[Development and effectiveness of a program for relieving 'Hwa-Byung' symptoms]

Area of Science:

• Psychiatry
• Psychology
• Public Health

Background:

• Hwa-Byung (HB) is a culture-bound Korean folk syndrome characterized by anger, anxiety, and somatic symptoms.
• Existing management strategies for HB may not fully address the complex interplay of psychological and social factors.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and evaluate a novel intervention program aimed at alleviating Hwa-Byung symptoms.
• To assess the program's impact on HB symptom severity, anger, anxiety, depression, and pain threshold.

Main Methods:

• A one-group pretest-posttest design was employed with 16 middle-aged women diagnosed with HB.
• The intervention incorporated cognitive restructuring, social support network formation, and mind-body relaxation techniques.
• Data were collected at three time points: baseline, immediately post-intervention, and one month after completion.

Main Results:

• Statistically significant reductions in the severity of state anger, state anxiety, depression, and HB symptoms were observed over time.
• Intervention led to immediate decreases in state anger and anxiety, with a slight increase at the one-month follow-up.
• Depression and HB symptoms showed continuous improvement, with significant reductions observed immediately after and one month post-intervention.

Conclusions:

• This study presents the first tailored management program for Hwa-Byung in Korea.
• The program demonstrated preliminary efficacy in reducing key Hwa-Byung symptoms, particularly depression and overall symptom severity.
• Further research with enhanced methodological rigor is recommended to refine and validate the program for broader application.