From psychological to physical health: Exploring temporal precedence throughout emotion regulation therapy

Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is characterized, in part, by physical symptoms such as muscle tension and gastrointestinal (GI) distress. To date, little research has examined how changes in psychological symptoms associated with GAD may impact physical symptoms. This study investigated if reductions in worry, anxiety, and depression precede changes in muscle tension and GI distress throughout psychotherapy.

Participants with GAD (N = 85) completed 20 weeks of emotion regulation therapy (ERT) in addition to assessments pre, mid, and post treatment. They completed a physical symptom questionnaire, evaluating muscle tension and GI distress. Participants also completed psychological symptoms questionnaires, including the State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-7), Penn State Worry Questionnaire (PSWQ), and Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II). Control participants (N = 44) completed these measures at baseline.

Participants with GAD had significantly greater muscle tension (p <  .001) and GI distress (p <  .001) compared to control participants without GAD. Reductions in worry, depression, and trait anxiety did not precede changes in muscle tension (range of effect size (r): .05-.12). Reductions in both depression (p = 0.04) and trait anxiety (p < 0.01) preceded reductions in GI distress. Reductions in worry did not precede reductions in GI distress (p = 0.25).

These data provide preliminary evidence for the temporal effect of reductions in psychological symptoms on reductions in GI distress in GAD, highlighting the potential of psychotherapy to improve physical outcomes.