Anxiety management training for anxiety states: positive compared with negative self-statements

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Clinical Psychology
• Behavioral Therapy

Background:

• Chronic anxiety and panic attacks significantly impact quality of life.
• Anxiety-management training is a therapeutic approach to mitigate these symptoms.
• Self-instruction strategies are explored as a component of anxiety treatment.

Observation:

• Twelve patients with chronic anxiety and panic attacks participated.
• Participants received six weekly sessions of anxiety-management training.
• Training involved either positive or negative self-statements.

Findings:

• Both positive and negative self-statement groups showed improvement in anxiety symptoms.
• A modest trend favored positive self-instruction over negative self-instruction.
• Long-term follow-up suggested a continued benefit for positive self-instruction.

Implications:

• Positive self-instruction may be a more effective strategy in anxiety management.
• Further research is needed to isolate the specific contribution of self-instruction versus other therapeutic factors.
• Findings suggest potential for refined anxiety treatment protocols incorporating targeted self-statement techniques.