Overcoming Anxiety, Stress, and Depression Through Mindfulness Meditation
I began meditating over 40 years ago, long before it was widely understood or part of the mainstream conversation about mindfulness and anxiety. I was introduced to it by my martial arts teachers and taught that it was a central part of achieving better performance on the Dojo mat.
The method of meditation that I mainly practiced back then was mindfulness meditation focused on sharpening the mind and overcoming fear. I was unaware of the plethora of mental health benefits that are widely known nowadays.
The word mindfulness seems to be ubiquitous today, and I am not entirely sure why. I have a hunch it has something to do with the sense of "mindlessness" brought about by the constant drumbeat of information and technology addiction that’s frying our brains. The ever-increasing demands of the workplace and executive effectiveness are also taking a toll.
Until recently, evidence of the efficacy of mindfulness meditation in treating and managing stress, anxiety, and depression had been mostly anecdotal. So many serious-minded people tended to view it like some of those alternative therapies for which there is no scientific evidence available to support it.
That’s simply not the case anymore. There is real, solid evidence that indicates meditation for anxiety is effective.
Evidence for Reducing Anxiety, Stress, and Depression Through Mindfulness Meditation
Since the 1960s, there have been numerous studies on the effects of mindfulness meditation on anxiety, stress, depression, insomnia, and general cognitive function.
Unfortunately, in many of these studies, too few participants were studied for too short of a timespan. Many of those running the studies were practitioners of meditation and were already convinced of its effectiveness. That in itself made it more likely that they would generate a skewed report.
Since those early days, the number of clinical studies carried out by some of the world's most esteemed universities, like Harvard and MIT, have shown very positive results. As a practitioner, it is nice to know that science is catching up with what ancient cultures have known for millennia.
How Mindfulness Meditation Practices Have Helped Me
Although I’m excited to see that science is finally highlighting the positive effects of mindfulness meditation, I already know from personal experience that it works.
Competing in sports of any kind on an international level is a highly stressful endeavor. You sustain a high level of stress over a long period while training for the event and during the event itself.
Mindfulness meditation for stress helped me to maximize the effectiveness of my training dramatically and to minimize pre-match anxiety.
I also ran a marketing agency for more than 30 years and suffered the usual stresses and pressures of managing client relationships, employees, and deadlines.
Maintaining a regular meditation practice was vital for me to keep my energy levels where I needed them and to remain focused on our goals. It also allowed me to become a better listener. Without the ability to listen to both your employees and your clients, you will not build a successful business.
Clinical Studies on Mindfulness to Reduce Anxiety, Stress, and Depression
Some of the top universities in the world have carried out research to determine the effectiveness of mindfulness meditation for stress, anxiety, and depression.
After reviewing almost 20,000 meditation studies, John Hopkins University found 47 well-constructed and executed trials that met the recognized criteria for adequately conducted scientific research. They published their findings in JAMA Internal Medicine. To sum it up, the study shows that practicing mindfulness meditation can ease stress, anxiety, depression, and other psychological stressors.
However, when researchers from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD sifted through nearly 19,000 meditation studies, they found 47 trials that addressed those issues and met their criteria for well-designed studies. Their findings, published in JAMA Internal Medicine, suggest that mindful meditation can also help ease psychological stresses like anxiety, depression, and pain.
In a split study of people suffering from anxiety, stress, and insomnia, the Massachusetts General Hospital Center for Mindfulness Studies, treated one group with standard stress reduction therapies. Separately, they treated the other with mindfulness meditation.
The people in the mindfulness stress reduction meditation group did substantially better than those receiving conventional treatments.
To get a real sense of the beauty and profoundly life-changing nature of mindfulness meditation, I recommend Thich Nhat Hahn's book Being Peace. In it, he reminds all of us of how the simple act of breathing in and breathing out, when practiced mindfully, can bring a deep sense of calm and peace.