “zeitgeist” into conversations at fashionable parties you will be way off the social pace, which already makes this column today incredibly trendy. Even more zeitgeisty than the concept of zeitgeist itself though is “mindfulness”. People are applying mindfulness to everything from parenting to eating to work. It is a good thing too because mindfulness is powerful life medicine. Indeed a new study has found that as a medicine it is equal to cognitive behavioural therapy when it comes to treating depression.

The study involved more than 200 people with depression, anxiety, or severe stress. The subjects were randomly assigned to receive either structured group mindfulness instruction with approximately ten people per group or standard treatment mainly involving cognitive behaviour therapy. The subjects all recorded their daily exercises in a diary and the program lasted for eight weeks.

Before and after the eight week treatment time the subjects were given questionnaires to measure the degree of their depression. It emerged that there was no statistical difference in the improvements achieved between mindfulness and cognitive behaviour therapy.

The researchers say this is an indication that group mindfulness sessions could be a viable option for treating depression when individual psychotherapy is not possibly.

No wonder we are so mindful of mindfulness these days.