Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) is an acceptable and beneficial treatment for severe health anxiety. In interviews three months after completing an MBCT course, most participants reported improvements in both health anxiety and broader functioning. Notably, the practice of focusing attention on bodily sensations did not worsen their health anxiety. Participants described cultivating a new approach to health anxiety and to life in general, though some identified barriers to experiencing change through MBCT.
Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) may reduce thought suppression in people with a history of depression and suicidality, but effects depend on how thought suppression is measured. In a randomized controlled trial, 68 participants were assigned to MBCT or a waitlist control. MBCT did not reduce thought suppression on the White Bear Suppression Inventory, but it did significantly reduce self-reported attempts to suppress thoughts in the previous week. The findings provide preliminary evidence that MBCT for suicidality could lessen thought suppression, though different measures yield different results and further research is needed.
In a qualitative study alongside a randomized controlled trial in the Netherlands, most young women with major depressive disorder who completed a 9-week mindful yoga intervention reported both positive (81.0%) and negative (65.5%) experiences. Positive effects most often included positive affect, meta-cognition, and physical relaxation; negative effects most often included meta-cognition, agitation or irritability, and physical inflexibility. The findings suggest that mindful yoga can yield a range of outcomes, and the authors argue that future research should assess both positive and negative effects more broadly and systematically.