Category Archives: Stress
Psychoneuroimmunology and Anxiety: A Collection of Current Studies
Psychoneuroimmunology, Anxiety, Stress, and Inflammation Duivis HE, Vogelzangs N, Kupper N, de Jonge P, Penninx BW. Differential association of somatic and cognitive symptoms of depression and anxiety with inflammation: findings from the Netherlands Study of Depression and Anxiety (NESDA). Psychoneuroendocrinology. … Continue reading
Mindfulness and Obesity-Related Eating
Obesity is closely related to eating behaviors including binge eating, emotional eating and external eating (O’Reilly et al., 2014). Mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) have been found to be helpful for easing the obesity problem by improving eating behaviors. A meta-analysis examined … Continue reading
Benefits of Qigong Exercise for Elderly with Depression
Researchers in Hong Kong performed a randomized controlled trial to investigate the psychosocial influences of Qigong on elderly with depression (Tsang et al., 2006). A total of 82 participants with depression were involved in the study. The intervention group received … Continue reading
The Effects of Qigong and Tai Chi on Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
Researchers at Boston University explored the effects of Qigong and Tai Chi on helping survivors of torture and refugee trauma (Grodin et al., 2008). They assessed the general effects of torture and refugee trauma, emphasizing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). They … Continue reading
The Effects of Qigong on Pain and Fibromyalgia (FMS)
Researchers investigated the effects of Qigong on pain using functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) (Yu et al., 2007). They examined four male Qigong masters who had more than 30-year experience of Qigong practice. The researchers observed the change of brain … Continue reading
Psychoneuroimmunology, Meditation, and Stress Management
Stress, Chronic Diseases, and Psychoneuroimmunology Stress, Depression, Inflammation, and Psychoneuroimmunology Meditation is a mind-body practice that may help with the management of stress. It may reduce the allostatic load and improve the overall well-being both mentally and physically. There are … Continue reading
Anxiety and Vaccine Responses in Early Adolescence
Stress, Chronic Diseases, and Psychoneuroimmunology Stress, Depression, Inflammation, and Psychoneuroimmunology The field of psychoneuroimmunology (PNI) focuses on the studies of the interactions among psychological activities such as stress, and the nervous and immune systems. Many evidences have been identified through … Continue reading
Mindfulness Meditation for Sleep Disorders in Older Adults
Among older adults, sleep disturbances are frequently complained. However, the problems have very limited therapeutic choices. Approaches from mind-body medicine such as mindfulness meditation may help improve sleep quality in this population group with sleep problems. A randomized clinical trial … Continue reading
Psychoneuroimmunology and Anxiety Disorders
Stress, Chronic Diseases, and Psychoneuroimmunology Stress, Depression, Inflammation, and Psychoneuroimmunology The incidence of psychiatric disorders including anxiety, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and obsessive-compulsive disorders (OCD) is getting higher and higher in the modern world (Furtado and Katzman, 2015). These problems … Continue reading
Stress and Inflammatory Biomarkers in Psychiatric Disorders among Children and Adolescents
Inflammation, immune dysfunctions, and abnormal cytokine levels have been closely related to psychiatric disorders among adult patients in recent studies in psychoneuroimmunology (PNI). How about the associations between cytokine concentrations and psychosocial stress in children and adolescents (C&A)? A recent … Continue reading
Stress, Dysfunctional Attitudes, and Genetic Factors
What are the relationships among dysfunctional attitudes, stressful events, and genetic factors? How can these factors influence daily emotions? A multi-level daily diary study among 104 young adults was done to find out the links (Conway et al., 2015). The … Continue reading
What is Psychodermatology
Stress, Chronic Diseases, and Psychoneuroimmunology Stress, Depression, Inflammation, and Psychoneuroimmunology Skin disorders are often associated with psychological conditions such as stress and anxiety. With more and more evidences linking mind and body, some novel disciplines are emerging, such as Psychodermatology. … Continue reading
Stress, Childhood Trauma, and Diseases
Psychological stress is an essential factor in health and illnesses. Stress has been closely related to the onset and progression of various psychiatric and physical disorders such as anxiety, depression, asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, heart diseases, pain, and cancers (Slavich, 2016). … Continue reading
Anxiety, Depression, and Seasonal Allergic Rhinitis (SAR)
Increasing evidences have indicated the strong connections between seasonal allergic rhinitis (SAR) and psychological conditions, especially anxiety and depression. A recent study done in Germany explored the roles of anxiety and depression in the patients with SAR (Trikojat et al. … Continue reading
Meditation and Social Anxiety
Social anxiety disorder (SAD) is featured with emotional biases and inaccurate negative self-beliefs. In a recent study, researchers investigated the effects of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) on emotional responses and the regulation of negative self-beliefs in 16 patients with social … Continue reading
Yoga and Anxiety
Different relaxation and meditation techniques may have different effects on relieving anxiety. Some techniques may induce better results than others. For example, researchers in India compared the effects of two yoga relaxation techniques on memory and state anxiety among 57 … Continue reading
Anxiety and Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy
The training of mindfulness may be beneficial for people with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) is a group treatment applying cognitive strategies focusing on mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR). It integrates the practice of mindfulness meditation with cognitive … Continue reading
Depression, Anxiety, and Mindfulness-Based Programs
Non-depressed participants with a history of relapsing depression may be protected from relapse by participating in an 8-week course of Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT). The researchers in the UK examined the effectiveness of MBCT on active symptoms of depression … Continue reading
Fatigue, Pain, and Stress Relief Meditation
Mental stress may deprive oxygen in muscles and cause exhaustion, tense, and ache all over the body. This is because the body’s response to psychological stress is to burn more energy. Such fast burning of energy may result in exhaustion … Continue reading
The Effects of Meditation on Rheumatoid Arthritis with Recurrent Depression
Mindful meditation interventions have been applied for helping relieve chronic stress, depression, and pain. Researchers at Arizona State University studied the effects of cognitive behavioral therapy and mindfulness interventions on pain and the quality of life among patients with rheumatoid … Continue reading
Meditation as An Effective Intervention for PTSD
Meditation training may be useful for relieving posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), including depression and anxiety symptoms. Researchers at Pacific Graduate School of Psychology studied the effects of meditation among mental health workers in New Orleans 10 weeks after Hurricane Katrina … Continue reading
Stress Responses and Meditation
The fight-or-flight reaction is the body’s response to mental stress including job deadlines and major life changes. During this response, the stress hormones including adrenaline and cortisol are produced to promote your response capability. Your heart rate is faster to … Continue reading
Meditation while Living: A Mindfulness Way for Prevention of Illnesses
We have learned to pay attention since childhood. However, most of us hardly pay attention to our mind-body connection. Mindfulness, a form of meditation that helps you become aware of each moment, can be achieved by paying attention to your … Continue reading
Meditation for Stress Reduction and Healing Diseases
Although stress response is an adaptive reaction, long-term and chronic stress is harmful to health. Different people may have different symptoms and signs caused by stress. Adrenal glands are usually involved in stress responses and generate hormones including adrenaline and … Continue reading
