Meditation Versus Medication
C. Andrade, A. C. Andrade
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Case study Case report Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 2 |
| Population | Two male psychiatric outpatients: a 55-year-old businessman with panic disorder and agoraphobia, and a 28-year-old unemployed college dropout with major depression and past mania |
| Interventions | Transcendental meditation (TM) alprazolam lorazepam diazepam propranolol dothiepin imipramine |
| Dose | alprazolam 2 mg/day; lorazepam 6 mg/day; diazepam 15 mg/day; propranolol 120 mg/day; dothiepin 200 mg/day then 150 mg/day; imipramine 300 mg/day then 150 mg/day |
| Duration | Case 1: 5 TM sessions over 1 week, 6-month follow-up; Case 2: 3.5 months prior pharmacotherapy, improvement within 1 week, 3-month follow-up |
| Measures | Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Key findings | Both patients experienced marked symptom relief after beginning transcendental meditation, with one reporting near-total relief from panic and agoraphobia and the other's depression score dropping from 30 to 6. The authors present these as dramatic improvements following TM practice, while noting that little literature exists on TM for psychiatric disorders. |
Abstract
We report two cases whose psychiatric dysfunction failed to respond to pharmaco-therapy, but which dramatically 'melted' with the practice of transcendental meditation (TM). Case 1: R., a 55 year old businessman, was diagnosed as Panic Disorder (severe) with Agoraphobia (mild) (American Psychiatric Association, 1987). Over 3 years of illness, he had received alprazolam (2 mg/day), lorazepam (6 mg/day), diazepam 15 mg/day), propranolol (120 mg/day) and dothiepin (200 mg/day), in 2-3 divided doses, alone or in various combinations, the prescriptions in each instance being increased to the tmximum tolerated dose (s). Despite rigid adherence (corroborated by R.'s wife) to the medication schedules prescribed for adequate periods, R. never observed more than 10-15% relief in severity of symptoms and frequency of panic. When ho presented to us, his hope for succour was complicated by a reluctance to be (further drugged; therefore, after discussing the pros and cons with him, we suggested that white he continue his current prescription of 150 mg of dothiepin in a single nighttime dose, he attended a course on TM at an 'ashram' in the same city. After 5 TM sessions over 1 week, R. reported near-total relief from both panic and agora-phobia. This improvement was maintained by regular practice of TM over 6 months' follow-up, despite tapering oil and withdrawal of his medication. Presently, R. meditates regularly, and is both symptom and drug-free. Case 2:—J., a 28 year old (male) unemployed college dropout with a past history of mania, wa? receiving imipramine for his first episode of Major Depression (American Psychiatric Association, 1987)-After 3J months of unsuccessful pharmacotherapy (including 8 fruitless weeks on the current dose of 300 mg/day) and 3 serious suicide attempts, he learnt from A mutual friend of R.'s (Case 1) benefit from TM. J. continued his medicatiou but decided (on his own) to undergo the TM course. Within a week, he experienced marked improvement: Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression scores dropped from 30 to 12 and with continued practice of TM, reduced to 6 over 2 further weeks. Three months Liter, with TM-j-Imipramine (150 mg/day), J. remains sysmptom-free, T.M. is a form of meditation which facilitates relaxation and which has been claimed to reduce psychological dysfunction as well as enhance positive mental health; regrettably, little literature is available on TM for psychiatric disorders (West and Singer, 1980; Holmes, 1984>. While neither of our 2 cases had exhausted their medication options for their respective …
Comparable studies
Other case reports and case series on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brain sources of EEG gamma frequency during volitionally meditation-induced, altered states of consciousness, and experience of the self Advanced meditator | 2001 | Case study | n = 1 |
| Mindfulness Meditation for Alcohol Relapse Prevention: A Feasibility Pilot Study Adult alcohol-dependent graduates of an intensive outpatient program | 2008 | Prospective case series | n = 19 |
| How does it feel to lack a sense of boundaries? A case study of a long-term mindfulness meditator. A single long-term mindfulness practitioner (S) with 40 years of practice in... | 2015 | Qualitative case study | n = 1 |
| Loving‐kindness meditation to enhance recovery from negative symptoms of schizophrenia Individuals suffering from schizophrenia-spectrum disorders with persistent negative... | 2009 | Case study | |
| Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for Problem Gambling A female problem gambler | 2011 | Case study | n = 1 |