Active clinical trials for "Stress, Psychological"

Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) is a well-known antioxidant that is involved in anxiety, stress, depression, fatigue and mood state in humans . The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of low doses of vitamin C on decreasing the level of public speaking stress in term of salivary cortisol , blood pressure (systolic and diastolic) and heart rate . A purposive sample of (90) were included in this randomized placeboled trial study (60 students were given 500 mg of vitamin c per day for one week a group presentation while 30 other students were given placebo for one week before a group presentation) . Salivary cortisol was measured by means of commercial immunoenzymatic kits . Blood pressure (systolic and diastolic) and heart rate were measured immediately before and after presentation .

The purpose of the study is to investigate whether an occupational therapy program could enhance mental health outcomes for veterans who SCUBA dive. SCUBA diving requires modified breathing techniques and has been found to provide calming effects to individuals who engage in this activity. Occupational therapy interventions such as mindfulness, journaling, and deep breathing techniques can also provide similar calming effects. Therefore, this study will explore whether occupational therapy can provide additional benefits to overall mental health of veterans who SCUBA dive.

Psychological stress occurs when an individual perceives that environmental demands tax or exceed his or her adaptive capacity. In this view, stressful experiences are conceptualized as person-environment transactions, whose result is dependent on the impact of the external stimulus. This is mediated by the person's appraisal of the significance of the stimulus, of the personal, social and cultural resources available and of the efficacy of the coping efforts. Extreme levels of stress can have a negative influence on one's professional life and can disrupt both the social and personal life of an individual. Stress can also cause different physiological and psychological disorders such as anxiety, chronic headaches, depression, withdrawal symptoms, nausea, phobias, blood pressure problems, heart impairments and others. Stress Management Therapy can help to overcome counter effects of stress. Usually various techniques are used including relaxation, interaction, biofeedback and Cognitive Behavior Therapy methods. According to the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews the best validated approach covering both stress management and stress treatment is the Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) approach. The trouble with stress is that it is very personal. Thus, stress-related disorders depend a great deal on how the person experiencing a stressor is put together -psychologically and physically. So the focus for assessment, prediction and treatment has to be the person's situated experience. To overcome the above limitations, the INTERSTRESS project suggests the adoption of a new paradigm for e-health - Interreality - that integrates contextualized assessment and treatment within a hybrid environment, bridging physical and virtual world. From the clinical point of view the INTERSTRESS solution may offer the following innovations to current traditional protocols for stress management: Objective and quantitative assessment of user's stress level using biosensors and behavioral analysis; Provision of warnings and motivating feedbacks to improve self awareness, compliance and long term outcome; Decision Support System (DSS) for treatment planning through data fusion and detection algorithms.

The present study is designed to test the feasibility and efficacy of a stand alone self help program for decreasing stress and anxiety and enhancing quality of life. The intervention will be offered in the form of a self help book and three handouts with no in-person instructor time.

This study examines whether a mindfulness-based self-help book is effective at reducing healthcare workers' levels of stress and improving their wellbeing.

Little is known about perioperative stress responses and possible anxiety mitigating factors like audiovisual aids or IV sedation. Most studies use surrogate markers and retrospective questionnaires, and are not based on real-time gathered data. Skin conductance measurements allow the sympathetic discharge to be evaluated down to fractions of a second and enable us to continuously monitor stress responses as skin conductance responses/per second during the perioperative management. In our study, the investigators propose to examine the effect of personal audiovisual equipment (audio/video goggles) on perioperative stress, pain, and overall experience in patients undergoing ambulatory meniscectomy under spinal anesthesia. Patients will be randomly assigned to either receive traditional sedation or light sedation in addition to audiovisual equipment. The investigators hope to determine outcome estimates of the use of this equipment on stress levels using skin conductance measurements, request for further sedation, postoperative pain levels and analgesic consumption, time to discharge readiness, and overall patient satisfaction, and collect thus far unavailable data on the stress response to perioperative stresses (such as IV insertion and spinal placement) in order to allow for power analyses for future studies.

The aim of this study is to test the effects of a digital meditation intervention in a sample UCSF employees who report mild to moderate stress. We will randomize UCSF employees to either 8-weeks of a digital meditation intervention (using the commercially available application Headspace) or a waitlist control condition.

High blood pressure, or hypertension, is a serious problem in the African-American (AA) population which affects nearly 7 of every 10 AAs in our area. Previously the investigators showed that a significant number of AAs held onto or retained salt during mental stress (sodium retainers). The investigators believe that the increased salt load and resulting blood pressure load contributes to the eventual development of hypertension in these individuals. The purpose of this study is to find out if this response is due to the direct stimulation of the kidney (the organ that controls salt levels in the body, by the brain). To do this, the investigators will determine if a drug that stops the connection between the brain and the kidney during mental stress will prevent sodium retention in sodium retainers. Prazosin is an alpha adrenergic receptor blocker that has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). None of the subjects who participate in this study have high blood pressure. The subjects will not know which testing week is the drug week and which is the placebo week.

The purpose of the study is to better understand effects of the Mindfulness-Based Stress-Reduction (MBSR) program on the physical and emotional health and well-being of adults ages 65 and older. The effects MBSR may have on the immune system is investigated, including how these effects relate to factors such as perceived health, psychological well-being, age, personality, and mood.

Our uncontrolled study of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) for urban youth suggests benefits in mental health and quality of life outcomes. To evaluate further the specific effects of MBSR, we are conducting a small randomized controlled trial of the MBSR program compared with a health education program.