Meditation, a form of mind-body therapy developed by Buddhists several thousands of years ago, might help people suffering from psychosis and related mental disorders, such as severe depression. Meditation techniques are designed to create an enhanced awareness of a person's thoughts and breathing to help relieve the delusions and hallucinations associated with psychosis. Consult your doctor before attempting any form of meditation to improve symptoms of psychosis.
Meditation
Meditation techniques can enhance concentration and relieve stress. Various types of meditation such as mindfulness, paced-breathing and concentrative meditation, can produce beneficial effects, according to MayoClinic.com. Mindfulness meditation involves focusing on the moment, and concentrative meditation promotes an increased awareness of a sound, thought or object. Another form of meditation -- paced-breathing -- combines mindfulness and concentrative meditation techniques, along with slow, deep breathing. Additional types of meditation involve using guided imagery, or visualization, and silently repeating a mantra, or word or phrase, to help clear the mind.
Psychosis
People who suffer from psychosis lack a sense of reality. Symptoms of psychosis can include disorganized thoughts and speech, false beliefs, or delusions, and hallucinations, in which they see or hear imaginary things. A number of factors can trigger psychotic episodes, including drugs, brain tumors, strokes and some diseases. Psychosis also occurs in conjunction with several psychiatric conditions, such as bipolar disorder, depression with psychotic features, personality disorders and schizophrenia. Meditation might help alleviate a number conditions of related to psychosis, including anxiety disorders, sleep problems and depression.
Meditation and Major Depression
Traditional cognitive behavioral therapy attempts to modify dysfunctional thoughts in patients. In contrast, mindfulness-based cognitive therapy focuses on assisting individuals in recognizing their thoughts and feelings. Mindfulness therapy helps patients self-regulate their negative thoughts and may benefit individuals suffering from major depressive disorders with psychotic features, such as delusions and hallucinations.
Research published in the December 2010 edition of the journal Archives of General Psychiatry compared the effects of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy and antidepressant medications on depressive relapse in subjects, aged 18 to 65 years, diagnosed with major depressive disorders. Eighty-four participants received antidepressant medication, a placebo or mindfulness-based cognitive training eight times a week for a period of 18 months. Subjects in both the mindfulness-based therapy group and the group receiving antidepressant doses exhibited a 73 percent decrease in depressive relapses. Findings suggest that mindfulness-based cognitive therapy is as effective in preventing relapses in patients with major depression as antidepressant medications. However, insufficient evidence exists to conclusively prove the effectiveness of mindfulness meditation for the treatment of major depressive disorders.
Meditation and Psychosis
Mindfulness meditation techniques might also benefit people experiencing psychosis. Research published in the April 2005 edition of the journal Behavioral and Cognitive Psychotherapy observed the effects of group-based mindfulness training, along with standard psychiatric care in people suffering from psychosis. Researchers collected data on the first 10 people to complete six sessions of one of four mindfulness groups. Subjects were instructed in mindfulness, or awareness, of their breathing and unpleasant thoughts. Researchers encouraged subjects to observe and note disturbing thoughts and to release them without judgment. Based on data obtained from the psychological therapy assessment, Clinical Outcomes in Routine Evaluation, and additional data that indicated improved mindfulness skills, researchers stated that study results were encouraging and recommended further controlled outcome and process research regarding the use of mindfulness meditation to benefit psychosis patients.
References
- MayoClinic.com; Meditation; 2011
- MayoClinic.com; Stress Management; April 2011
- PubMed Health; Psychosis; 2011
- "Archives of General Psychiatry"; Antidepressant Monotherapy vs Sequential Pharmacotherapy and Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy, or Placebo, for Relapse Prophylaxis in Recurrent Depression; Z.V. Segal, et al.; December 2010
- "Journal of Psychciatry and Neuroscience"; Biologic Effects of Mindfulness Meditation: Growing Insights Into Neurobiologic Aspects of the Prevention of Depression; Simon N. Young; March 2011
- " Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy"; Paul Chadwick, et al.; April 2005
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