Stress Reduction Techniques and Anxiety: Therapeutic and Neuroendocrine Effects

Current therapies for Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) have limited effectiveness. This study measures the efficacy of two different approaches to reducing anxiety and stress. One approach uses education, nutrition, exercise, and time management training, and another uses mindfulness meditation and yoga, which is taught as part of the Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) course, an 8-week manualized mindfulness intervention. We hypothesize that the two approaches will reduce anxiety in individuals with GAD in different ways. We will measure changes in stress hormones associated with these changes.

Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) is an 8-week group intervention that trains participants in mindfulness meditation techniques.

Stress Management Education (SME) is an 8-week group intervention that educates participants about stress physiology and health lifestyle changes.

The Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HAMA) was defined as the primary anxiety outcome variable. This scale has 14 items describing symptoms of anxiety, each answered on a 0-4 scale, with 0 for a single question generally representing no symptoms, and 4 representing severe levels of the symptom. The total score is calculated by adding all the items together, for a possible total score of 0 to 56.

This is an overal clinical measure of anxiety symptoms after examining and interviewing the patient. The scale is one global item, that scores from 1 (1= not ill at all) to 7 (7= among the most extremely ill).

Inclusion Criteria: Adults with generalized anxiety disorder medically healthy Exclusion Criteria: substance abuse history of other psychiatric diagnoses such as psychosis, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, PTSD use of certain types of psychotherapy, meditation training, yoga pregnant or lactating women

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Hoge EA, Bui E, Marques L, Metcalf CA, Morris LK, Robinaugh DJ, Worthington JJ, Pollack MH, Simon NM. Randomized controlled trial of mindfulness meditation for generalized anxiety disorder: effects on anxiety and stress reactivity. J Clin Psychiatry. 2013 Aug;74(8):786-92. doi: 10.4088/JCP.12m08083.