Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction for Anxiety Disorders

A new study published last month in JAMA Psychiatry brings exciting opportunities for those who suffer from anxiety disorders. Globally, over 300 million people are currently affected by anxiety disorders. Effective treatments for anxiety disorders include medications and cognitive behavioral therapy. The findings of this latest study showed that an 8-week Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR program) had a comparable effectiveness when compared to a firstline medication, Lexapro, for patients with anxiety disorders.

The randomized clinical trial of 276 adults took place before the Covid pandemic which allowed participants to be in person for the MBSR program. This program was led by trained meditation teachers who were available to answer questions and guide practices.

The adults in the study were diagnosed with anxiety disorders such as generalized anxiety, panic disorder, or social anxiety. They were split into two groups, one group received a 10 to 20 mg daily dose of Lexapro. The other group was assigned to weekly two & half hour MBSR classes, which included 45 minutes of daily meditation homework for eight weeks. The MBSR program also included a day-long retreat around week five or six.

At the end of the eight weeks both groups were evaluated using the same clinical scale. For both groups there was about a 20% reduction in the severity of their symptoms. "The fact that we found them to be equal is amazing because now that opens up a whole new potential type of treatment," says study author Elizabeth Hoge, director of the Anxiety Disorders Research Program at Georgetown University Medical Center. Hogue says that her intent is not to replace medication but to add other treatment options, and provide evidence that mindfulness-based programs are effective in treating anxiety disorders.

You might be wondering what is Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction. MBSR was started at the University of Massachusetts Medical center in 1979 by Jon Kabat-Zinn. For over 40 years, this program has helped people dealing with cancer, chronic pain, depression, and anxiety. MBSR is taught all over the world. In the spring of 2013, I had the honor of participating in a 9-day professional training program under the direction of Dr. John Kabat-Zinn and Dr. Saki Santorelli. I have been teaching a program based on the MBSR model to adults in many different settings since 2014.

To understand Mindfulness better here are the attitudinal Foundations of Mindfulness Practice:

1. Non-Judging - One assumes the stance of impartial witness to our own experience. When judgement arrises, as it will do, one notices it with kindness and curiosity towards oneself.

2. Patience - This is the wisdom of accepting and understanding the fact that somethings must unfold in their own time. One practices being open to each moment of life and accepting it in its fullness.

3. Beginner’s Mind - A mind that is willing to see everything for the first time. Seeing each moment with fresh eyes.

4. Trust - Developing a basic trust in yourself and your feelings. The more one trusts, they can become more fully themselves.

5. Non-Striving - There is no goal to achieve in meditation. Instead we focus on seeing and accepting things as they are moment by moment.

6. Acceptance - Seeing things as they actually are in the present. This coming to terms with things as they are, is part of the healing process.

7. Letting Go - There is a well known story in India of how to catch a monkey. As the story goes, hunters will cut a hole in a coconut that is just big enough for a monkey to put it’s hand through. Then they will drill two smaller holes in the end, pass a wire through and secure the coconut to the base of a tree. Then they put a banana inside the coconut and hide. The monkey comes down, puts it’s hand in and takes hold of the banana. The hole is crafted so that the open hand can go in, but the fist cannot get out. All the monkey has to do to be free is to let go of the banana. But is seems most monkeys don’t let go. This is often what happens in our minds. Letting go is a way of letting things be, of accepting things as they are.

If you or someone you love suffers from anxiety, taking an MBRS course, reading Full Catastrophe Living by Jon Kabat Zinn, or taking a meditation class can be a new path to explore. To know ourselves more fully, to live an awake life, is truly a gift!

As the New Year approaches, we often set intentions for the coming year, taking a MBSR course might just be a gift you give yourself. Even if you have practiced meditation in the past, can always begin again…meditation is a life long practice!