Efficacy of Mindfulness as a complement to traditional therapies to reduce anxiety and depression

Much has been said about mental health in recent months as a result of the negative effects of COVID-19 on her and the importance of her care as
basis for a good quality of life and optimal performance of people.

Various studies have shown how the disease caused by the new coronavirus (COVID-19) has affected the mental health of the population, increasing the levels of
anxiety, depressive symptoms, distress and loneliness (Banks et al., 2021).

The term mental health is very broad and in this article we are going to focus on depression and anxiety, two of the most frequent, predominant and
common diagnosed in the consultations and therapy centers of emotional health professionals.

And it is that according to the World Health Organization (2017), depression and anxiety are two of the most present problems in today’s society.

Depression is a disease that results in a feeling of sadness that lasts over time and that also interferes and prevents the person from regaining their “healthy” vision of reality , interfering in a negative way in their day to day life.

It is estimated that depression affects more than 300 million people around the world (WHO, 2017), a figure that makes the hair stand on end, ranking as one of the most present mental illnesses and the main cause of disability, affecting the person who suffers from it in their simple day-to-day tasks, and can even cause suicide in the most serious cases.

In relation to anxiety, the figures are similar, it is believed that it affects more than 260 million people around the world (WHO, 2017), being linked and closely related to negative thoughts and leading the person to live in a state constant and continuous alert or threat that causes unpleasant and very disabling physiological responses in the person (Lazarus and Folkman, 1986).

And this figure could be even somewhat higher since there are many people who have become accustomed to living with anxiety , normalizing it to the point of not attending.
seeking professional help when they experience it.

Traditionally, the prescription of medication and psychological therapies have been the most widely used treatments to be able to work and improve the symptoms caused by both disorders (anxiety and depression) but currently, and as a consequence of the worldwide boom in the practice of mindfulness , This methodology is also beginning to be used in specific online programs in patients with these diseases.

Mindfulness is a method to achieve mindfulness, the person learns to focus and concentrate on what is happening in their “here and now” . He approaches it, accepts it, without judging it and without trying to change or modify anything he feels and thinks and we would encompass and frame it within the so-called Third Generation Therapies.

Various studies have shown the efficacy of mindfulness training in reducing anxiety and depressive symptoms (Hofmann and Gómez, 2017) or its effect also in improving the mental health of workers (Janssen et al., 2018) .

Much more recently, the same has been shown in the study by Nieto, Arribas and Cataluña (2021). According to the authors, online mindfulness is effective and its use can be a viable alternative for reducing anxiety-depressive symptoms when the usual psychological treatment is not accessible.

Mindfulness can be practiced online through guided video meditations and practical exercises with the aim of fostering mindfulness, learning to be in the present moment, and using personal strengths to generate a supportive two-way effect. deepening and empowerment, which allows to develop a greater connection with the present moment.

The results of the study by Nieto et al. (2021) showed that, after having carried out an online intervention based on mindfulness, the participants experienced a significant decrease in anxiety and depression . In fact, people with active symptoms obtained non-pathological scores after taking the online mindfulness program for 3 months.

It seems, therefore, that there is a very open world to explore in order to improve the quality of life of people who notice depressive and anxious symptoms with mindfulness as a reference point.

Aroa Ruiz, psychologist and mindfulness instructor at the European Institute of Positive Psychology.