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Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Meditation May Lessen Depression

Wednesday, June 3, 2009
For people struggling with severe depression, practicing meditation may offer mood-lifting benefits. In a recent pilot study, researchers randomly assigned 28 people dealing with depression (all of whom had previous depression episodes and thoughts of suicide) to two groups: One group continued their usual treatment, while the other paired standard care with mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (or MBCT, a healing approach that combines mindfulness meditation with cognitive behavior therapy). Results showed that symptoms of depression decreased from severe to mild levels in the MBCT group, but remained the same in the group of participants receiving conventional care only.

Even in the most severe cases, depression is a highly treatable disorder. While it's critical to work with a physician in treating depression, certain self-care strategies—such as exercising regularly, practicing yoga, and using nutritional therapy—may produce mood-improving effects and ease depression symptoms.

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