Question: How effective is mindfulness at treating/managing anxiety?

Answer:

Plain language summary

Good quality research evidence suggests that overall Mindfulness or Mindfulness based Therapies are effective in treating anxiety disorders in adults. However, more trials need to be conducted to test specific types of mindfulness based therapies for anxiety.

Clinical research implications

There was a moderate amount of moderate quality evidence from two randomised controlled trials, and three systematic reviews to suggest that mindfulness-based therapies can be effective for reducing anxiety levels in adults with an anxiety disorder. Improvements in depression, life satisfaction and sleep were also observed.

Further trials are needed to compare internet-based mindfulness medication to other internet-based treatments, and to compare mindfulness and acceptance-based interventions to other current treatments for anxiety disorders.

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