Mental Health Cure: Mindfulness Therapy Better Than Antidepressants? New Study Discovers Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy May Halt Depression Recurrence

Mental health is vital at every stage of life, from childhood and adolescence through adulthood. But today, mental health problems such as depression and anxiety have been prevalent, affecting almost 10 percent of the world's population.

Mental health problems, including depression and anxiety, were reportedly costing the global economy almost $1 trillion (£651 billion) in lost productivity annually, as previously reported. Fortunately, a new study recently discovered a potential cure that can halt depression and anxiety relapse without using anti-depressants.

Mindfulness-Based Therapy

In the study published in the JAMA Psychiatry, researchers found mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) had lowered the risk of depression relapse by 30 percent. According to University of Sydney Psychiatry professor Ian Hickie, MBCT became a more predominant method to tackle depression instead of the standard cognitive behavioral therapy.

"Partly because people like to use it. It's less theoretical -- you just have to do it; you don't have to understand it," Hickie told The Huffington Post Australia. "When people experience that a treatment makes a difference, they are much more likely to persist with it."

MBCT As Effective As Drugs

The study also found mindfulness-based cognitive therapies such as breathing meditations and yoga can effectively combat depression just like anti-depressant drugs. These meditation techniques were reportedly encouraging patients to accept their negative views and sentiments without letting them change their emotional state or sending them to a depressive downfall, The Guardian notes.

MBCT Is Not A Panacea

In spite of the burgeoning hype over mindfulness-based cognitive therapy, some experts remain wary about its beneficial effects on patients with mental health problems such as depression or anxiety. According to Medical Daily, another recent study revealed that many MBCT studies were biased and exaggerated.

Scientists also stressed that more research are needed before doctors can start prescribing mindfulness-based cognitive therapy instead of antidepressants. Study lead author Willem Kuyken also said that MBCT is not a "magic potion" to solve mental health problems but the practice is worth exploring.

"While MBCT is not a panacea, it does clearly offer those with a substantial history of depression a new approach to learning skills to stay well in the long term," Kuyken said. "It offers people a safe and empowering treatment choice alongside other mainstay approaches such as cognitive-behavioral therapy and maintenance antidepressants. We need to do more research, however, to get recovery rates closer to 100 percent and to help prevent the first onset of depression, earlier in life."

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