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Can positive mental imagery help high worriers stop worrying? An experimental test
Yogini Sawjani1, Sofia Spyropoulou1, George Bougas1
1Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, United Kingdom.
Summary
Replacing worry with unrelated positive images helps high worriers stop worrying. This technique shows promise for reducing worry and anxiety, especially when guided by an experimenter.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Clinical Psychology
Background:
- Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is characterized by excessive worry.
- Existing techniques to reduce worry often involve imagery related to worry content.
- The efficacy of using unrelated positive imagery to terminate worry streams is underexplored.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if replacing worry with unrelated positive imagery can terminate worry streams in high worriers.
- To compare the effectiveness of this active condition against a control condition.
- To explore the impact of experimenter guidance on the intervention's delivery.
Main Methods:
- 201 high worriers were randomly assigned to an active condition (replacing worry with positive imagery) or a control condition.
- Participants completed a stop worry task (SWT), engaging in worry and then attempting to stop.
- Two delivery modes were explored: non-guided and experimenter-guided (videocall).
Main Results:
- Participants in the active condition were more successful at stopping worry during the SWT than the control group.
- The active condition showed greater ability in initially shifting away from worry and sustaining this shift.
- Experimenter-guided delivery enhanced the effectiveness of the active condition, leading to longer non-negative thought streams.
Conclusions:
- Replacing worry with unrelated positive imagery is an effective strategy for high worriers to stop worrying.
- This method demonstrates potential as a tool for managing and reducing worry.
- Experimenter guidance may amplify the benefits of this positive imagery intervention.
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