Three Ways Mindfulness Reduces Depression by Emily Nauman

From The Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley, this is a summary of recent research demonstrating three ways that mindfulness can benefit depression.

Three Ways Mindfulness Reduces Depression

Research says that Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy is an effective treatment for depression. A new study finds out why.

By Emily Nauman | June 2, 2014

Our Mindful Mondays series provides ongoing coverage of the exploding field of mindfulness research. Dan Archer

Sixty percent of people who experience a single episode of depression are likely to experience a second. Ninety percent of people who go through three episodes of depression are likely to have a fourth. But help is available: The 8-week Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) program been shown to reduce the risk of relapse.

How does it work? To find out, researchers in the United Kingdom interviewed 11 adults who had experienced three or more episodes of severe depression, and had undergone MBCT within the previous three years.

They analyzed the interviews to create a model, published in the journal Mindfulness, to demonstrate how MBCT enables people to relate mindfully to the self and with others. The key, it seems, lies in the way MBCT enhances relationships: Less stress about relationships in turn helps prevent future episodes of depression. Three specific themes emerged from the study:

1. Being present to the self: Learning to pause, identify, and respond

Mindfulness practices of MBCT allowed people to be more intentionally aware of the present moment, which gave them space to pause before reacting automatically to others. Instead of becoming distressed about rejection or criticism, they stepped back to understand their own automatic reactions—and to become more attuned to others’ needs and emotions. Awareness gave them more choice in how to respond, instead of becoming swept up in escalating negative emotion.

2. Facing fears: It’s ok to say “no”

Participants also reported that they became more assertive in saying ‘no’ to others in order to lessen their load of responsibility, allowing them to become more balanced in acknowledging their own as well as others’ needs. The authors speculate that bringing mindful awareness to uncomfortable experiences helped people to approach situations that they would previously avoid, which fostered self-confidence and assertiveness.

3. Being present with others

Being present to others enabled people to bring more attention to relationships and to appreciate their time with others. They talked about how being present to others helped them let go of distressing histories, allowing them to relate to others in new ways. Disagreements also became more constructive, as participants were able to identify their communication problems, and were better able to take on another’s perspective and focus on potential solutions.

Study participants also described having more energy, feeling less overwhelmed by negative emotion, and being in a better position to cope with and support others. Getting through difficulties with significant others through mindful communication helped them feel closer, and having the energy and emotional stamina to spend more time with family members helped them grow together.

Many participants said that as time went on, the benefits of MBCT permeated their whole life. “Through relating mindfully to their own experiences and to others, they were feeling more confident and were engaging with an increased range of social activity and involvement,” write the authors.

The researchers write that in the future, interventions could place a more explicit focus on approaching relationships with mindfulness. This focus could reinforce the benefit of MBCT, and perhaps lead to even better outcomes in reducing the risk of relapse for people with chronic depression.

About The Author

Emily Nauman is a GGSC research assistant. She completed her undergraduate studies at Oberlin College with a double major in Psychology and French, and has previously worked as a research assistant in Oberlin’s Psycholinguistics lab and Boston University’s Eating Disorders Program.

More on Mindfulness & Depression

• Discover how a wandering mind can become unhappy.
• Christine Carter explains what to do when you feel unhappy.
• Explore how mindfulness is being used to treat sexual dysfunction in women.
• Read Paul Gilbert's essay on to mindfully turn your brain from anger to compassion.
• How mindful are you? Take our quiz!

Dr. Stuart Eisendrath - Applying Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy to Treatment

There has been a trend over the past decade or two to add mindfulness to nearly every form of psychotherapy one can think of - but especially cognitive models, as in the mindfulness-based cognitive therapy discussed in this video. This trend probably began in part as a result of the apparent clinical success of dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT) in treating borderline personality disorder (more accurately known as complex PTSD), which was created by Marsha Linehan (her model is essentially cognitive behavioral therapy with an added mindfulness component).

From Wikipedia, a little bit on DBT (this entry is a good introduction for those interested in the model):

DBT combines standard cognitive-behavioral techniques for emotion regulation and reality-testing with concepts of distress tolerance, acceptance, and mindful awareness largely derived from Buddhist meditative practice. DBT may be the first therapy that has been experimentally demonstrated to be generally effective in treating BPD.
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DBT strives to have the patient view the therapist as an ally rather than an adversary in the treatment of psychological issues. Accordingly, the therapist aims to accept and validate the client’s feelings at any given time, while, nonetheless, informing the client that some feelings and behaviors are maladaptive, and showing them better alternatives.^[2]

Linehan and others combined a commitment to the core conditions of acceptance and change through the Hegelian principle of dialectical progress (in which thesis + antithesis → synthesis) and assembled an array of skills for emotional self-regulation drawn from Western psychological traditions, such as cognitive behavioral therapy and an interpersonal variant, "assertiveness training", and Eastern meditative traditions, such as Buddhist mindfulness meditation. Arguably her most significant contribution was to alter the adversarial nature of the therapist-client relationship in favor of an alliance based on intersubjective tough love.

Since this model appeared to be useful in other populations as well, other therapists began introducing mindfulness-based approaches with cognitive-behavior therapy (CBT) foundations, including the following:

• Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
• Functional Analytic Psychotherapy
• Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy
• Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction - developed by Jon Kabat-Zinn, his work is the foundation for all of the other models
• Mindfulness-Based Relapse Prevention
• Mentalization Based Treatment

Dr. Stuart Eisendrath - Applying Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy to Treatment

Dr. Stuart Eisendrath, Professor of Clinical Psychiatry and Director of the UCSF Depression Center, explores alternatives to treating depression that include cognitive therapy and cognitive mindfulness-based therapy, a new technique that blends mindfulness meditation and cognitive therapy techniques to lessen depression, particularly in individuals with recurrent episodes. Series: "UCSF Osher Mini Medical School for the Public" (Visit: http://www.uctv.tv/)

Dr. Eisendrath began his career as a consultation-liaison psychiatrist developing extensive experience at the mind-body interface areas of chronic pain, somatoform disorders, and factitious disorders. In more recent years, as director of The UCSF Depression Center, he has shifted his attention to investigating depression treatment and relapse prevention. He has been studying mindfulness-based cognitive therapy as a new technique for treatment and prevention of major depression.