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Key takeaways
Research indicates that meditation can significantly lower stress, improve sleep quality, decrease pain, and positively alter chemicals in the body that contribute to anxiety and depression.
Meditation interferes with the communication between the prefrontal cortex and the amygdala, reducing the perception of fear and danger and thereby lessening the stress response, which is beneficial for individuals with anxiety and depression.
While meditation can be a powerful component of a treatment plan for mild anxiety and depression, it is not typically sufficient on its own for moderate to severe cases, where it should be paired with other interventions like therapy and medication.
Various forms of meditation, including mindfulness, breath awareness, guided meditation, body scanning, progressive muscle relaxation, and movement meditation, offer different benefits and can be tailored to individual needs and preferences, making meditation accessible and beneficial for many people.
When most people hear the word meditation, they probably imagine someone sitting perfectly still in a quiet room, legs crossed, zoned out in a state of total bliss. But meditation can be performed in many different ways, and while it does take some practice to get the hang of it, even just a few minutes a day can help reduce some symptoms of common mental health conditions like anxiety and depression.
“Research shows that meditation helps to lower stress hormones, improve attention, improve sleep, and decrease pain in the body,” says Michele Goldman, Psy.D., media adviser for the Hope for Depression Research Foundation. “Meditation [also] helps to change the chemicals within the body that might be contributing to anxiety and depression.”
While this all sounds great on paper, it’s okay to feel intimidated by the idea of starting up a meditation routine for anxiety or depression. Thankfully, it’s easier than you think—and research shows it’s definitely worth the effort. Here’s why meditation should be incorporated into your anxiety or depression treatment plan and how to reap the benefits of meditation.
Why does meditation help anxiety and depression?
Evidence-based studies suggests that meditation can disrupt the relationship between the prefrontal cortex, which perceives fear and danger, and the amygdala, which triggers the adrenal glands to release the stress hormone cortisol in response, according to integrative medicine lifestyle physician Monisha Bhanote, MD.
People with depression, Dr. Bhanote explains, typically have hyperactive prefrontal cortices; this means they perceive more heightened threats of fear and danger, and in turn, produce more cortisol. Studies suggest this same relationship is at work in anxiety conditions, too.
By interfering with this communication, meditation can limit the amount of fear and danger responses your brain perceives and reduce the heightened stress response they trigger. But does it actually do that? Study after study seems to say that yes, it can.
Take this 2016 review, for example, which studied the effectiveness of online mindfulness interventions; while these therapies had the largest impact on stress reduction, the study authors noted a “small but significant” benefit on both anxiety and depression.
Individual studies on anxiety and depression also exist, demonstrating clear results. A 2010 review of studies suggests that mindfulness-based therapies can have a moderate impact on reducing anxiety symptoms across a “wide range of [condition] severity.” Meanwhile, a 2015 review of studies focusing on people with major depressive episodes and persistent depression found that meditation therapies led to “moderate to large reductions in depression symptoms.”
Can meditation treat anxiety and depression?
While research shows that meditation can be a powerful tool in your treatment plan for anxiety and depression, whether it can “cure” or “heal” your brain all on its own (or work in place of antidepressants or other prescription drugs) depends on many different factors, from family history to individual lifestyle.
But the biggest factor, says Julian Lagoy, MD, psychiatrist with Mindpath Health, is the severity of your condition: “It’s definitely possible for meditation to [treat] depression and anxiety if it’s very mild, [but for] moderate and severe cases, an individual should definitely see a professional for help.”
Dr. Goldman agrees, adding that meditation alone is not likely to be effective at treating moderate to severe symptoms; in those cases, meditation should be paired with other interventions, such as therapy, medication, sleep hygiene, and changes in activity levels to achieve the best results in reducing symptoms and promoting overall wellness.
Types of meditation for anxiety and depression
If you’ve always resisted the idea of meditation because you don’t think you can sit still for long periods of time, we have good news: That isn’t the only type of meditation! There are actually several different ways to meditate. According to Dr. Bhanote, meditation is beneficial to most people regardless of their personality or lifestyle, but since there are various techniques to choose from, it makes sense to experiment until you find one that works for you.
Mindfulness
People often confuse meditation and mindfulness practice as the same thing, but Dr. Bhanote says that mindfulness is just one type of meditation, which encourages an individual to focus on the present moment rather than dwell on the past or fear the future. She adds that studies have shown it can reduce impulsive, emotional reactions and fixation on negative emotions, as well as reduce anxiety, stress, and depression.
In fact, mindfulness is one of the best types of meditation to practice if you have depression, says Dr. Goldman, noting that even seemingly-small things—like taking a hot shower and staying present to the temperature of the water on your skin or going for a walk and paying attention to how the Earth feels underneath your feet—can help people with depression ease into a meditation routine that benefits them in daily life.
Breath awareness
Breathing exercises are particularly helpful for people with anxiety, since restricted breathing can heighten anxious feelings and quickly worsen symptoms. Thankfully, there’s a type of meditation for that: It’s called breath awareness, or mindful breathing, and Dr. Bhanote says the most popular variation is four-eight-seven breathing (or box breathing). It can help to manage stressful situations.
“In this exercise, people breathe deeply and slowly, counting their breaths as they do so,” she explains. “The goal is to focus only on breathing and ignore any thoughts that enter the mind; similarly to mindfulness meditation, breath awareness reduces anxiety and increases emotional flexibility.”
Guided meditation
Guided meditation is a perfect entry point for meditation beginners because there are many different audio exercises and apps available that coach you, step-by-step, through your visualization and meditation sessions. This makes it easier to stay focused—a benefit for people with anxiety, who are often bogged down by overactive thought processes—and avoid getting distracted by negative thoughts, which Dr. Goldman says is a common problem people with depression have when trying to meditate.
Body scanning meditation
Per Dr. Goldman, this type of meditation involves sitting or lying down in a comfortable position and “scanning” the body from head to toe; in other words, identify any sensations, muscle tensions, or other feelings in the body, then invite your body to release those feelings. Done frequently enough, the body scanning technique can make you more attuned to how your body responds to stressors throughout the day, even when not officially meditating, and can teach you to recognize and release tension before it builds.
Although this can be helpful for many people, Dr. Goldman advises people who feel uncomfortable tuning in to their physical symptoms to avoid body scanning: “If you feel a lot of pain in your body, either because of anxiety, depression, or [some] other reason, or struggle to release muscle tension, practice with a different type of meditation.”
Progressive muscle relaxation
This type of relaxation technique is similar to body scanning. It involves tensing, then releasing muscle groups throughout the body. For example, you could start by making a fist for 20 second, then relaxing your hand for 20 seconds before moving on to other parts of your arm. It can be an effective way to combat anxiety when used to target particular tense areas.
Movement meditation
Again, banish the idea that meditation involves sitting perfectly still! Movement can also be meditative, offering clear benefits to people with depression, in particular: According to a 2019 study, higher levels of physical activity can also reduce depression symptoms and may even help prevent episodes.
So, how do you practice movement meditation, sometimes called mindful moving? Some Chinese practices, like tai chi and qi gong, emphasize slow, purposeful movements paired with deep breathing in order to maximize the mind-body connection. Other people try walking meditation, which is a blend of mindfulness and body scanning that encourages you to stay focused on the present moment and take note of your body sensations.
6 meditation tips for anxiety and depression
If you think meditation could be helpful in the treatment of your anxiety and depression, you may still be stuck on how to get started. Do you need to do it every day? For how long? And what if you just don’t get it? Here are some tips for how to start meditation for anxiety and depression.
1. Be consistent
Meditation practices are most successful when they are consistently practiced, says Dr. Bhanote: “Consistency is the key to meditation really being absorbed into your mind and having a lasting impact on your brain, including structural and functional changes.”
This means you should, first and foremost, work on making meditation a ritual. Choose a time of day when you won’t feel rushed or pressured to meditate, find a location that’s typically quiet and distraction-free, and have a plan for that day’s session so you can jump right in.
2. Aim for short, daily sessions
Before you panic about squeezing meditation into your already jam-packed schedule, know this: You can start with a one-minute meditation a day and feel zero shame about your short-and-sweet meditation sessions. Then, work your way up.
“A daily meditation practice is far more powerful than a weekly meditation session lasting 60 minutes,” Dr. Goldman says.
If you’re a true beginner, start with five minutes, and see if you can gradually increase to 10 to 20 minutes per day. And try to stick with your goal for at least eight weeks; a 2017 study found that people who meditated for 13 minutes per day for eight weeks reaped the well-being benefits of regular practice, but not those who only practiced for four weeks.
3. Put away distractions
If you need your computer or smartphone to run a guided meditation program, that’s fine…but make sure your phone is set to “do not disturb” so you’re not constantly distracted by text messages and emails. (And if you don’t need your phone to meditate, put it away completely!)
Likewise, try to choose a time when family members and coworkers aren’t around. Dr. Goldman says some choose to use their commute or lunch break to calm their bodies and destress.
4. Join a group
If you’re struggling to stick to a routine or prioritize your meditation practice, try signing up with a local group or online course. You could also ask a few friends to learn along with you and work to keep one another accountable. The CDC says that working out with a friend helps people feel more motivated, stay consistent, and be more willing to try new things, and the same is likely true for other group activities like meditation.
5. Be patient
We’ve used the word “practice” a lot with regard to meditation, and that’s because it takes, literally, a lot of practice. If you don’t know how to cook, you won’t be able to whip up a three-course French meal after just one day watching tutorials on YouTube, and the same goes for meditation!
“It might feel like you’re not meditating correctly,” Dr. Goldman says. “That’s entirely common and okay to feel that way.” Even once you improve your skills, there will still be days, she says, when you have a harder time focusing than usual—and that’s okay, too.
“Every day we sit down to meditate is a very different experience because we’re physically uncomfortable, we’re irritated, someone is honking a horn outside our home…if you’re having an off day, practice again later [or the next day],” she advises.
6. Be kind to yourself
One of the most important components to meditation, says Dr. Goldman, is non-judgment. You should try to make your meditation sessions a judgment-free zone—it’s okay if you aren’t always great at quieting your mind and it’s okay if random thoughts come and go during your meditation practice.
“Remember, your brain’s job is to think,” says Dr. Goldman. “Sometimes we feel that when we are meditating and thoughts come to mind, it means we’re bad at meditating, [but] in fact, your brain is doing exactly what it is built to do.”
Instead of judging yourself for having a brain that does its job, says Dr. Goldman, just notice the thought and then let go, without judging it (or yourself, for having it!).
Other treatment options for anxiety and depression
If you have moderate to severe anxiety disorders or depression, it’s possible you’ll need to combine meditation with talk therapy or a prescription medication designed to reduce your symptoms, too; Dr. Lagoy says meditation and medication put together can be a successful treatment approach in these cases. Talk therapy is a frontline treatement for both depression and anxiety.
There’s no one type of anti-anxiety or anti-depression medication that works well for everyone, but generally speaking, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are the frontline treatment unless you have a medical condition or take other medications that limit use of SSRIs. Some common examples include Lexapro, Zoloft, Trintellix, and Paxil.
If you can’t take SSRIs, other medication options for anxiety and depression include serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs), atypical antidepressants, tricyclic antidepressants, and monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs). Your healthcare provider can recommend the best prescription drug for you based on your symptoms, medical and family history, and other lifestyle concerns.
Once your doctor has submitted a prescription for you, save on your mental health medication by using a SingleCare savings card.
If you have thoughts of suicide or self-harm, please seek help immediately. Go to your nearest emergency room or call a help line such as the National Suicide Prevention Hotline.