Volume 22, Issue 2
Taming the Mind: Discussing the research evidence on meditation and anxiety-related disorders
Abstract
The present review discussed the current literature on the effects of meditation, primarily mindfulnessbased stress reduction, on anxiety levels of subjects suffering from anxiety-related disorders. This study has concluded that meditation could effectively reduce symptoms of anxiety and might also work in adjunction with cognitive-behavioral therapy. Results show that meditation enhances the ability to approach stressful events as challenges instead of threats, thus reducing anxiety and stress symptoms. Although meditation seems promising, most of the studies reviewed here lack a control group or randomization. Meditation research combining neuroimage with psychological assessment of stress and anxiety might be the key to fully understand how meditation really works.
Keywords
meditation, mindfulness, anxiety, therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)