New Study Suggests Meditation can be as Effective as Antidepressants

Sarasota, FL (WorkersCompensation.com) – In 2021, antidepressants were one of the top five most prescribed drug groups for California worker’s comp, according to a report earlier this year. With high levels of burnout among workers, and a high incidence of depression with chronic pain, the trend could definitely continue into the coming year. 

It is estimated that around 301 million people around the world suffer from an anxiety disorder, which is the most common type of mental disorder. Treatment usually involves cognitive behavioral therapy, supported by medication in the form of antidepressants. However, some studies have suggested that as many as a third of patients believe that psychiatric medications interfere with their daily lives, and one-fourth believe that they are harmful. According to information from the Mayo Clinic, antidepressants do come with a whole host of side effects ranging from headache and dizziness to making the psychiatric symptoms worse. 

As with the opioid epidemic in finding alternative options for pain management, mindfulness–based interventions as an alternative to psychiatric medication is just starting to gain some attention. Some studies have suggested that meditation can potentially result in lower levels of stress. Additionally, many studies have shown that meditation can reduce insomnia by 50 percent, and hospitalization for coronary disease by 87 percent. 

Meditation is much more commonplace in the U.S. than it used to be. In fact, some statistics show that within the last 10 years, the number of people in the U.S. that practices meditation has tripled. Over 14 percent of adults have tried some form of meditation at least once. 

While there are no shortage of studies on the benefits of meditation, there are few studies that have done a direct comparison between meditation and antidepressants. Recently researchers from the Department of Psychiatry at Georgetown University Medical Center in Washington, DC released the results of their study on whether meditation worked as well as the antidepressant escitalopram, commonly known as Lexapro. 

A total of 276 patients with either general or social anxiety were selected for the study. Of those, 140 received escitalopram therapy, and 136 patients underwent mindfulness therapy. Those receiving the mindfulness therapy attended a weekly two and half hour class, and a day class on the weekend. Additionally, the meditation group performed a guided meditation series daily for 45 minutes, with emphasis on mindful movement, body awareness, and focus on breathing techniques. The patient group receiving the escitalopram started out with a 10mg dose daily that was increased to 20mg if tolerated well. 

The researchers found that the meditation group had fewer adverse events. Additionally, the researchers found that those in the meditation group had a shift in their problematic thoughts which resulted in improved emotion regulation, as well as self-acceptance and compassion. 

Overall, while the researchers believe that while more research needs to be done, they concluded that the findings suggest that meditation therapy is no less effective than escitalopram drug therapy. 

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