By CRAIG LEACH Staff Writer

Is school stressing you out? Fretting over finances? Do you have the winter doldrums? Relief may be a fruit bowl away. 

Members of the Jugglers of the University of Guelph at Turbofest, a Quebec City juggling convention. Submitted photo

Although this is the first time Dr. Peter Bieling has heard of using juggling to treat anxiety and depression, he says the study “is not radical.” Bieling is the manager for Mood and Anxiety Services and Geriatric Services at St. Joseph’s Healthcare and associate professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ont. He notes the study did not follow the strongest methodology and he suggests follow-up would require comparing juggling with a similar activity. However, he does attribute some value to the research.

He says any activity “engrosses the mind so as to nothing else can intrude” would benefit patients dealing with anxiety and depression. The research studied the treatment of 17 female subjects identified as having a variety of anxiety disorders. All the subjects were treated with standard psychotherapy, medication and counselling methods for six months.

During the final three months of treatment, the group was randomly divided into two groups: one that learned to juggle and one that did not. After the treatment period, researchers in the Department of Behavioural Medicine at Kagoshima University in Japan, using a series of statistical analysis tests, determined the subjects who learned to juggle showed a greater decrease in anxiety, depression and stress levels.

Researchers also contributed to previous research that has shown learning complex tasks, such as juggling, increases grey matter in the brain. “I don’t find those results particularly surprising,” says Mike Moore, 19, who is studying nanoscience at the University of Guelph and is a member of the Jugglers of the University of Guelph Club. Moore, who began juggling four years ago, says he used to experience frequent bouts of motion sickness and insomnia, but since he began juggling on a regular basis, these have occurred less often.

He adds that he believes juggling has taught him “to be patient and [to] accept and deal with constant failure.” Louis Barbier, 22, a juggler of five years and member of the University of Toronto Engineering Juggling Club, appreciates the sense of relaxation brought on by juggling. “I juggle when I want to clear my mind and forget everything going on around me.

It’s like a form of meditation,” says Barbier, who is working on a master’s degree in molecular genetics at the University of Toronto. Bieling adds that meditation is not an unheard of therapy for the treatment of anxiety and depression. He says most people with anxious and depressed feelings tend to ruminate on these “poisonous thoughts,” so an activity that allows patients to “get lost in their mind” or focus on something else would be positive.

Juggling also offers Barbier an outlet for creative expression, something he says he would not have the opportunity to do otherwise, as he does not pursue many creative activities. Drawing a comparison with music therapy, Bieling says having a creative outlet that challenges you and requires focus has been shown to provide long-term benefits.

However, he adds, many patients do not challenge themselves. James Sylvain, 22, of St. Catharines, taught himself to juggle during breaks while employed in the produce department of a big chain grocery store.

“In the beginning, I sacrificed a lot of apples, peppers and peaches,” says Sylvain in explaining the learning curve of juggling, adding, “In hindsight, I should have used potatoes.” When told the scientific study’s conclusion, Sylvain is not surprised. “Even after just a few minutes of juggling, the tension sort of leaves your shoulders and you can’t help but get a smile on your face.”