Depression meditation is a safe alternative to antidepressants

Many people who once suffered from depression fall ill again in the following years. Here, a particular type of meditation can make a notable contribution to prevention and serve as an alternative to conventional preventive antidepressant treatment, according to a recent study by the UK team of researchers led by Drs. Willem Kuyken of the University of Oxford.

"Individuals with a history of recurrent depression are at high risk of recurrent depressive relapses," researchers said in the journal The Lancet. For prevention, those affected would usually be treated for at least two years with antidepressants. However, there are sometimes serious side effects here, which is why many sufferers are looking for alternatives to drug prevention. In this context, the British scientists investigated the effect of the so-called "mindfulness-based cognitive therapy" (MBCT) in comparison to the conventional medication with antidepressants.

Relapses in depressive patients studied
A total of 424 patients in the randomized study enrolled adult patients with three or more previous episodes of major depression, with half of the subjects (212 patients) subsequently treated with MBCT and the other half with antidepressants. Within the two-year study period, the researchers observed the occurrence of depressive relapses in both groups. The aim was to find out if MBCT is superior to antidepressant treatment. According to the scientists, 50 to 80 percent of patients generally relapse after depression without preventive treatment. "If the factors that make people prone to relapse or the onset of depressive symptoms can be mitigated, the recurrent course of depression may be broken," the researchers hope.

Equivalent alternative to antidepressants?
"We found no evidence that MBCT is superior to antidepressant drugs in the prevention of major depressive relapses," the researchers write. However, both treatments are associated with "consistently positive outcomes in terms of relapses, recurrences, depressive symptoms, and quality of life," Kuyken and colleagues said. The MBCT would therefore be a completely equivalent alternative to drug prevention. It could bring significant benefits to patients with contraindicated antidepressants for health reasons, as well as to others who prefer psychosocial intervention, and to provide long-term protection against relapses.

Expert confirmed success and insights
Renowned psychologist Roger Mulder of the University of Otago New Zealand was pleased with the results. The decisive factor is not only that the meditation can be used as a standard therapy, but also the costs "can be reduced by a group therapy". The MBCT can basically help patients with depression, says the expert. (Fp)