Antidepressants are the third most prescribed drug in the United States. That is a lot of unhappy people. The medicines help, otherwise there would not be such a demand. 60 Minutes ran an episode that showed 70% of antidepressant use is placebo: http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7399362n. Whatever works!
Now, meditation has been shown to reduce the same symptoms as antidepressants. So, what’s the difference? One way, I can take a pill, the other, I have to do something which takes time and effort. The difference is, one treats the symptom of unhappiness and the other treats the root cause of unhappiness. There is a principal in Chinese medicine that I like, “treat both the branch and the root”.
Medication vs. Meditation Infographic (Click for full size)
I have had many patients and students who were taking antidepressants when they began their meditation practice. It provided them stability and pain relief. Then, when they started to work with the root of their stress and unhappiness, the antidepressants were reduced or eliminated. For example, people began to calm down, they took time to reflect about their lives, and they began to see and understand their struggle. When this happens, the symptoms and the root causes are relieved. Many also came to a point where the side effects of the medicines, such as weight gain and diminished sex drive, were more of a problem than the degree of unhappiness.
Meditation was part of a Mind/Body Medicine class a few of us taught at Kaiser Hospital. In this program, many people were gradually able to reduce other medications as well; heart and diabetic medications, and sleeping aids. Their doctors could measure the change. After the class, many of the people came to an on-going meditation group that I led. Some of the people had been diagnosed with chronic pain and were on antidepressants. Eventually many did not consider themselves chronic pain patients. It took awhile, but the root causes were being addressed, so the symptoms were also reduced or eliminated.
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Root causes can be simplified here. For example, death of a loved one, abuse of any kind, poverty, racism, ridged religious conditioning, divorce, confused parents, etc. These are ways that we have been hurt, scared, and shamed that still disturb us, that still continue to hurt, but we push them away from everyday awareness especially with the use of certain medicines. Some days this emotional pain is not outside our awareness, it overwhelms us or causes us to do things that are harmful to ourselves and others.
Symptoms have to be dealt with. Physical and mental pain can be crippling. It seems as if we should, “just get over it”. But it looks as if that theory doesn’t work by these statistics on antidepressant use. These underlying root causes need to be dealt with. If there is anything else you can do to work with these root causes, do it, little by little, but do it. It doesn’t have to be meditation, it can be psychotherapy with someone you trust, a spiritual practice of some sort, time in nature, art, anything that soothes your soul and provides insight and meaning in life. Whatever works!
