MentalHealthDaily

Online MBCT for Cancer Distress: 9-Month Trial Data

by GLOOM

MHD featured image for online mindfulness-based cognitive therapy and cancer-related distress.

A 2026 analysis followed 161 people with cancer for 9 months to evaluate whether 2 forms of online mindfulness-based cognitive therapy reduced psychological distress: therapist-led group-blended care and individual self-guided modules. Psychological distress improved significantly in both formats, but fewer participants dropped out when the program included therapist-led group sessions. Research Highlights Distress improved through …

7-Day Mind-Body Retreat Changed Brain Networks and BDNF Pathways

by GLOOM

MHD featured image for a 7-day mind-body retreat and BDNF pathway signals.

A 7-day mind-body retreat study in 20 healthy adults found pre/post shifts across fMRI brain networks and plasma biology, with p values as low as 0.000003.1 Those numbers are striking, but the design was observational, so the honest reading is biological signal without causal isolation. Research Highlights Neural signal was broad: Meditation-state fMRI showed lower …

24-Minute Yoga Did Not Lower Cortisol in a 19-Person Stress Pilot

by GLOOM

MHD featured image for acute yoga and stress biomarkers.

A 2026 randomized exploratory pilot found that a single 24-minute yoga session did not significantly lower salivary cortisol or salivary alpha-amylase compared with quiet sitting in 19 stressed adults.1 The acute yoga signal was physiological but not the simple stress-biomarker drop that wellness claims often imply. Research Highlights Biomarker claim failed: Yoga did not significantly …

Hwa-Byung Digital ACT Therapy Improved Anger and Depression

by GLOOM

A single-arm Hwa-byung digital therapeutic pilot found good app engagement and large pre-post symptom changes, but the absence of a control group keeps the result in feasibility territory. The ACT-based Hwa-free app improved Hwa-byung symptoms, depression, state anger, psychological flexibility, and quality-of-life scores over 4 weeks, with some gains maintained at 8 weeks.1 Research Highlights …

10-Minute Digital Meditation Reduced Anxiety, Mind Wandering

by GLOOM

A 299-person remote randomized trial found that 10 min of daily focused-attention meditation reduced anxiety and mind wandering more than waitlist control, with the strongest gains among adults who started with higher internalizing symptoms. Research Highlights Anxiety improved in the randomized phase: Glick et al. randomized 299 meditation-naive adults and found greater 8-week Generalized Anxiety …

Digital Mindfulness for GAD: Machine Learning Predicted App Engagement

by GLOOM

MHD featured image for digital mindfulness engagement prediction in generalized anxiety disorder.

A 2026 machine-learning analysis of 110 adults with generalized anxiety disorder predicted 2-week digital mindfulness engagement with R2 = 82.1% in a top-10 predictor model, and the model favored mindfulness prompts over self-monitoring prompts for engagement (d = 1.447, p < .001).1 The calibrated read is that engagement with brief app-based mindfulness may be matchable, …

Bhagavad Gita and Yoga Reduced Healthcare-Worker Anxiety in 68-Person Trial

by GLOOM

MHD featured image for yoga, Bhagavad Gita teaching, and healthcare-worker anxiety.

A 68-person randomized trial in Indian healthcare workers found a narrow but useful pattern: combined yoga plus Bhagavad Gita teaching beat usual care immediately on GAD-7 anxiety scores (p = 0.009), while Gita teaching alone beat usual care at 45 days (p = 0.047).1 Yoga alone improved within its own arm, but it did not …