Some surprisingly good news about anxiety
January 7, 2020
Science Daily/University of Toronto
Anxiety disorders are the most common type of psychiatric illness, yet researchers know very little about factors associated with recovery. A new University of Toronto study investigated three levels of recovery in a large, representative sample of more than 2,000 Canadians with a history of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD).
The study reports that 72% of Canadians with a history of GAD have been free of the mental health condition for at least one year. Overall, 40% were in a state of excellent mental health, and almost 60% had no other mental illness or addiction issues, such as suicidal thoughts, substance dependence, a major depressive disorder or a bipolar disorder, in the past year,
The definition of excellent mental health sets a very high bar. To be defined in excellent mental health, respondents had to achieve three things: 1) almost daily happiness or life satisfaction in the past month, 2) high levels of social and psychological well-being in the past month, and 3) freedom from generalized anxiety disorder and depressive disorders, suicidal thoughts and substance dependence for at least the preceding full year.
"We were so encouraged to learn that even among those whose anxiety disorders had lasted a decade or longer, half had been in remission from GAD for the past year and one-quarter had achieved excellent mental health and well-being," says Esme Fuller-Thomson, lead author of the study. Fuller-Thomson is Director of the University of Toronto's Institute for Life Course and Aging and Professor at the Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work and the Department of Family & Community Medicine.
"This research provides a very hopeful message for individuals struggling with anxiety, their families and health professionals. Our findings suggest that full recovery is possible, even among those who have suffered for many years with the disorder," she says.
Individuals who had at least one person in their lives who provided them with a sense of emotional security and wellbeing were three times more likely to be in excellent mental health than those without a confidant.
"For those with anxiety disorders, the social support that extends from a confidant can foster a sense of belonging and self-worth which may promote recovery" says co-author Kandace Ryckman, a recent graduate of University of Toronto's Masters of Public Health.
In addition, those who turned to their religious or spiritual beliefs to cope with everyday difficulties had 36% higher odds of excellent mental health than those who did not use spiritual coping. "Other researchers have also found a strong link between recovery from mental illness and belief in a higher power," reports Fuller-Thomson.
The researchers found that poor physical health, functional limitations, insomnia and a history of depression were impediments to excellent mental health in the sample.
"Health professionals who are treating individuals with anxiety disorders need to consider their patients' physical health problems and social isolation in their treatment plans" says Ryckman.
The researchers examined a nationally representative sample of 2,128 Canadian community-dwelling adults who had a generalized anxiety disorder at some point in their lives. The data were drawn from Statistics Canada's Canadian Community Health Survey-Mental Health. This research was published online ahead of press this week in the Journal of Affective Disorders.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/01/200107131832.htm
People with anxiety may strategically choose worrying over relaxing
September 30, 2019
Science Daily/Penn State
Relaxing is supposed to be good for the body and soul, but people with anxiety may actively resist relaxation and continue worrying to avoid a large jump in anxiety if something bad does happen, according to Penn State research.
In a new study, the researchers found that people who were more sensitive to shifts in negative emotion -- quickly moving from a relaxed state to one of fear, for example -- were more likely to feel anxious while being led through relaxation exercises.
Michelle Newman, professor of psychology, said the results could help benefit people who experience "relaxation-induced anxiety," a phenomenon that occurs when people actually become more anxious during relaxation training.
"People may be staying anxious to prevent a large shift in anxiety, but it's actually healthier to let yourself experience those shifts," Newman said. "The more you do it, the more you realize you can do it and it's better to allow yourself to be relaxed at times. Mindfulness training and other interventions can help people let go and live in the moment."
Hanjoo Kim, a graduate student in psychology, said the study also sheds light on why relaxation treatments designed to help people feel better can potentially cause more anxiety.
"People who are more vulnerable to relaxation-induced anxiety are often the ones with anxiety disorders who may need relaxation more than others," Kim said. "And of course, these relaxation techniques were meant to help, not make someone more anxious. Our findings will hopefully serve as a cornerstone for providing better care for these populations."
Newman said that while researchers have known about relaxation-induced anxiety since the 1980s, the specific cause of this phenomenon has remained unknown. When Newman developed the contrast avoidance theory in 2011, she thought the two concepts might be connected.
"The theory revolves around the idea that people may make themselves anxious intentionally as a way to avoid the letdown they might get if something bad were to happen," Newman said. "This isn't actually helpful and just makes you more miserable. But, because most of the things we worry about don't end up happening, what's reinforced in the brain is, 'I worried and it didn't happen so I should continue worrying.'"
For this study, the researchers recruited 96 college students. Participants included 32 people with generalized anxiety disorder, 34 people with major depressive disorder and 30 controls with neither disorder.
When the participants arrived at the lab, the researchers led them through relaxation exercises before having them watch videos that may elicit fear or sadness. The participants then answered a list of questions designed to measure how sensitive they were to changes in their emotional state. For example, some people may be uncomfortable with the negative emotions incited by the videos right after relaxing, while others might find the relaxation session helpful in dealing with those emotions.
Next, the researchers led the participants through a relaxation session once more before having them fill out a second survey. These questions were designed to measure the participants' anxiety during the second relaxation session.
After analyzing the data, the researchers found that people with generalized anxiety disorder were more likely to be sensitive to sharp spikes in emotion, like going from feeling relaxed to feeling scared or stressed. Additionally, this sensitivity was linked to feeling anxious during sessions intended to induce relaxation.
The researchers found similar results in people with major depressive disorder, although the effect wasn't as strong.
Kim said he hopes the results -- recently published in the Journal of Affective Disorders -- may help clinicians provide better care for people with anxiety.
"Measuring relaxation-induced anxiety and implementing exposure techniques targeting the desensitization of negative contrast sensitivity may help patients reduce this anxiety," Kim said. "Also, it would be important to examine relaxation-induced anxiety in other disorders, such as panic disorder and persistent mild depression."
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/09/190930114737.htm
Pollen allergies occur more frequently in anxiety sufferers
Interplay between psychological factors and allergies in the research spotlight
May 28, 2019
Science Daily/Technical University of Munich (TUM)
Seasonal allergies to different types of grass or tree pollen are more common in people with anxiety disorders, while patients with depression are more likely to suffer from perennial allergies triggered by allergens such as animal hair. Conversely, food and drug allergies were unaffected by these psychosocial disorders.
The team interviewed over 1,700 people from the Augsburg area of Germany about their allergies. Led by Claudia Traidl-Hoffmann, Director of the University Center for Health Sciences at University Hospital Augsburg (UNIKA-T) and Professor of Environmental Medicine at TUM, the team differentiated between perennial or non-seasonal allergies -- such as those triggered by house dust mites or animal hair, seasonal allergies caused by grass pollen for instance, and allergies to other substances such as food.
The study participants also answered questions about their psychological health. The focus here was on depression, generalized anxiety disorders -- which affect all aspects of daily life -- and acute mental stress. "There are studies that focus on the psychological components of skin diseases or allergic asthma. For the first time, we are now able to show a connection with seasonal allergies," explains Katharina Harter, the publication's lead author. Around a quarter of those surveyed (27.4%) stated that they suffered from allergies, with 7.7 percent reporting perennial, 6.1 percent seasonal, and 13.6 percent other forms of allergic reactions.
Proven influence of psychological factors
It turned out that people with generalized anxiety disorders also suffered more often from pollen allergies, but not from year-round allergies. Statistically, these were actually less frequent in the group of anxiety sufferers. A possible explanation for this might be that people with persistent allergies develop different coping strategies to deal with stress, which protect them from anxiety disorders.
On the other hand, there was a positive correlation between perennial allergies and depression or depressive episodes. However, the structure of the study did not allow for clarification of whether allergies increase susceptibility to depression or whether depression itself is a risk factor for allergies. What surprised the research team was the fact that psychological factors had little -- if any -- influence on the occurrence of food and drug allergies.
Further investigation planned
Possible mitigating factors that could compromise causal relationships were statistically excluded in this study. These included age, smoking/non-smoking status, gender, and family predispositions (e.g. to allergic asthma). However, Harter also outlines the study's weaknesses: "We have a relatively high average age of 61 years, so younger people are rather underrepresented here. The findings are also based on personal reports rather than official allergy diagnoses. But we have blood samples from all participants and intend to scientifically verify this point," she confirms. According to Prof. Traidl-Hoffmann, what this study particularly underscores is the importance of devoting sufficient time to patients. This is the only way to complement clinical evaluations with psychosocial aspects to support an integrated therapeutic approach, such as that practiced by the University Outpatient Clinic for Environmental Medicine at UNIKA-T.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/05/190528120450.htm