African-American women with lower socio-economic status have an increased
risk of depressive disorders, yet they rarely seek out antidepressants or
psychotherapy because of negative attitudes and stigma associated with
conventional mental health treatments.
A new pilot Northwestern Medicine study showed that eight weeks of mindfulness
training helped alleviate their depressive symptoms and reduce stress,
providing an effective alternative to more conventional treatment.
‘Many
women are in need of help with their depression and coping with daily life, but
they don't seek it out because of limited access to high-quality mental health
services and the stigma within their families and communities,’ said the
study's principal investigator Dr Inger Burnett-Zeigler [pictured left], assistant professor of
psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. ‘Our study shows that there are alternatives to traditional mental
health treatment, such as mind-body approaches, that effectively alleviate
symptoms and can be done autonomously in the comfort of their own home.’
Over the
course of the 16-week study, the average depressive symptoms and stress scores
decreased across the 31 participants. They also reported an increase in
well-being and were able to recognize stressful triggers in their lives, notice
how their bodies react to triggers and learn how to gain more control over
their physiological responses to stress.
‘It felt
good to be in control of my emotions for the first time in my life,’ one
participant said. Another said, ‘We are always superwomen [and] we have to be
able to do everything, and that brings out a lot of stress. ...This helped me
to reorganize and put [these stressful events] in the proper perspective and
understand I have an opportunity to learn how to calm myself down and recognize
what is going on.’
The
study, which was published in the journal Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice on August 13, 2016, and is the first
to examine the effectiveness of mindfulness-based interventions to combat
depression among disadvantaged women in a Federally Qualified Health Center
(FQHC), which provides comprehensive community-based medical care to low-income
individuals.
Dr Burnett-Zeigler
and her co-authors recruited women from the Komed Holman Health Center, an FQHC
on Chicago's South Side. At the time of recruitment, 91 per cent of the women
at the center were eligible for the study, which demonstrates the high level of
mental health need among adult women in the FQHC. Thirty-one women ended up
participating in the study.
Source: JGI/Jamie Grill via Getty Images
Dr Burnett-Zeigler
said there is great potential to expand mindfulness-based interventions
nationally based on this growing need to provide low-cost, effective mental
health services in community-based settings. Her future studies aim to examine
the feasibility of national implementation and dissemination.
The
mindfulness techniques Dr Burnett-Zeigler teaches include sitting meditation,
yoga, mental body scans and taking a mindful pause to be in the moment.
Patients are encouraged to increase their awareness of everyday activities,
such as taking a shower or drinking a cup of coffee.
‘These
practices help them take a step back and live in the moment versus worrying
about what's already happened or what's to come,’ Dr Burnett-Zeigler said. ‘People
who are depressed or who have depressive symptoms often have tunnel vision,
whereby they're only seeing information in the environment that supports their
negative beliefs.’
Study
participants also were encouraged to engage in daily practice at home, in
addition to the guided sessions in the clinic. On average, participants
practiced meditation, yoga and mental body scans four days per week and spent
an average of 2.5 hours practicing a week.
Before
participating in the study, 45 per cent of the women reported no prior
experience with meditation, and 71 per cent reported no past experience with
yoga. All of the women who participated in the study reported symptoms of
depression, however 87 per cent had not received any mental health treatment in
the past year.
Journal Reference
Burnett-Zeigler
I, Satyshur M D, Hong S, Yang A, Moskowitz J, Wisner K L. ‘Mindfulness based stress reduction adapted for
depressed disadvantaged women in an urban Federally Qualified Health Center.’
Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice, 2016; DOI: 10.1016/j.ctcp.2016.08.007
Story Source
The above post is reprinted from materials provided by Northwestern University. The original item was written by Kristin Samuelson. Note: Content may be edited for style
and length.
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