Meditation helps with depression
Some people identify depression with a black curtain of despair falling on their life. Many feel lack of energy and lack of concentration. Others are always irritated for no apparent reason. Symptoms may be different, but if you feel depressed for more than two weeks, and this feeling interferes with your daily life, then you are more likely to have clinical depression.
Most people who once had depression, sooner or later experience it again. Initially, the symptoms may be unobtrusive, but after a few weeks they develop into a full-blown depression.
Symptoms of depression can be as follows:
- constant feeling of anguish, irritability, tension;
- loss of interest in ordinary affairs and occupations;
- lack of energy, a sense of fatigue, despite the lack of exercise;
- a change in appetite, with significant weight loss or its increase;
- changes in sleep patterns, sleep problems, early awakening or too long sleep;
- anxiety or a sense of inhibition;
- deterioration in the ability to make decisions or to concentrate;
- feeling of uselessness, hopelessness or guilt;
- thoughts of suicide or death.
The advantages of meditation in depression
Studies conducted by the University of Exeter in the United Kingdom (The University of Exeter) showed that meditation by the Sahaja Yoga method has a beneficial therapeutic effect on patients suffering from depression and anxiety.
24 patients with depression and anxiety were divided into 3 groups: the first group meditated for six weeks, the second group was treated in a traditional way, that is, methods of cognitive-behavioral therapy, and the control group received no treatment.
The group treated with the Sahaja Yoga method showed a statistically significant decrease in anxiety, depression, and an improvement in the overall emotional state compared with the untreated group. In addition, the results of the meditation group were better than those of the second group, who received traditional treatment for behavioral disorders.
This study showed that Sahaja Yoga meditation helps to alleviate and cure the symptoms of depression and anxiety, and its positive effect is more pronounced compared to cognitive-behavioral therapy.
