Meditation helps us to be able to recognize our own thoughts and see patterns in our thinking that may perpetuate symptoms of depression or anxiety. Additionally, meditation has been shown to physically change the gray matter in the brain, replacing unproductive neural pathways with productive ones.
Anxiety and depression are two of the most common mental health disorders, and while treatment for anxiety and depression has improved greatly, many people find the traditional talk therapy and medication route lacking something.
Meditation has been proven to help reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression and, importantly, decrease relapse rates. Meditation has proved itself to be a worthy tool in the fight against anxiety and depression, and has even been embraced by the mental health community in the form of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT). In fact, some studies are showing that meditation may have the same effect as maintenance depression medication and be effective at treating treatment-resistant depression.
Although more studies need to be done to determine how exactly meditation works against anxiety and depression, many people have already found partial relief from their anxiety and depression symptoms through meditation.
1. In conjunction with talk therapy
Cognitive distortions are unhelpful, untrue, and usually harmful thought patterns that plague our thinking and influence our behavior. For example, have you ever tried making a habit of working out, but you didn’t have energy on Friday night, so you decided you might as well stop working out altogether? That thought process is a cognitive distortion called All-or-Nothing Thinking. There are many more cognitive distortions, most of which have been found to increase anxiety and depression symptoms.
By recognizing and dismantling cognitive distortions through therapy, anxiety and depression symptoms decrease. However, it can be difficult for many people to recognize their own thoughts, which is where meditation comes in. Imagine your mental space as a big house. Anxiety and depression turn the lights off, so you’re blinded your thoughts. Instead of being able to safely navigate your mental space, you’re constantly stubbing your toe on unhelpful, harmful thoughts and reacting to them.
Meditation turns the light on in our mental rooms. We’re no longer fumbling around in the dark wondering where to go. Meditation teaches us to see what our thoughts are and where they’re coming from. From there, therapy can help you discern their truthfulness and usefulness and replace them if you find they do not serve you.
2. Changes in gray matter
Grey matter is a type of tissue found in our brains and nervous systems that hold high volumes of neurons–which are the pathways the brain uses to communicate information, solve problems, and function day-to-day. It’s important to healthy brain functioning, and having more gray matter is generally a good thing because it means improved brain functioning.
Research has found that after 7 weeks of a meditation study, participants experienced changes in their gray matter. Specifically, the brain changed in regions that are key to executive control, emotion regulation, and body awareness. These changes typically can affect one’s self-perception and improve emotional states.
So, meditation can increase your ability to understand yourself, respond to emotions rationally, and hold a positive emotional state for longer. Over time, those things will naturally decrease anxiety and depression symptoms.
3. Easier access to inner peace
When you first were learning to ride a bike, you had to focus hard on everything: your balance, your fingers on the brake, your left first pushing down as your right foot circled up, eyes on the road. There was a lot to pay attention to, and it was exhausting! You fell down, had to start again, and probably never went that far.
When you ride a bike now, it’s muscle memory. Your body knows what to do and you naturally fall into the movement without thinking about it.
With practice, our mind can do the same with inner peace. Through meditation, we access a part of ourselves that is quiet, at rest, and peaceful. Anxiety and depression can’t touch us in this state, and if they do, we watch the thoughts and emotions pass by without acting on them or identifying with them.
This inner peace is available within ourselves all the time. It’s just that we don’t have the muscle memory to reach it. Meditation helps build those reflexes and “muscles”. Through practicing meditation we learn to unconsciously reach for that inner peace when we feel our anxious and/or depressive thoughts begin to rise.
Meditation helps a person know their inner peace, helps them to grow self-awareness, and develop a non-judgmental acceptance of themselves and the present moment. When life happens, as we know it will, we may not be able to change our life situation, however, we can change our response to the situation.
Anxiety and depression are serious mental health concerns. If you are struggling and think meditation can help, reach out to one of our meditation experts. We have classes and instructors who can help you.
For more information, give our team a call and we will be happy to assist you.
