If you know someone who has worked through depression, you’d know it well that it is a condition which can potentially compromise the quality of life. A disturbing aspect of this condition is that every occurrence of a depressive episode raises the possibility of another one by around eighteen percent.
Usual treatment methods consist of prescription medication (anti-depressants). However, their effectiveness in improving depressive symptoms are still being debated. Some scientists even goes to the extent of saying that antidepressants are not more effective than placebos. A new study published in British Medical Journal have again called into question the reported effectiveness of antidepressants, especially when weighted to its negative side effects. More than that it has also raised some serious red flags related to under-reporting of negative side effects; that, industries have been intentionally withholding information about the possible harm related to long-term use of antidepressants and its impact on suicidal ideation and aggressiveness.
Though antidepressants may be helpful intervention for millions yet it is not without its share of negative side effects, sometimes serious. The relationship of anti-depressants and mindfulness is worth exploring.
Mindfulness, on the other hand, offers an equally helpful strategy to work with mild to moderate depression. A very large study published in the Lancet recently suggested that mindfulness is as effective as conventional antidepressants when used as maintenance therapy for depression. Other studies have also pointed to the same possibility.
Considering that mindfulness training is largely a safe intervention, it is worth learning this skill, even as a complement to the standard medical intervention.
