A trial in the UK has found that in place of medication, cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) can be very effective as a treatment and remain effective for several years.
Patients who took part in the trial, in which they undertook up to 18 sessions of CBT, felt the benefits for three to five years afterward.
The authors concluded that the evidence was enough that they felt CBT was cost-effective.
“Antidepressants are often prescribed for people with depression but we know that many people do not respond fully to such treatment,” according to the lead author of the trial, Nicola Wiles, from the University of Bristol.
Cognitive behavioural therapy, according to the NHS, is a talking therapy that can help people manage problems such as anxiety and depression by changing the way the patient thinks and behaves.
This type of ‘mental training’ is by no means a new approach, and is something that has been around for thousands of years in the form of meditation, and is something that western health systems seem to have just forgotten about and neglected. However, traction in the scientific circles seem to bringing the practices back to the official light.
Stress management techniques like mindfulness can really help to deal with mental health issues like depression and anxiety, and can help you to stop becoming stressed out in everyday life.
