Mindfulness Meditation

In this article, “When Science Meets Mindfulness” by Alvin Powell, is about how researchers study the change in the brain in depressed patients through studies and meditation. Throughout this article, it follows Benjamin Shapero, who is an instructor in psychiatry at HMS and a psychologist at MGH, and Gaëlle Desbordes who is an instructor in radiology at HMS and a neuroscientist at MGH’s to explore one alternative: mindfulness-based medication. The primary focus of this article is on depressed patients, and the different alternative approaches which mainly focuses on mindfulness meditation.

There are many types of treatments out there, such as talk therapy, antidepressants, etc. Talk therapy is “an alternate name for various forms of psychotherapy that emphasizes the importance of the client or patient speaking to the therapist as the main means of expressing and resolving issues. ” (n. d. , 2019) and antidepressants are “used to alleviate depression. ” (N. D. 2019) Stimulants are “substances that excite the central nervous system, heightening arousal and activity levels” (Schacter, D. L. , 2018). Which is often used to treat depression because they increase mental and or physical function, while depressants are “substances that reduce that activity of the central nervous system” (Schacter, D. L. , 2018), They are a calming effect, which is the opposite you want for a patient who is struggling with depression. Stimulants increase the levels of dopamine in the brain, which increases the alertness and energy for the one who is using it. But unfortunately, some of these options don’t work for every patient. That is where this article comes in, the focus of these researchers, Shapero and Desbordes, are researching alternatives approaches, mindfulness meditation, for those that medication and therapy don’t work for.

There have been many benefits from the studies against conditions both physical and mental, like “irritable bowel syndrome, fibromyalgia, psoriasis, anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)” (Powell, A. , 2018). There have been many benefits for patients, especially those who struggle with depression, chronic pain, and anxiety. The patients engage in a mindfulness meditation program. But some of the findings from the studies have been “called into question” because the sample sizes for the studies have been too small and the experiment designs were problematic (Powell, A. , 2018). Desbordes’ research uses fMRI, which is functional magnetic resonance imaging, which “records brain activity occurring during the scan” (Powell, A. , 2018). She takes fMRI before conducting an 8-week test study and after of patients who learned to meditate. She also scans their brains while they were meditating and when they are performing everyday tasks. The participants in this study “to become more aware of their bodies by focusing on their heartbeats” and reflect on common phrases in the “self-chatter of depressed patients” (Powell, A. , 2018).

While reading this article, I learned a lot that I didn’t know about. I agree with Benjamin Shapero, when he stated how for some people cognitive behavioral therapy helps them, for some antidepressant medications helps them, but for many these don’t work, so it’s good to have alternative approaches for people (Powell, A. , 2018). I agree with this because for some people they don’t like to take medication or talk about their feelings/ what is bothering them, etc. and it’s good to have different alternative options for everybody. As for me, I can relate to mindfulness because I have back problems, and it will affect me for the rest of my life and personally, I hate taking medication. So, yoga is really important for me and my life, I try to do yoga once or twice a week, if I can, and it’s super relaxing and helps me physically and mentally which is super important for me. I would love for one day to learn how to mediate because there is a proper way to do it and I do believe it would be beneficial for me and for anyone in general. From Desbordes’ conclusion from her study, she is interested in “teasing out just what in mindful meditation can work against depression” because therapy can be refined to be more successful if they can identify what elements are effective (Powell, A. , 2018). For Shapero’s conclusion, he is interested in “using the study to refine treatment”, because some patients don’t benefit from medication and talk therapy, while some do, and he wants to better understand how to “differentiate between the two (Powell, A. , 2018).

<