For people who suffer from anxiety disorders, including obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), they might find that meditation may ease anxiety. A new study also suggested that meditation isn’t necessarily better than other types of relaxation techniques for treating anxiety disorders or commonly known as panic attack.

Comparison between meditations to other relaxation techniques has been studied and reviewed by researcher, and found out that both alternative therapies were equally effective in reducing anxiety.

No side effects were associated with meditation, but 33%-44% of the participants in the studies have dropped out, although no side effects were associated with meditation, which suggests that people with anxiety disorders or panic attack may have a problem maintaining a meditation regimen.

Meditation vs. Relaxation
During the study, researchers have reviewed research on meditation and other different types of relaxation techniques. Two studies that stand out comparing meditation to other relaxation techniques met the researchers’ criteria for review.
The first is the comparison of transcendental meditation to relaxation therapy and EMG (electromyography) biofeedback.

Transcendental meditation is done by focusing the mind on an object until the mind achieves stillness. By using EMG biofeedback, muscle relaxation is measured and this teaches people how to control and maintain their own level of muscle relaxation. The second study is to compare mindfulness meditation, which encourages awareness of one’s thoughts while maintaining detachment, to Kundalini yoga. Kundalini yoga is best known to include a meditative form of breathing also known as pranayama. Both studies done by researchers have showed that meditation was comparable to other forms of relaxation therapy in reducing anxiety overall. But to draw firm conclusions about the effectiveness of meditation in the treatment of anxiety disorders remains difficult because only a small groups of people are only involved in the studies.
In particular, the results showed:

• • Relaxation and meditation techniques will improve overall healthness and resulted in improved scores on measures of anxiety, current mood, and symptoms of distress, but sleep disturbances did not improve.
  • Work, social functioning, and family relations also improved among all treatment groups, but marital relations and sex life were not affected.
  • Kundalini yoga wasn’t as effective in treating obsessive-compulsive disorders as mindful meditation, although participants who practiced this form of yoga had more improvement on scores of perceived stress and purpose in life.