Reduction of medication in transcendental meditation practitioners

Abstract

By providing relaxation of body and mind, the regular practice of Transcendental Meditation (TM) can reduce the use of drugs. The aim of this study was to evaluate the reduction of medication use in regular Sidhi Transcendental Meditation (TM) in the city of Maringá, northwestern Paraná. At the of, a structured questionnaire was answered by 46 Shida meditators from a university extension project developed at the State University of Maringá, main campus. It was observed that by learning to meditate, 23.9% of the interviewees stopped using drugs, mainly psychotropic drugs; 21.7% decreased the dosage of analgesics and/or anti-inflammatory drugs, and 6.5% incited the pharmacological treatment of chronic underlying diseases. Of the total respondents, 60.9% reported having self-medicated during their lives, and 17.4% of the possible pharmacological combinations presented the possibility of drug interaction, mainly between psychotropic and/or analgesic drugs with themselves or with other drugs. Psychic, physiological, social and environmental factors can influence the development and treatment of pathologies. It is concluded that by reducing the use of drugs and possible drug interactions, TM is a possible alternative to complement the treatment of diseases related mainly to the central nervous system and avoid the indiscriminate use of over-the-counter drugs.