A mindfulness meditation course may be as effective at reducing anxiety as a common medication, according to a new study.
根据一项新的研究，正念冥想课程在缓解焦虑方面也许和常规药物一样有效。
The research, published on November 9 in JAMA Psychiatry, involved a group of 276 adults with untreated anxiety disorders. Half of the patients were randomly selected to take 10 to 20 mg of escitalopram, the generic form of Lexapro, a common medication used to treat anxiety and depression. The other half were assigned to an eight-week course in mindfulness-based stress reduction.
这项研究于11月9日在《美国医学会精神病学杂志》（JAMA Psychiatry）上发表。研究项目涉及276名患有焦虑障碍且未经治疗的成年人。在这个由276人组成的试验小组中，一半的患者被随机安排服用10到20mg的艾司西酞普兰（依地普仑的学名，是一种用于治疗焦虑和抑郁的常规药物）。另外一半的患者被安排参加为期8周的正念减压课程。
The results were stunning: Both groups experienced about a 20% reduction in their anxiety symptoms over the eight-week period.
结果令人吃惊：在经过8周之后，两个小组的焦虑症状都减少了大约20%。
Elizabeth Hoge, the lead author on the study and the director of the Anxiety Disorders Research Program at Georgetown University Medical Center, told CNN that she hopes the research can open up more treatment options for patients with anxiety.
Elizabeth Hoge，该研究的主要作者兼乔治敦大学医学中心焦虑障碍研究项目的主任向CNN表示，她希望这项研究能够为焦虑症患者提供更多的可选方案。
“Lexapro is a great drug; I prescribe it a lot,” she said. “But it’s not for everyone.”
“依地普仑非常不错；我经常给患者开这个药。但是这个药并非适合所有人，”她表示。
Meditation could be prescribed in lieu of medication for patients who experience severe side effects or have allergies to anti-anxiety medications, for instance, Hoge says. And starting meditation could also be a first step for people who have untreated anxiety and are wary of medication.
Hoge表示，对于那些服用抗焦虑药物后产生严重副作用或对药物过敏的患者而言，冥想可以作为药物的替代。对于那些还尚未治疗焦虑症且对药物比较谨慎的患者，开始冥想可能成为对抗焦虑的第一步。
But the research shouldn’t be a trigger for patients to stop taking their medication without consulting a doctor. “If someone’s already taking a medication, they can try meditation at the same time,” Hoge said. “If they wanna come off the medication, they should talk to their doctor.”
但是，对于那些已经开始服药的患者而言，他们不应该因为这项研究而自行停药。“如果有人已经开始服用药物，则可以同时试试冥想，”Hoge表示。“如果想要停止服药，则应该咨询医师。”
How mindfulness works
正念的作用原理
The patients assigned to the meditation group participated in a specific program called mindfulness-based stress reduction, first developed by Jon Kabat-Zinn in the 1970s. The program is secular but based on some Buddhist teachings.
被分配到冥想组的患者参加的是一个特定的、被称为正念减压的项目。这个项目最先由Jon Kabat-Zinn在20世纪70年代提出。这个世俗的项目以某些宗教教义为基础。
“It’s like a skill you practice,” Hoge said. “People learn to have a different relationship with their thoughts. In the practice, we train people to just let go of the thoughts, be patient and gentle with the thoughts, just let them pass.”
“冥想类似于某项需要练习的技能，”Hoge表示。“人们学着与自己的想法建立不同的关系。在实践中，我们训练人们不要抓住想法不放，耐心温柔地对待自己的念头并让它们在脑海中掠过。”
The “practice of doing that over and over lets people put a little distance between themselves and their thoughts,” she said.
“这个一遍遍让念头掠过的练习可以让人们在自己和念头之间拉开一点距离，”她表示。
Patients shouldn’t expect meditation – or medication – to completely eliminate their anxiety, according to Hoge. “It’s normal to have anxiety,” she said. “But we can make it quiet down a little bit.”
在Hoge看来，患者不应该期望冥想-或药物-完全消除焦虑。“焦虑是一种正常的情绪，”她表示。“我们可以做的是让焦虑不那么强烈。”
“People think meditation is hard, that you have to keep your mind clear of thoughts,” she said. “That is not the case. You’re still meditating even if you’re having thoughts. Just having the intention to meditate counts.”
“人们认为冥想很难，因为你必须心无杂念，”她表示。“其实事实并非如此。即使你的心中有杂念，你还是在冥想当中。只有有冥想的意愿就可以。”
And Arpaia says that meditation can help disrupt the feedback loops that foster anxiety.
Arpaia表示，冥想可以帮助打破产生焦虑的反馈回路。
“Anxiety tends to be something that feeds on itself,” he said. “What happens is a person becomes anxious, which impairs their cognitive and social skills. As the person starts to feel more impaired, that builds anxiety.”
“焦虑往往会自我演绎，”他表示。“焦虑是当一个人变得焦虑时，他（她）的焦虑情绪会破坏他们的认知和社交技能。而当他（她）开始感觉更多能力遭到破坏时，焦虑情绪又会进一步加剧。”
Anxiety isn’t the only challenge that meditation might help patients address.
焦虑并非是药物帮助患者应对的唯一挑战。
A study published in the American Journal of Nursing in 2011 found that an eight-week mindfulness program was just as effective as antidepressants for preventing a relapse of depression.
一项在2011年发表在《美国护理学期刊》的研究发现，在防止抑郁复发方面，为期8周的正念课程和抗抑郁药物一样有效。
Hoge said that different meditation programs might be appropriate for helping treat depression and ADHD, among other conditions.
Hoge表示，不同的冥想项目可能有助于治疗抑郁症和多动症，以及其他疾病。
“I think there’s great promise there,” she said.
“我认为冥想具有很大的前景，”她表示。
来源：美国有线新闻网
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