This randomized controlled trial evaluated the effect of a mindfulness-based mobile health (mHealth) intervention, tailored to the pandemic context, among young adult students (N = 114) with elevated anxiety and/or depressive symptoms during quarantine in China, compared to a time- and attention-matched social support-based mHealth control. At baseline, postintervention (1 month), and 2-month...
Introduction: The past several years have witnessed a significant increase in interest among the public in mindfulness with an unmistakable growth in the scientific literature investigating mindfulness-based therapies. A myriad of therapeutic uses of mindfulness have been studied. Given this burgeoning interest, the authors' objective was to conduct a broad-sweeping bibliometric analysis over...
Mindfulness has been associated with fewer negative mental health symptoms during adolescence, but fewer studies have examined longitudinal associations between mindfulness and symptoms in conjunction with two vulnerability factors for psychopathology with mindfulness: rumination and impulsivity. This study examined longitudinal associations between internalizing symptoms (depression, anxiety,...
A 6‐week study comparing the psychedelic psilocybin with the antidepressant escitalopram found no significant difference in antidepressant effects in patients with moderate to severe depression. Some secondary outcome measures favored psilocybin, but those analyses were not adjusted for multiple comparisons. Study results were published in the April 15, 2021 issue of The New England Journal of...
BJS openJuly 1, 2021Oliver Luton, O P James, K Mellor et al.
Introduction: Core surgical training programmes are associated with a high risk of burnout. This study aimed to assess the influence of a novel enhanced stress-resilience training (ESRT) course delivered at the start of core surgical training in a single UK statutory education body. Method: All newly appointed core surgical trainees (CSTs) were invited to participate in a 5-week ESRT course...
Abstract: Many scholars have argued that mindfulness meditation (MM) can be beneficial in academic contexts. Recently, researchers in second language acquisition have found that higher trait mindfulness scores indicate lower foreign language classroom anxiety (FLCA). The present study investigates if mindfulness scores can be increased, if FLCA decreases as a result of a mindfulness...
Objective: Cancer is associated with some psychological problems that play an important role in the severity and continuity of cancer. Cancer may lead to maladaptive psychological reactions such as anxiety, depression, and fatigue. Depression and anxiety are highly prevalent in cancer patients. This study aimed to compare the efficacy of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) and cognitive...
BACKGROUND: Mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) have both been shown to be effective treatment approaches for anxiety. The purpose of this paper was to directly investigate the ability of MBIs and CBT to improve anxiety symptoms (primary outcome), as well as depression symptoms and sleep quality (second outcome). METHODS: We searched the following...
Meditation is the gathering of self knowledge and the dispelling of ignorance. It enables an individual to create new attitudes and response to life, giving a clear spiritual understanding to oneself and it has assuming importance in reducing the level of anxiety and improving quality of life, in patients as well as in general population. A study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of...
Psychedelics extracted by plants have been used in religious, spiritual and mystic practices for millennia. In 1957, Dr. Hofmann have identified and synthesized the prodrug psilocybin, a substance present in more than 200 species of psychedelic mushrooms. Although the limitations related to the scientific design of many studies, clinical observations performed during the 1950s and the 1960s...
Psychedelic substances such as psilocybin and ketamine may represent the future of antidepressant treatment, due to their rapid and prolonged effects on mood and cognition. The current body of psychedelic research has focused on administration and treatment within a psychiatric context. Here, instead, we put to the test the contention that it is necessary to evaluate the current state of this...
Two systematic reviews, 3 randomized controlled trials, and 2 single-arm safety trials were identified that evaluated several combinations of psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy. Psilocybin was the psychedelic most tested. Other psychedelics identified in the systematic reviews and primary studies were 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (or MDMA), lysergic acid diethylamide (or LSD), ayahuasca...
Anorexia Nervosa (AN) is a major health problem with one of the highest mortalities and treatment costs of any psychiatric condition. Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is currently the most widely used treatment for AN in adults but provides remission rates ≤ 50%. Treatment drop-out is exceedingly high and those that persevere with treatment often relapse, causing increased risk of morbidity...
Abstract Background Ayahuasca is a classic hallucinogen with anxiolytic and antidepressive properties. Anecdotal evidence also suggests that it improves performance (eg, singing, speech). This controlled trial assessed the effects of ayahuasca on speech performance and anxiety in individuals with social anxiety disorder. Methods Seventeen volunteers with social anxiety disorder participated in...
Background: Depression, anxiety, and disordered sleep are some common symptoms associated with sub-optimal mental health. During the COVID-19 pandemic, mental health issues have grown increasingly more prevalent in the population. Due to social distancing and other limitations during the pandemic, there is a need for home-based, flexible interventions that can improve mental health. The Yoga of...
PURPOSE OF REVIEW: This is a comprehensive review of the literature regarding the use of ketamine as a treatment for treatment-resistant depression (TRD). It covers the epidemiology, risk factors, pathophysiology, and current treatment modalities regarding Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) and TRD. It provides background on the mechanism of action of ketamine, its history, current approved and...
Summary Sleep disturbances are commonly reported in patients with treatment‐resistant depression (TRD). Available data have shown that intravenous (IV) ketamine is an effective treatment for patients with TRD and growing data suggest ketamine may improve overall sleep architecture. In the present study, we evaluated whether changes in sleep symptoms mediated the anti‐depressive and/or...
Abstract Introduction Despite the rapid advance of psychedelic science and possible translation of psychedelic therapy into the psychiatric clinic, very little is known about mental health service user attitudes. Objectives To explore mental health service user attitudes to psychedelics and psilocybin therapy. Methods A questionnaire capturing demographics, diagnoses, previous psychedelic and...
Ayahuasca is a natural psychoactive brew, used in traditional ceremonies in the Amazon basin. Recent research has indicated that ayahuasca is pharmacologically safe and its use may be positively associated with improvements in psychiatric symptoms. The mechanistic effects of ayahuasca are yet to be fully established. In this prospective naturalistic study, 63 self-selected participants took...
The use of psychedelics, such as psilocybin, has emerged in recent literature as a novel therapeutic treatment for various psychiatric disorders, including substance use, depression, and anxiety. While international and domestic trials are currently underway, there is data demonstrating both the relative safety and potential efficacy of psilocybin. Psychiatric mental health nurse practitioners...