Medication or meditation for anxiety disorders: which one is better?
One of the recent research studies published in the Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience suggested that mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) looks to be effective in patients affected with anxiety disorders, especially for whom conventional pharmaco-therapy (treatment with medication) has not worked.
What scientists wanted to see was if MBCT is of any use for treatment-resistant individuals. It turned out that there were significant positive differences for individuals going through MBCT than the waitlisted.
Similar studies in the past also have suggested that mindfulness may be a promising therapeutic tool in dealing with challenges associated with disorders of mind. For example, a systematic review and multilevel meta-analysis (an indicator of better evidence) published in the journal of Mindfulness in 2018 also suggested that mindfulness-based interventions are promising tools for managing distress associated with anxiety disorders.
On a neuro-biological note, studies suggest that consistent practice of mindfulness (a combo of attention and acceptance mode) tends to re-wire parts and circuits of the brain involved heavily in anxiety disorders thereby suggesting us the benefits and drawback of medication/meditation approach to anxiety disorders.
Check out Video about Anxiety Relief.
