Using Meditation to Help treat Depression and Anxiety in College Students 1

Using Meditation to Help Treat Depression and Anxiety in College Students

Molly Taylor

ENG 101 Arizona State University

 Using Meditation to Help treat Depression and Anxiety in College Students 2

Abstract:

This paper looks at the use of meditation as a potential solution to anxiety and depression

occurring in University Students.

Keywords: Depression, Anxiety, Meditation, Treatment, College, Students

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A survey printed by the American Psychological Association in 2013 showed that anxiety

and depression are listed as the two top concerns amongst college students, anxiety at 41.6% and

depression placing slightly lower at 36.4%, as reported by the AUCCCD in their annual survey.

As a college student myself I can definitely identify with anxiety being a big part of my life, and

know more than a few friends in college that struggle with both anxiety and depression. College

was a big step forward for me and I’m sure it was for most. There’s a lot of pressure on college

students to perform well, to be a part of the social culture, and not to mention that it’s many

students first time living alone. All of these factors combined can have large effects on mental

health. More recently meditation has been looked at as a possible solution to easing anxiety and

depression in college students. The purpose of meditation is to put your mind at rest, so to speak,

for any given amount of time. It’s often associated with different breathing techniques and

postures. It is an activity that involves your cooperation from your entire body and mind, leading

to a relaxing state. The following image shows a illustration on the basic “how-tos” of

meditation.
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With the new found popularity and awareness of meditation, there have been a lot more inquiries

into using mediation as a form of treatment for numerous diseases.

The primary reason that people dismiss meditation as a method to prevent and treat

depression and anxiety in college students, is that there is a lack of conclusive research on the

matter. This is true that much of the research done on meditation is not conclusive and alludes to

other research needing to be done. However, this is because meditation is such a new method,

and is just recently gaining popularity and momentum behind the movement to bring attention to

it. That being said most of the research done on meditation has found positive correlation and

none of them disprove meditation helping with anxiety and depression, which is why meditation

should still be seriously considered amongst other treatments. There are also many people who

practice meditation and can personally attest to the positive benefits of meditation and how it

impacts their mental health.

A research article done at Saint Louis University, School of Nursing titled “Mindfulness-

based meditation to decrease stress and anxiety in college students:” examined the effects of

mindful meditation on the anxiety of colleges students. They examined 40 different studies

regarding anxiety in students altogether. From these studies it was shown that in 33 of 40 studies

there was significant decreases in anxiety. The conclusion of the study was that the use of

meditation in college students showed a decrease in stress and was promising as a further

treatment, despite the fact that more research would need to be done. This supports the argument

that there is evidence of positive results through mediation despite the inconclusiveness of the

research articles. Already college students are incorporating meditation into their routines to help

with the pressures of university. At the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a large amount of

students has started participating in a twice a week group meditation. It’s run by the university’s
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student run stress management program. Many students that are a part of the program say they

see differences in how they manage stress, and often find a lot more purpose in and out of their

careers.

In regards to the depression that many college students face, another study printed by the

American Psychological Association titled “Mindfulness Holds Promise for Treating

Depression” references a research article published by Johns Hopkins University that says that

the combination of meditative practices with cognitive therapy can not only be as effective as

antidepressant, but can actually prevent the reoccurrences of depression. Which is such a huge

stride, to be able to not only help treat depression in college students, but to help prevent the

relapse of depression.

Somewhere along the way of researching meditation I began to actually become

interested in it myself. Lately, as the end of my first year of college approaches, I have been

feeling more and more anxious. I decided to try out meditating regularly for at least a month. At

first I didn’t see much of a difference, but as I began to meditate more and more regularly I’ve

definitely seen improvements with my anxious feelings. Although I’m only on my second week,

I feel that my headspace has been a lot clearer. I find it easier to manage assignments and my

schedule without having my mind racing. Because I have done it for such little time, and am not

clinically diagnosed I found a YouTube video of a girl who has both depression and anxiety, and

uses meditation among other thing to help her manage them. The girls name is Amy Young and

in the video she speaks about how meditation helps her with her depression and anxiety. How

she started with the smallest of time and can now meditate for 20 minutes and up. Her testimony

shows how the slow progression and consistently of doing meditation has positively impacted

her life. The link is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hPZEdGSXnpA to her video.

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College is a rough time for almost everyone, but it should also be a really fun time in

your life. Letting anxiety and depression caused by the pressures of university run your life,

shouldn’t be your only option. I urge college students to look into mindful meditation as a

solution to these mental health problems. Feel free to research into the benefits of mediation, and

better yet to do as I and many other have done, and try it. Meditation can be for as little a 5

minutes a day, once a day, which is way less than the average college student probably spends

watching Netflix.
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References

Bamber, M. D., & Schneider, J. K. (2016). Mindfulness-based meditation to decrease stress and

anxiety in college students: A narrative synthesis of the research. Educational Research

Review,18, 1-32. doi:10.1016/j.edurev.2015.12.004

College students’ mental health is a growing concern, survey finds. (2013, June). Retrieved April

19, 2018, from http://www.apa.org/monitor/2013/06/college-students.aspx

A. (2014, April 24). Depression & Anxiety - What Helped Me. Retrieved April 19, 2018, from

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hPZEdGSXnpA&t=360s

Herreria, C. (2016, March 23). Why Students At Elite Colleges Are Turning To Meditation.

Retrieved April 19, 2018, from https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/college-meditation-

yesplus_us_56dcfb12e4b03a4056790a27

Lu, S. (2015). Mindfulness holds promise for treating depression. Retrieved April 19, 2018, from

http://www.apa.org/monitor/2015/03/cover-mindfulness.aspx