Staying well after depression
The comedian, Ruby Wax has recently revealed how she has learnt to cope with depression by practicing 'Mindfulness', an approach that integrates modern therapy with ancient meditation practices. For Ruby, mindfulness was an important element in her recovery.
Bangor and Oxford Universities, who have been instrumental in teaching and researching 'Mindfulness', are now conducting a large-scale clinical trial of this and another similar approach, to assess how effective they are in enabling people to cope with or alleviate recurrent depression. Both Centres are hoping to recruit participants to take part in the trials.
Ruby Wax has been so impressed with the difference made to her life by Mindfulness that she is now herself a mindfulness practitioner and trainer.
“Under stress the only way I can reduce my anxiety, both physically and mentally, is by practising mindfulness. My heart rate lowers, I can breathe again and my mind becomes clear so I can deal more effectively with the situation.”
Professor Mark Williams at Oxford University (formerly of Bangor University) has spent many years developing effective ways of assisting people with recurrent depression and suicidality.
"Sir Winston Churchill famously described it as his 'black dog': depression can be a recurrent illness. People who have had one major attack of depression are more likely to experience further episodes. Our research, however, has shown that people can learn skills to stay well. The key things are to see the warning signs early enough, then to be able to stand back from the whirlpool of negative thoughts and feelings so you do not get sucked into it. It takes some effort to learn how best to do this, but it can be done."
Over 300 people are being recruited to take part in the trial, with half the number to be recruited in North Wales and half in Oxfordshire. Some will take part in the mindfulness programme, while others will receive an alternative group therapy to enable the researchers to see what elements of the approach are most helpful. A third group will wait for treatment, then choose which treatment they’d like to have.
Mindfulness is described as a way of approaching internal and external experience with a sense of openness, acceptance and non-judgement. Practicing mindfulness helps people to approach whatever they're coping with in a new way. Mindfulness helps the individual to become more accepting of their emotions - and in turn, this can reduce the stress caused by these emotions.
"The way in which we react to stressful or emotional situations we face can cause further stress. Mindfulness is effective in reducing this extra layer of difficulty and struggle. When practiced by people with chronic pain, for example, the acceptance of pain reduces the struggle we experience around the pain and so reduces stress. This can often have the effect of reducing the actual experience of the pain,’ explains Rebecca Crane, Director of Training at Bangor University's Centre for Mindfulness Research and Practice.
"We know that in people with depression, fear of the return of depression can create a way of reacting to feelings of sadness which feeds the downward spiral into depression. Mindfulness helps individuals to see clearly and accept the state of mind that they are in and to respond rather than react to it. In this way it can become possible to step out of the ‘loops’ we get caught up in," she adds.
People wanting to know more about participating in the trial can gain information from Bangor University freephone number 08001216065 or Oxford University freephone number 08000836130.
For more information about Mindfulness visit: www.bangor.ac.uk/mindfulness/
