Savoring meditation trial reported depression improvement, with anxiety benefit unclear
Chinese college students with elevated depression and anxiety were assigned to savoring meditation or a waitlist. Depression symptoms improved in the meditation group, but anxiety differences between groups were not statistically clear.
Based on the published abstract. The full paper may contain additional methods, results and limitations.
The 30-second takeaway
The meditation group reported reduced depression during and after the intervention, with improvement maintained at follow-up. Anxiety decreased within that group, but the comparison with the waitlist did not establish an anxiety benefit. Positive feelings also did not change significantly. The results therefore support a narrower conclusion about depression symptoms than about emotional disorders overall.
The trial involved college students, a waitlist comparator, and brief follow-up. The abstract does not provide changes in original symptom-score units, making the practical size of the depression improvement difficult to judge.
What researchers found
Reported depression symptoms
In the meditation-versus-waitlist trial, improvement was reported during and after the 2-week intervention and maintained at the 1-month follow-up.
The emotional strategy being studied
The intervention targeted a strategy of sustaining unpleasant feelings to make later pleasant feelings seem stronger by contrast. Researchers assessed this strategy alongside depression, anxiety, and beliefs about savoring, or appreciating positive experiences.
Related measures had different results
Beliefs about savoring improved, and contrast-seeking decreased during treatment. Negative feelings also declined, while positive feelings did not change significantly. These differing results should not be combined into a claim that every aspect of emotional well-being improved.
The original publication
Savoring meditation for emotional disorders: Targeting positive emotion regulation deficits.
Kishimoto T, Hao X, Qian J
J Anxiety Disord · 2025
- PubMed ID
- 40714519
- Record checked
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