[Situational anxiety in myasthenia gravis]

Neuromuscular block can cause anxiety. These known experimental results lead to the expectation of conditioned phobic reactions in myasthenia gravis. A sample of 240 patients with the disease do not show the theoretically expected results in the Fear-Survey-Schedule. But interindividual variation of anxiety corresponds to some clinical parameters, relevant for the disease. Patients with facial muscular symptoms have higher values on social phobia but no higher scores on a depression-scale. Opposite to the facial-feedback theory, this result supports the hypothesis, that intersubjective feedback is more significant to the development of the emotional reaction than proprioceptive (facial) feedback. Social anxiety also covariates with defensive coping-strategies. Implications for supportive psycho(behaviour)therapy are discussed.