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The Chinese medicine construct "stagnation" in mind-body connection mediates the effects of mindfulness training on depression and anxiety.

Herman H M Lo, Siu-Man Ng, Cecilia L W Chan, K F Lam, Bobo H P Lau

Complementary Therapies in Medicine August 1, 2013 DOI: 10.1016/j.ctim.2013.05.008 (opens in new tab)

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Study at a glance

AI-extracted from the abstract
Characteristics Randomized controlled trial Peer reviewed
Sample size 82
Population Individuals with depressive and anxiety symptoms
Intervention Compassion-Mindfulness Therapy
Topics Anxiety Depression Meditation
Keywords Mediator Mindfulness meditation Mindfulness training Stagnation
Key findings Stagnation partially mediated the effects of Compassion-Mindfulness Therapy on depression and anxiety.

Abstract

Previous studies have identified different, but highly correlated variables explaining the effects of mindfulness training. Many of them are limited by tautological explanation. Under the framework of the mind-body connection, mindfulness training cultivates body awareness and promotes self-management of illness. Stagnation, a concept from Chinese medicine, may help explain the mechanism of change in mindfulness training. Individuals with depressive and anxiety symptoms (n=82) were randomized to either a Compassion-Mindfulness Therapy (C-MT) program or a waitlist control condition. The effect of stagnation as a mediator was investigated for dependent variables including depression, anxiety, and other physical and mental health variables. Depression, anxiety, stagnation, physical distress, daily functioning, positive affect, negative affect. Compared with the participants in the control group, those who completed C-MT demonstrated significant decreases in depression, F(1, 78)=15.67, p<.001, anxiety, F(1, 78)=7.72, p<.001, stagnation, F(1, 78)=4.96, p<.001, and other body-mind-spirit well-being measures. After entering the change in stagnation as the mediator, the effect of treatment reduced: depression (.35-.22), anxiety (.33-.05), and same patterns in other three secondary measures. The Sobel test was administered and significant reductions between group and depression (z=2.18, p=.029), anxiety (z=2.21, p=.027), and three secondary other measures (p<.05) were indicated. The study provides initial support for the role of stagnation in mediating changes in mindfulness training. It adds evidence to body-mind nondualism and offers new possibilities in studying treatment process and change mechanism.

Comparable studies

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Study Year Design Participants
Prevention of relapse/recurrence in major depression by mindfulness-based cognitive therapy. Recovered recurrently depressed patients 2000 Randomized controlled trial n = 145
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Pilot Study of Psilocybin Treatment for Anxiety in Patients With Advanced-Stage Cancer Adults with advanced-stage cancer and anxiety 2010 Double-blind, placebo-controlled study n = 12

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