Meditation and Mindfulness for Depression: Evidence and Cautions

If you are thinking about suicide or self-harm, call, text or chat the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline in the US. It is free, confidential and open day and night. [1] For an emergency, call 911. Depression is a treatable medical condition: please see a doctor or therapist if low mood lasts, and do not rely on meditation alone.

Two different questions

Research on mindfulness and depression asks two separate things. One is relapse prevention: can a course help people who have recovered from repeated depression stay well? The other is treatment: does it help someone who is depressed now? The evidence is stronger for the first. Labels: established, promising but limited, mixed, insufficient evidence.

Relapse prevention (people who are currently well)

Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) is a group course that combines mindfulness practice with parts of cognitive behavioral therapy. [2]

In the PREVENT trial, people reporting a more abusive childhood had a longer time to relapse with MBCT, a planned subgroup finding the authors called an indication, not proof. [4] NICE (England) says that for people at higher risk of relapse who do not wish to continue antidepressants, a course of group CBT or MBCT can be considered, either instead of or alongside medicine. [5] Do not stop an antidepressant without your prescriber.

Current depression

For people who are depressed now, results are less consistent. A 2014 analysis of 12 trials (578 people with a current anxiety or depressive diagnosis) found benefit for depressive symptoms against controls, but not when the control was an active treatment. [6] A 2021 review of 136 trials in non-clinical settings found benefit for depression compared with no intervention, with moderate to very low confidence. [7] A 2018 review of 142 samples named depression among the conditions with the most consistent evidence for mindfulness. [8] Stand-alone mindfulness exercises showed a small to medium effect on depression symptoms in 18 studies. [9]

The NHS says mindfulness-based therapies are recommended by NICE for less severe depression. [10] NICE describes the course as 8 sessions for 8 to 15 people, led preferably by two practitioners, at least one with therapy-specific training, with homework that includes mindfulness recordings. [5]

Mindfulness and general mental health

For people without a diagnosis, programs improved depression and distress compared with no intervention, but other preventive approaches may work equally well. [7] See well-being in healthy adults.

Where to go next

Read MBCT for depression, relapse prevention and chronic pain, meditation compared with medication and therapy and stress versus anxiety, burnout and depression.