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Ahmed Muaan (Autosaved)

Mindfulness meditation can help treat depression according to scientific studies. Some studies found meditation increased gray matter in brain areas involved in depression and helped reduce rumination. However, one study found over 60% of long-term meditators experienced negative effects like increased anxiety. Reliable experiments showed meditation reduced stress hormones, but the study on side effects had a small sample size. While meditation may help depression, people should consider other treatments too if their condition worsens or does not improve with meditation alone.

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Muaan Sharyf
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149 views11 pages

Ahmed Muaan (Autosaved)

Mindfulness meditation can help treat depression according to scientific studies. Some studies found meditation increased gray matter in brain areas involved in depression and helped reduce rumination. However, one study found over 60% of long-term meditators experienced negative effects like increased anxiety. Reliable experiments showed meditation reduced stress hormones, but the study on side effects had a small sample size. While meditation may help depression, people should consider other treatments too if their condition worsens or does not improve with meditation alone.

Uploaded by

Muaan Sharyf
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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CURING DEPRESSION WITH

MINDFULNESS MEDITATION
NAME: AHMED MUAAN
S.ID: 00000031033
COHORT: THINKING CRITICALLY AND CREATIVELY
INTRODUCTION

DEPRESSION IS STILL A MAJOR HEALTH ISSUE FOR ADULTS. THERE ARE MANY WAYS TO
TREAT DEPRESSION. ANTIDEPRESSANTS AND PSYCHOTHERAPY ARE COMMONLY USED AS A
TREATMENT, BUT RECENT RESEARCHES HAVE SUGGESTED THAT A REGULAR MINDFULNESS
MEDITATION PRACTICE CAN ALSO HELP TREAT DEPRESSION.
SUMMARY
TO KNOW WHETHER MINDFULNESS MEDITATION CAN HELP TO CURE DEPRESSION I
COMPARED FOUR SCIENTIFIC ARTICLES WHICH CONTAINS SEVERAL STUDIES RELATING TO THIS
FIELD. IN WHICH THREE OF THE ARTICLES AGREES THAT MEDICATION CAN CURE DEPRESSION
WHILE THE OTHER ARTICLE ARGUES THAT A NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS MAY UNDERGO
MODERATE TO SEVERE ADVERSE EFFECTS[4]. IN THIS PRESENTATION I WILL TALK ABOUT THE
RELIABILITY AND VALIDITY OF EXPERIMENTS THAT SCIENTISTS USED IN THE STUDIES AND WILL
OUTLINE HOW MEDITATION AFFECTS THE BODY.
CRITIQUE 1 (SIDE EFFECTS OR DRAWBACKS)
THERE ARE SOME SIDE EFFECTS OF MEDITATION. IN THE ARTICLE “ HAS THE SCIENCE OF
MINDFULNESS LOST ITS MIND?” IT STATES THAT “ A CROSS- SECTIONAL STUDY ON THE
EFFECTS OF INTENSIVE AND LONG-TERM MEDITATION REPORTED THAT OVER 60% OF
INDIVIDUALS HAD AT LEAST ONE NEGATIVE EFFECT, WHICH VARIED FROM INCREASED ANXIETY
TO DEPRESSION AND FULL-BLOWN PSYCHOSIS.”[4,5]. IT IS ALSO MENTIONED IN THAT ARTICLE,
AN EXPERIMENT CONDUCTED ON HEALTHY INDIVIDUALS, FOUND THAT SHORT MINDFULNESS
INTERVENTION LED TO INCREASED BIOLOGICAL STRESS WHEN COMPARED WITH AN ACTIVE
CONTROL GROUP[4].
CRITIQUE 2 (SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCES)
THE ARTICLE IN HARVARD HEALTH PUBLISHING SAYS THAT MEDICATION HELPS TO BREAK THE
CONNECTION BETWEEN THE BRAIN PARTS ( I.E. MEDIAL PREFRONTAL CORTEX AND AMYGDALA) RESPONSIBLE
FOR DEPRESSION [1]. IT ALSO STATES THAT PEOPLE WHO MEDITATED FOR 30 MINUTES A DAY FOR EIGHT
WEEKS HAVE MORE VOLUME OF GRAY MATTER IN THEIR HIPPOCAMPUS AND ACCORDING TO A RESEARCH
PEOPLE WHO SUFFER FROM RECURRENT DEPRESSION TEND TO HAVE A SMALLER HIPPOCAMPUS [1].
THE ARTICLE NAMED “THE EffECT OF MINDFULNESS MEDITATION TRAINING ON BIOLOGICAL ACUTE
STRESS RESPONSES IN GENERALIZED ANXIETY DISORDER” IS ABOUT A VERY ACCURATE AND RELIABLE
EXPERIMENT (PSYCHIATRY RESEARCH STUDY) ABOUT THE RELATION BETWEEN CONCENTRATION OF STRESS
MARKERS IN THE BODY AND MINDFULNESS MEDITATION [3]. THIS EXPERIMENT ALSO PROVES THAT MEDICATION
CAN CURE DEPRESSION [3].
IN THE ARTICLE “CURING DEPRESSION WITH MINDFULNESS MEDITATION” IT STATES
THAT “47 PER CENT OF PATIENTS WITH LONG-TERM DEPRESSION SUFFERED A RELAPSE” AND
“ONE COMMON REASON FOR A RELAPSE IS WHEN A NORMAL PERIOD OF SADNESS TURNS
INTO OBSESSIVE BROODING.”[2]. THE ARTICLE ALSO MENTIONS THAT MEDITATION HELPS TO
TACKLE BROODING AND IT IS ONE OF THE REASONS WHY UK'S NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR
HEALTH AND CLINICAL EXCELLENCE HAS RECOMMENDED "MINDFULNESS-BASED COGNITIVE
THERAPY" (MINDFULNESS MEDITATION) SINCE 2004[2].
CRITIQUE 3 (RELIABILITY AND VALIDITY OF
EXPERIMENTS)
EXPERIMENTS WHICH SUPPORTS MEDITATION
PSYCHIATRY RESEARCH STUDY (THE STRESS MARKER EXPERIMENT) [3]
THIS IS THE MOST RELIABLE AND VALID EXPERIMENT THAT I HAVE STUDIED ABOUT
MEDITATION[3]. THIS EXPERIMENT HAD A CONTROL GROUP WHICH WAS NOT IN EARLY
STUDIES AND THE EXPERIMENT HAD A LARGE SAMPLE SIZE OF 70 PATIENTS[3]. ALSO THIS
EXPERIMENT TACKLED “EXPECTANCY BIAS” (WHICH IS WHEN PARTICIPANTS EXPECTED
MEDITATION TO WORK AND SO REPORTED FEELING BETTER AFTER THE EXPERIMENT.) BY ONLY
MENTIONING THAT THE STUDY WAS ONLY ABOUT STRESS REDUCTION WITHOUT MENTIONING
ABOUT MEDITATION [3].
THE MEDICAL RESEARCHES CONNECTING HUMAN BRAIN AND MEDITATION IS TAKEN
FROM HARVARD HEALTH PUBLISHING WHICH IS AN ONLINE PLATFORM OF HARVARD
MEDICAL SCHOOL. SO THE VALIDITY OF THE RESEARCHES ARE HIGH[1].
THE RESEARCH ABOUT RELAPSING OF PATIENTS WITH DEPRESSION WAS FUNDED BY
UK'S MEDICAL RESEARCH COUNCIL SO THE PROBABILITY OF RESEARCHERS BEING BIASED
WILL BE LOW WHICH MAKES THE EXPERIMENT MORE VALID[2].
EXPERIMENT ABOUT SIDE EFFECTS OF MEDITATION
THE EXPERIMENT ,WHICH FOUND THAT 60% OF THE MEDITATION PARTICIPANTS HAD AT
LEAST ONE NEGATIVE EFFECT, HAD A SAMPLE SIZE OF JUST 27 MEDITATORS, SO THE
EXPERIMENT IS NOT VERY RELIABLE[4,5].
CONCLUSION
IN CONCLUSION, MINDFULNESS MEDITATION CAN BE USED TO TREAT DEPRESSION AS IT IS
SUPPORTED BY VALID AND RELIABLE SCIENTIFIC EXPERIMENTS. HOWEVER THE PERSON WHO
MEDITATE MUST KNOW THAT THERE ARE CERTAIN SIDE EFFECTS OF MEDITATION AND IF THE
MENTAL CONDITION OF THE PERSON DOES NOT IMPROVE OR BECOMES WORSE AFTER
MEDITATION HE/SHE SHOULD CONSIDER OTHER FORMS OF TREATMENT. FOR EXAMPLE,
CONSULTING TO A DOCTOR AND TAKING MEDICATION.
THANK YOU!
BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. PUBLISHING H. HOW MEDITATION HELPS WITH DEPRESSION - HARVARD HEALTH [INTERNET]. HARVARD HEALTH.
2018 [CITED 28 AUGUST 2019]. AVAILABLE FROM: HTTPS://WWW.HEALTH.HARVARD.EDU/MIND-AND-
MOOD/HOW-MEDITATION-HELPS-WITH-DEPRESSION
2. CURING DEPRESSION WITH MINDFULNESS MEDITATION [INTERNET]. PSYCHOLOGY TODAY. 2011 [CITED 28
AUGUST 2019]. AVAILABLE FROM: HTTPS://WWW.PSYCHOLOGYTODAY.COM/INTL/BLOG/MINDFULNESS-IN-
FRANTIC-WORLD/201110/CURING-DEPRESSION-MINDFULNESS-MEDITATION
3. HOGE E, BUI E, PALITZ S, SCHWARZ N, OWENS M, JOHNSTON J ET AL. THE EFFECT OF MINDFULNESS
MEDITATION TRAINING ON BIOLOGICAL ACUTE STRESS RESPONSES IN GENERALIZED ANXIETY DISORDER.
PSYCHIATRY RESEARCH. 2018;262:328-332.
4. FARIAS M, WIKHOLM C. HAS THE SCIENCE OF MINDFULNESS LOST ITS MIND?. BJPSYCH BULLETIN.
2016;40(6):329-332.
5. JR S. ADVERSE EFFECTS OF MEDITATION: A PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATION OF LONG-TERM MEDITATORS. -
PUBMED - NCBI [INTERNET]. NCBI.NLM.NIH.GOV. 1992 [CITED 28 AUGUST 2019]. AVAILABLE FROM:
HTTPS://WWW.NCBI.NLM.NIH.GOV/M/PUBMED/1428622/

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