Course- Health Psychology
Stress Management Benefits in Anxiety Disorders
I found the article written by Majid, Seghatoleslam, Homan, Akhvast, & Habilto be very enlightening on how stress management helps people with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) cope and minimize their depressive symptoms. I agree with the author’s argument that generalized anxiety disorder is the most symptomatic in many patients however, it is the least treated disorder and has partial remission. Despite this, the author suggested the use of various stress management techniques in reduction of anxiety disorders. One of the techniques is stress management which involves various techniques and psychotherapies used to control and reduce the chronic stress levels in one’s body. Some of the techniques that I found interesting in the article include meditation, yoga and deep breathing exercises to help with the relaxation of the body and restfulness. When patients practice such stress management techniques, they can be assured that the quality of life is going to improve (Majid, Seghatoleslam, Homan, Akhvast, & Habil, 2012).
One of the techniques for stress management that the author focuses on throughout the research is mindfulness-based stress reduction through intensive meditation. As I learn more about Mindfulness based stress reduction (MBSR), I get to understand that the technique incorporates the use of an intensive, structured and client-centered approach to successfully reduce stress and anxiety levels in patients. As I read through the rest of the article, I got to understand that the art of mindfulness is achieved through regular practice of mindfulness meditation. This means that an individual’s major focus should be on the contents of the mind and environment awareness. As I reflected back to the beginning of the article, I learned that the major technique that could help GAD patients was to train their mind to concentrate on the present thus adapt to new ways of coping and reducing depressive symptoms. The article revealed that practicing mindfulness and other acceptance-based strategies can help one reduce symptoms of anxiety disorders thus improving a patient’s quality of life (Majid, Seghatoleslam, Homan, Akhvast, & Habil, 2012).
Another important technique that I learn from reading the article is that patients who took part in the study showed positive results. The study which incorporated MBSR techniques showed how challenging it was for anxiety disorder patients to recover. I got insights on mindful yoga and sitting meditation and most importantly, psycho education on stress management. From this section of the study, I learnt that the authors were able to prove that MBSR had benefits especially through the incorporation of cognitive exercises. The findings from study led me to understand how mindfulness-based stress reduction techniques contribute to reduction of anxiety and depressive symptoms (Majid, Seghatoleslam, Homan, Akhvast, & Habil, 2012).
In conclusion, I agree with the article’s various points of argument that anxiety disorders stems from an individual’s lack of control over worry, fear and depressive factors. I also support the use of stress management techniques in helping anxiety disorder patients reduce their levels of stress and worry. Although I understand that the use of Mindfulness-based stress reduction techniques (MBSR) has shown great success in anxiety disorder patients in comparison to the usual therapy measures, I am also left with the question of how accurate this might be. This is because the article’s sample space was minimal hence the findings might not be sufficient to support the hypothesis. I however acquired in-depth understanding of the relationship between stress management and reduction of anxiety levels in patients.
Reference
Majid, S., Seghatoleslam, T., Homan, H., Akhvast, A., & Habil, H. (2012). Effect Of Mindfulness Based Stress Management On Reduction Of Generalized Anxiety Disorder, 41(10).
