Mindfulness exercises could be just as effective as anxiety drugs, study finds

BOSTON – A new study finds mindfulness could be just as effective as drugs at treating anxiety.

In a randomized clinical trial, researchers at Georgetown University assigned 276 people with anxiety to receive either a guided mindfulness-based stress reduction program or a popular antidepressant, escitalopram.

Both groups experienced about a 30% drop in the severity of their anxiety symptoms.

Mindfulness techniques do require an investment of time to reap the mental health benefits, but drugs used to treat anxiety disorders can have unwanted side effects and some people do not respond well to them.

Mallika Marshall, MD

Mallika Marshall, MD is an Emmy-award-winning journalist and physician who has served as the HealthWatch Reporter for CBS Boston/WBZ-TV for over 20 years. A practicing physician Board Certified in both Internal Medicine and Pediatrics, Dr. Marshall serves on staff at Harvard Medical School and practices at Massachusetts General Hospital at the MGH Chelsea Urgent Care and the MGH Revere Health Center, where she is currently working on the frontlines caring for patients with COVID-19. She is also a host and contributing editor for Harvard Health Publications (HHP), the publishing division of Harvard Medical School.

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