How Meditation Could Ease Psychiatric Disorders

Research has shown that mediation has a multitude of health benefits, from stress relief, to lowering blood pressure, to helping people with cancer. A new study shows that it could also have effects on psychiatric disorders.

In the study to be published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers from Yale University found that people who are experienced meditators have the ability to turn off certain brain regions tied with daydreaming, autism and schizophrenia.

"Meditation's ability to help people stay in the moment has been part of philosophical and contemplative practices for thousands of years," study researcher Judson A. Brewer, psychiatry professor at Yale, said in a statement. "Conversely, the hallmarks of many forms of mental illness is a preoccupation with one's own thoughts, a condition meditation seems to affect. This gives us some nice cues as to the neural mechanisms of how it might be working clinically."

For the study, researchers conducted brain imaging (MRI scans) on newer and more experienced meditators, who went through three different meditation techniques. They found that when the experienced meditators meditated, a brain region called the default mode network had decreased activity. This brain region has been linked with ADHD, anxiety, and even amyloid-plaque buildup associated with Alzheimer's disease, researchers said.

In addition, when this default mode network was active in the experienced meditators, researchers found that their brain regions linked with brain control and self-monitoring were also activated. Researchers said this means that they are able avoid "me" thoughts and can keep their minds from wandering, which has been linked with psychiatric disorders like schizophrenia and autism.

Check out these other ways that meditation can make us healthier:

Comments

[donnamae1956]

02:42 PM on 12/21/2011

Since I took up Buddhism over 9 months ago, I have not been happier in years with major depression and other conditions. I was able to go off psych meds. I practice twice daily with chantings and Lotus Sutra. I have made great strides with this faith, practice and study. it is a form of meditative practice as I focus on my Gohonzon. Very empowering stuff. If I don't do it daily, then I do backslide with depression symptoms so I know it is important that I stay with this. You can find out more infos on this on the web. I will not say which particular Buddhism it is as it is different and may be against the rules to be specific on here. Good luck and wish you all happiness and enlightenement.

[William Montgomery]

07:51 PM on 11/30/2011

Article line 1: "mediation"

[Chuck Bluestein]

03:08 PM on 11/28/2011

Decades ago a medical professor at Harvard Medical School wrote a book called The Relaxation Response. It documented the benefits of meditation. People have been doing meditation for thousands of years but it is needed now more than ever. The above book explains that all this research has been done to make our lives easier, but people are now more stressed out than ever before.

Dr Martin Seligman has done more research on depression than anyone. He was elected president of the American Psychological Associtaion by the widest margin ever. But he has learned that it is better to focus on expanding happiness than treating mental disorders. http://bit.ly/9JTjUW So he is now director of the Positive Psychology Network. It works on researching what makes people happier. That is the purpose of meditation-- to expand happness.

It is well known for helping with stress, anxiety and fear. The more stress, anxiety and fear that people feel, the less happier they are.

[Patriot Games]

03:27 PM on 11/24/2011

According to the Central California religious twits it is the devils work.

[larry cifuentes]

05:32 PM on 11/23/2011

The "pose picture" of this article, while impressive; pose without meaning, is just meaningless pretense.

[solitude1951]

12:58 AM on 11/24/2011

Meditation makes you AWARE. Aware of the continuous looping of depression. The foolishness we display at coming to grips with reality. We are actually watching thought in motion. We are actually allowing ourselves to snap out of preconceived ideas. Could there be anything more important?

[wakohnen]

10:11 AM on 11/23/2011

Meditation eases the soul and gives you power over the body that is unbelievable. If you have a physical ailment and you meditate and concentrate on your desire to heal the ailment, it is possible to do so. Just visualize blood cells rushing to the affected area repairing damaged organs or torn muscles. It may sound silly but it actually helps the healing process. You can actually will a migrane away with practice.

[Dream Girl]

10:41 AM on 11/23/2011

Wow I think it may be working. I've had a terrible sinus headache for a week now. Maybe it's a migraine; I'm not sure but I do feel congestion in my head. Meditation is challenging for me but I think if I could get the hang of it, it could really help me physically and mentally. I wasn't even aware of the physical part.

[skeyewater]

09:51 AM on 11/23/2011

PERFECT PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT. The perfect practice of meditation is very simple. Open up in a safe and healthy environment. This will change your mind. If you are dedicated and practice perfectly you can feel more alive than you have ever felt.

Your mind will resist embarking on this endeavor, its natural to resist change. After reading these words its almost certain you will engage in behavior less than perfect in order to avoid changing your mind. You see, opening up requires working with feelings, and emotions. Scary stuff? No? Yes!

VITAL to any understanding is that all emotions, from highest to lowest, are there to help us. We naturally put emotions and feelings in a hierarchy with pride, euphoria, beauty, love, and compassion far higher in hierarchy then lower emotions such as anger, shame, and revulsion. However, emotions such as anger which are lower in the hierarchy might be of the highest value to you in a particular moment. In the blink of an eye, a different one is better.

The challenge is opening up to achieve an underlying healthy perspective on life so that we naturally select the best emotion for the moment.

Set time aside to change your mind. You will not just change your mind. You will change your world.

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