Meditation proven to help with post-traumatic stress
TRANSCENDENTAL meditation has been shown to decrease the severity of post-traumatic stress disorder.
A trial involved 203 US veterans with PTSD, most with very severe symptoms, predominantly due to combat-related trauma.
After three months of treatment, meditation was found to be just as effective in reducing PTSD symptoms as the most commonly used psychotherapy, prolonged exposure therapy – and better than health-education classes.
Current treatments for PTSD include cognitive behavioural therapy, group therapy, medication and trauma-based psychotherapy, or a combination.
Transcendental meditation – described as the effortless thinking of a mantra, without concentration or contemplation, to produce a settled, psychophysiological state of restful alertness – has previously shown promising results against anxiety and PTSD symptoms in military veterans and active personnel, but the studies have been uncontrolled, or with small numbers.
The new study, which is published in The Lancet Psychiatry journal, is the first to compare transcendental meditation with prolonged exposure therapy.
Participants were randomly assigned to receive transcendental meditation (68 veterans), prolonged exposure therapy (68 veterans), or a control condition of PTSD health-education classes (67 veterans).
Veterans with psychotic symptoms, mania, bipolar disorder, current suicidal or homicidal ideation, or cognitive impairment were not included.
Participants receiving medication for their PTSD could take part in the trial as long as their prescription had remained the same for at least two months prior to enrolment.
Each treatment involved 12 90-minute sessions over 12 weeks, with daily home practice.
The transcendental meditation and health education classes were given in group sessions while prolonged exposure therapy was delivered one-to-one.
The severity of the veterans’ PTSD symptoms were measured through an interview with the clinician at the start of the trial and after three months.
The study authors found transcendental meditation was just as effective as prolonged exposure therapy, showing similar reductions in PTSD symptoms, and both of the therapies were more effective than health-education classes. They found 68% of participants were taking at least one PTSD-related medication, but in statistical analysis controlling for medication use, the authors found that transcendental meditation still reduced PTSD symptoms compared to health education, and was just as effective as prolonged exposure therapy.
Dr Sanford Nidich, of Maharishi University of Management in Fairfield, Iowa, said: ‘PTSD is a disabling condition, affecting an estimated 14% of US veterans deployed in or returning from combat in Afghanistan and Iraq.
‘PTSD harms veterans’ mental, physical, and financial wellbeing, and there is also growing evidence of links between PTSD and cardiovascular health, occupational functioning, metabolic function, and possibly even dementia risk.
‘Our findings indicate the feasibility and efficacy of transcendental meditation as a potential therapy for veterans with PTSD and encourages future research to explore the durability of the benefits and applications to other populations with PTSD.’
‘Just as effective as other therapies’