Published Paper Details:

Abstract: OBJECTIVE: Depression is one of the most common mental illnesses in the world. Depression as a disorder has always been the focus of attention of researchers. Over the last 50-60 years, large number of studies have been published from India addressing various aspects of this commonly prevalent disorder. Preksha Meditation is an effective intervention for the management of depressive Disorder. However, the influence of Preksha Meditation on depression in patients has not been studied. Therefore, the present study has been undertaken. METHODS: It was an Interventional study that consisted of two groups of patients who were suffering from Depressive Disorders. The patients were recruited from Deptt. Of Kayachikitsa and Deptt. Of Psychiatry, Sir Sundar Lal Hospital, IMS, BHU, Varanasi. The patients of experimental group A underwent Preksha Meditation practice for 30 minutes daily once in the morning for a total period of 30 days. The patients registered under control group B were kept only on medication. In each group, there were 25 patients aged between 20yrs to 60 years belonging to both sexes. The assessment of the patients was done before the start of the trial and after the session using the DASS-42 scale. RESULTS: Results showed a significant change in experimental group A as Preksha Meditation positively decreased the Depression level of subjects in comparison to Group B. CONCLUSION: Preksha Meditation can be considered as an effective non-pharmacological practice for reducing Depression which starts revealing effects in a short duration, as it relieves the Depression of the patients only after four weeks of practice. So, it can be said that this technique would have a better and more profound effect on depression management, if practiced for a longer duration.