A question asked many times over the last decade is whether meditation is more effective than medication in managing your mental health and health in general.
I put together a small workup about meditation’s role in the brain when taking some personal responsibility for stress. In that article, I promised I would do a deeper dive and feel the time is right, so here we go!
Lifestyle practices such as meditation are the cornerstone of taking control of your mental health.
No, pills and potions.
Just you, taking action like the sovereign you are.
Meditation can enhance attention, memory, mood and your ability to regulate your emotions.[1]
Systematic reviews on meditation have also found beneficial effects on anxiety, depression and chronic pain scores.[2]
Not only this, but physical effects are also present. One meta-analysis (where multiple studies come together to draw more concrete solutions) brought together twelve studies with nearly one thousand participants demonstrating meditation and its positive role in reducing blood pressure.[3]
Another study also saw significant reductions in the stress hormone cortisol in a study looking at people participating in a weekend meditation workshop.[4]
Other physical benefits include improved competence within the immune system,[5] decreases in inflammatory chemicals and increases in anti-inflammatory chemicals,[6] and markers of metabolic syndrome such as insulin resistance.[7]
Another study found that mindfulness-based stress reduction improved symptoms and associative problems in irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). In this study, seventy-one per cent of the respondents saw three out of five of their symptoms improve.[8]
That’s quite the list of benefits, but what exactly is meditation?
I pulled the simplest definition of meditation I can give from the Guy Ritchie film Layer Cake.
“Meditation is doing something simple so that the rest of the mind can relax.”
Meditation can represent a monk living in a cave sitting in the lotus position, completely shut off from the world. It can also seem a little woo and ethereal to most.
Over the last decade, these stigmatised views have evolved. I think I noticed this evolution when Tim Ferriss, a well-known and respected author and angel investor, released his book “Tribe of Mentors.”
The book’s premise was to send the same eleven questions to one hundred and forty of the top performers in their fields. The aim? To see draw together common themes amongst these people and their behaviour.
Definitely a fantastic read; if that’s something you find will benefit you, why is it appropriate for an article about meditation and mental health?
Well, I’m sure you’re seeing this coming, but one of the typical traits amongst nearly all the top performers interviewed was their daily meditation practice.
And this is one of the key points in the case of mediation. It’s not just for you if you are feeling unwell. It’s for people looking to level up their quality of life.
Let’s take a deeper look at some research into how meditation helps with mental health.
The first reason that made me want to bring up meditation in a more detailed fashion was the evidence of how it changes the anatomy and wiring of our brains.
This change in the brain involves a process called neuroplasticity. Neuroplasticity is the ability of the nervous system to respond to internal and external stimuli by reorganising its structure, function and connections.[9]
Although neuroplasticity had been bubbling away since the late nineties with the Dalai Lama’s work in neuroscience, I remember the first book I read around this, released in 2007 called “The Brain that Changes itself.” Norman Dodge, the author, detailed some of the miraculous ways the brain recovered from illness and injury, something that neuroscience didn’t initially think was possible.
Meditation practices are associated with two main changes in the brain. The first is the most pertinent for mental health, especially depression and anxiety, and it involves the change in the structure of the amygdala—the part of the brain that regulates your fear response.[10]
Mediation can change the part of the brain that can cause you to react negatively.
Let me explain.
Generally, if you are looking into how stress affects the body and your mental health, you don’t have to go far to hear about cortisol. Regulating cortisol became, at one stage, the most important thing to do as “adrenal fatigue,” something now proven not to exist,[11] swept the natural and functional medicine community.
Cortisol’s main job is actually the end of a stress response. One that adrenaline starts on the order of the amygdala within the brain.
The way I explain it to my patients is that the amygdala decides whether or not you care about something. In some conditions, such as PTSD, for example, the amygdala can remain reactive and active even in the absence of the original event. In some cases triggering similar physical responses to the trauma in the process.[12]
For example, in people with anxiety, this reactivity may not be on the level we see in PTSD. However, it can still muddle our ability to differentiate how we interpret things in our environment as either safe or unsafe, a perception that activates a series of physical responses that leads us to experience the sensation of feeling anxious.
These changes in the amygdala’s reactivity also present in social anxiety, anxiety and depression, along with varying degrees of PTSD.[13]
It brings new meaning to it’s all in your head.
Literally! The amygdala seems to be the exact area of the brain that causes you to overreact to something.
Even when you know, it’s not necessary or appropriate. It’s almost like you have no choice.
Sound familiar?
Well, the good news here is that the work of Harvard researchers has found that ten minutes of mediation over eight weeks can unlock a neuroplasticity effect changing the level of reactivity, activity and structure of the amygdala.[14]
Just eight weeks. Or around sixty days to change your brain.
What’s the difference between mindfulness and meditation?
The choices around which meditation practices to choose are broad. But it’s fair to say that mindfulness meditation, especially in the context of our article here, is the most popular.
But what’s the difference?
An easy way to think about it, at least in my interpretation, is meditation is the collective term for meditation techniques like mindfulness. Other techniques come under this collective term, such as acceptance and compassion, meta (loving-kindness meditation) and transcendental meditation, the form of meditation I initially used in my late teens.
John Kabat-Zinn, often referred to as the godfather of mindfulness meditation, defines mindfulness as the non-judgmental awareness of present moment experiences.[15]
Mindfulness’s focus on presence and non-judgement can help make sense of our chaotic world.
A world which is often jostling for your attention and engagement whether you want it or not.
We’ve already covered some of the benefits of mindfulness meditation for mental health. Still, to gather more in this context, mindfulness meditation has been associated with enhancements in emotional regulation, lowered intensity and frequency of negative emotion, and improved positive mood states.[16]
It’s not just you who gets to benefit, though.
Mindfulness has evidence that points to you becoming a better person for those around you.
One of my favourite recent meditation studies released at the end of July 2022, about two weeks ago at the time of writing this, articulates how mindfulness and its presence change your relationships.
Self-prioritisation is a concept within psychology that refers to how humans prioritise stimuli related to themselves instead of others.[17] Whilst we all like to think we put others first, self-prioritisation is a part of our mental health and, whilst poorly understood, makes sense if you ask me.
That is until this interesting study questioned this through the lens of how mindfulness meditation reduces self-bias, especially regarding our interactions with others. The study’s results, regardless of its size, found that a small five-minute mindfulness meditation practice eliminated a prestimulus bias towards self versus friends, increased response caution, and the rate at which evidence is drawn from friend-related interactions.[18]
To translate these results, this innovative study shows that you can become more present in your interactions with friends and those around you by engaging in mindfulness meditation for your mental health.
Whether you agree or disagree, in a world that seems predisposed to express its opinions at every opportunity, we could all benefit from taking ourselves out of the equation at times, being present and listening to what those around us have to say.
What do you think?
One of the exciting and unexpected parts of meditation, from my experience, has been the ability to listen better. I would go as far as saying that I’m finding this form of presence it brings almost addictive.
Have you noticed that you can sometimes be in a conversation with someone simply waiting for you to finish so they can reply, seemingly not actually listening?
We all do it.
Whether we think we do or not.
I’m here to say that just a short period spent engaging in a meditation practice of your choice can release you from this and allow you to be more present. Watch and experience how your relationships with others change over time when you simply become more interested in them.
So let’s address the question of meditation versus medication.
Throughout this article, we’ve looked at how meditation and one of its techniques, mindfulness, can help you to improve the symptoms of anxiety,[19] depression and its symptoms such as rumination, worry and suppression.[20]
That’s not to mention some physical changes such as decreases in blood pressure, inflammation and insulin resistance.
In some cases, such as the Harvard mindfulness course, these changes have been seen meditation help mental health in just eight weeks.
I’m happy to be challenged on this, but I feel hard-pressed to think of a medication that can achieve all this within the same time.
Meditation should not replace your medication if you are already benefiting from it or have been prescribed medication for a specific period by your doctor or specialist.
If this is the case, then meditation can serve two roles. The first is to amplify the benefits and therapeutic effects of your medication. There is no reason why the two can’t synergistically exist for you.
The second is to use meditation to maintain the benefits you’ve received from medication after it helped you get the stability and balance you’ve been looking for over the long term.
Not only this, meditation offers you something that you can do on your terms in either the situation we’ve just eluded to or just to have a better quality of life.
Hope this helps x
References
[1] Basso JC, McHale A, Ende V, Oberlin DJ, Suzuki WA. Brief, daily meditation enhances attention, memory, mood, and emotional regulation in non-experienced meditators. Behav Brain Res. 2019;356:208-220. doi:10.1016/j.bbr.2018.08.023
[2] Behan C. The benefits of meditation and mindfulness practices during times of crisis such as COVID-19. Ir J Psychol Med. 2020;37(4):256-258. doi:10.1017/ipm.2020.38
[3] Bai Z, Chang J, Chen C, Li P, Yang K, Chi I. Investigating the effect of transcendental meditation on blood pressure: a systematic review and meta-analysis. J Hum Hypertens. 2015;29(11):653-662. doi:10.1038/jhh.2015.6
[4] Groesbeck G, Bach D, Stapleton P, Blickheuser K, Church D, Sims R. The Interrelated Physiological and Psychological Effects of EcoMeditation. J Evid Based Integr Med. 2018;23:2515690X18759626. doi:10.1177/2515690X18759626
[5] Lindsay EK, Creswell JD, Stern HJ, et al. Mindfulness-based stress reduction increases stimulated IL-6 production among lonely older adults: A randomized controlled trial [published online ahead of print, 2022 May 10]. Brain Behav Immun. 2022;104:6-15. doi:10.1016/j.bbi.2022.05.001
[6] Gardi C, Fazia T, Stringa B, Giommi F. A short Mindfulness retreat can improve biological markers of stress and inflammation. Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2022;135:105579. doi:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2021.105579
[7] Paul-Labrador M, Polk D, Dwyer JH, et al. Effects of a Randomized Controlled Trial of Transcendental Meditation on Components of the Metabolic Syndrome in Subjects With Coronary Heart Disease. Arch Intern Med. 2006;166(11):1218–1224. doi:10.1001/archinte.166.11.1218
[8] Naliboff BD, Smith SR, Serpa JG, et al. Mindfulness-based stress reduction improves irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) symptoms via specific aspects of mindfulness. Neurogastroenterol Motil. 2020;32(9):e13828. doi:10.1111/nmo.13828
[9] Cramer SC, Sur M, Dobkin BH, et al. Harnessing neuroplasticity for clinical applications. Brain. 2011;134(Pt 6):1591-1609. doi:10.1093/brain/awr039
[10] Cramer SC, Sur M, Dobkin BH, et al. Harnessing neuroplasticity for clinical applications. Brain. 2011;134(Pt 6):1591-1609. doi:10.1093/brain/awr039
[11] Cadegiani FA, Kater CE. Adrenal fatigue does not exist: a systematic review [published correction appears in BMC Endocr Disord. 2016 Nov 16;16(1):63]. BMC Endocr Disord. 2016;16(1):48. Published 2016 Aug 24. doi:10.1186/s12902-016-0128-4
[12] Liberzon I, Sripada CS. The functional neuroanatomy of PTSD: a critical review. Prog Brain Res. 2008;167:151-169. doi:10.1016/S0079-6123(07)67011-3
[13] Hölzel BK, Carmody J, Evans KC, et al. Stress reduction correlates with structural changes in the amygdala. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci. 2010;5(1):11-17. doi:10.1093/scan/nsp034
[14] https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2018/04/harvard-researchers-study-how-mindfulness-may-change-the-brain-in-depressed-patients/, viewed 12th August 2022.
[15] Kabat-Zinn J. Full Catastrophe Living. New York: Delta Publishing; 1990.
[16] Groesbeck G, Bach D, Stapleton P, Blickheuser K, Church D, Sims R. The Interrelated Physiological and Psychological Effects of EcoMeditation. J Evid Based Integr Med. 2018;23:2515690X18759626. doi:10.1177/2515690X18759626
[17] Sui J, Rotshtein P. Self-prioritization and the attentional systems. Curr Opin Psychol. 2019;29:148-152. doi:10.1016/j.copsyc.2019.02.010
[18] Golubickis, M., Tan, L.B.G., Saini, S. et al. Knock yourself out: Brief mindfulness-based meditation eliminates self-prioritization. Psychon Bull Rev (2022). https://doi.org/10.3758/s13423-022-02111-2
[19] Hoge EA, Bui E, Marques L, et al. Randomized controlled trial of mindfulness meditation for generalized anxiety disorder: effects on anxiety and stress reactivity. J Clin Psychiatry. 2013;74(8):786-792. doi:10.4088/JCP.12m08083
[20] Parmentier FBR, García-Toro M, García-Campayo J, Yañez AM, Andrés P, Gili M. Mindfulness and Symptoms of Depression and Anxiety in the General Population: The Mediating Roles of Worry, Rumination, Reappraisal and Suppression. Front Psychol. 2019;10:506. Published 2019 Mar 8. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00506
