Autumn, the time of spiced lattes, harvest festivals, and family dinners, is a beloved season for many people. However, the change of weather and family holiday stress can also be a source of stress and depression. If you or someone you love is suffering from depression, mindfulness-based cognitive therapy could be the perfect treatment to beat your depression.

October is National Depression Awareness Month. This month we should encourage people to get screened and seek treatment, because unfortunately, depression is a common mental disorder. According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, 15 million American adults suffer from Major Depression Disorder. The World Health Organization reports that 350 million people around the world suffer from depression.

While millions of people do seek treatment, relapse does. One expert has even stated that the relapse rate for one particular antidepressant is 30 percent over a one-year period. Luckily new studies show that mindfulness-based cognitive therapy can help lower depression relapse rate.

The University of Oxford has a mindfulness center. The researchers there recently conducted a study on mindfulness therapy and the recurrence of major depression. The researchers found that four out of five people who end their therapy without ongoing treatment are likely to relapse.

Fortunately, mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) could be a great solution.

With MBCT, people are taught mindful skills to reduce further depression episodes and they have proved useful. After analyzing nine trials, researchers found that “people who received MBCT were 31 percent less likely to relapse during the 60-week follow-up compared with those who did not receive MBCT.” The data from some of the trials even showed that MBCT participants who ended their therapy and in some cases even reduced or discontinued their antidepressant medication were 23 percent less likely to relapse, compared to those who did not receive MBCT and continued with their meditation.

MBCT isn’t just for those susceptible to relapses or even people who are depressed. It can be used to combat exhaustion, anxiety, and just general unhappiness. Are you interested in learning more? The Oxford Mindfulness Centre offers some suggestions. Would you like to teach mindfulness to others? The center even offers instruction programs.