Washington, A study found that treating anxiety can be achieved through meditation as an alternative to medicine.

For the first time, scientists compared patients who took an intensive eight-week mindfulness meditation program to patients who took escitalopram, the generic name of the widely-prescribed and well-studied anxiety drug Lexapro. They found that both interventions worked equally well in reducing debilitating anxiety symptoms. The study was published in JAMA Psychiatry.

The researchers took 276 adults diagnosed with untreated anxiety disorders such as generalized anxiety, panic disorder, or social anxiety and split them into two randomized groups. One group received a 10 to 20 mg daily dose of Lexapro – a standard beginning dose. The other half was assigned to weekly two-and-a-half hour mindfulness classes at a local clinic, 45 minutes of daily meditation homework for eight weeks, as well as a day-long retreat weekend class around week five or six. The researchers found that both methods had similar effects in treating anxiety.

Source: Oman News Agency