Mindfulness & Depression

Mindfulness is a technique taught to patients recovering from depression to interrupt negative thoughts that could lead to relapse and, through therapy in a supportive environment, replace them with more-positive thoughts focusing on the present. When combined with cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), it may be an effective way to prevent relapses. Many therapists use mindfulness along with a complementary form of therapy, in addition to anti-depressants and other more conventional forms of therapy but the use of mindfulness and CBT may be enough to help prevent depression episodes in patients who have been treated but may still be susceptible.

Mindfulness

• Mindfulness is defined as dwelling on the current moment, on the here and now, as a way of interrupting a cycle of negative thoughts and feelings that may be triggered by events in the past and fear about the future. It's also designed to help treat "stress-related pain and disease, " the Institute for Attention and Mindfulness explains. "By becoming mindful of thought patterns and emotions, clients who have experienced depression may be able to recognize the type of rumination or self-critical thoughts that lead them to become depressed before the thoughts spiral out of control," the American Psychological Association (APA) explains on its website. Mental health therapists combine the teaching of mindfulness techniques with cognitive behavioral therapy (referred to as mindfulness-based cognitive therapy or MBCT) to treat people with depression.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

• Cognitive behavioral therapy "is based on the idea that our thoughts cause our feelings and behaviors, not external things, like people, situations and events," the National Association of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapists (NACBT) says on its web site. This type of therapy, practiced in a variety of ways, teaches the patient how to unlearn the long-standing negative thought patterns triggered by the problems he faces, which can lead to depression.

Practicing Mindfulness

• Dr. Dr. Zindel V. Segal, a co-developer of mindfulness teaches it to groups of patients in eight sessions. He leads them through a series of exercises that include sitting meditation, yoga-type stretching, deep breathing and walking, the American Psychological Association reports on its website. The exercises, conducted in a supportive environment, take patients' minds off what's bothering them and encourage them to live in the moment. They can use this technique as a coping and self-control mechanism to subdue or interrupt feelings of hopelessness and helplessness when they first emerge. Patients do homework in between sessions that reinforces what they've learned and should continue practicing these exercises on their own after the sessions end.

Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT)

• Therapists teach patients to use the immediacy of mindfulness as a sort of "time out" to break negative thought patterns, and then employ CBT techniques to help patients recognize what leads to and how they can halt this self-destructive--and self-defeating--behavior.

  CBT teaches stoicism, which is the ability to view and address problems calmly rather than with distress, distrust or panic. By doing so, "not only do we feel better, but we usually put ourselves in a better position to make use of our intelligence, knowledge, energy and resources to resolve the problem," NACBT explains. It employs the Socratic method; the therapist asks the patients questions to reveal the pattern of negative thinking the patients indulge in and encourages the patients to question themselves so they can figure out how they're falling into negative thoughts and assumptions, and question their validity.

Findings

• Depression rates improved in patients who underwent MBCT, during, immediately after and a month after treatment, according to a 2007 article in the journal Psychology and Psychotherapy: Theory, Research and Practice. They also reported that they continued to practice the techniques they learned in their sessions ended.

  A December 2, 2008 article on the Science Daily website described a 15-month study by University of Exeter researcher William Kuyker who reported that, over 15 months, the depression relapse rate was 13 percent higher among a group people who used antidepressants than among those who underwent MBCT. "In addition, the group on the MBCT program reported a higher quality of life, in terms of their overall enjoyment of daily living and physical well-being," the article added. Because one therapist teaches MBCT to groups of 10 to 12 patients over just eight weeks, it could become a cost-effective alternative to holding a higher number of one-on-one counseling sessions, Science Daily noted.