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MINDBODY MEDICINE RESEARCH The Benson-Henry Institute for MindBody Medicine ALLEVIATION OF PMS SYMPTOMS WITH THE RELAXATION RESPONSE Department of Medicine, New England Deaconess Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts. During a 5-month study, we examined the effects of the relaxation response on premenstrual syndrome in 46 women who were randomly assigned to one of three groups: a charting group, a reading group, and a relaxation response group. The relaxation response group showed significantly greater improvement than the charting and the reading groups on physical symptoms. There was a significant group-by-severity effect for charting versus relaxation response and for reading versus relaxation response on symptoms measured daily, on emotional symptoms measured retrospectively, and on symptoms of social withdrawal measured retrospectively. Women with severe symptoms in the relaxation response group showed a 58.0% improvement, compared with a 27.2% improvement for the reading group and a 17.0% improvement for the charting group. We conclude that regular elicitation of the relaxation response is an effective treatment for physical and emotional premenstrual symptoms, and is most effective in women with severe symptoms.
We have investigated prospectively the efficacy of two nonpharmacologic relaxation techniques in the therapy of anxiety. A simple, meditational relaxation technique (MT) that elicits the changes of decreased sympathetic nervous system activity was compared to a self-hypnosis technique (HT) in which relaxation, with or without altered perceptions, was suggested. 32 patients with anxiety neurosis were divided into 2 groups on the basis of their responsivity to hypnosis: moderate-high and low responsivity. The MT or HT was then randomly assigned separately to each member of the two responsivity groups. Thus, 4 treatment groups were studied: moderate-high responsivity MT; low responsivity MT; moderate-high responsivity HT; and low responsivity HT. The low responsivity HT group, by definition largely incapable of achieving the altered perceptions essential to hypnosis, was designed as the control group. Patients were instructed to practice the assigned technique daily for 8 weeks. Change in anxiety was determined by three types of evaluation: psychiatric assessment; physiologic testing; and self-assessment. There was essentially no difference between the two techniques in therapeutic efficacy according to these evaluations. Psychiatric assessment revealed overall improvement in 34% of the patients and the self-rating assessment indicated improvement in 63% of the population. Patients who had moderate-high hypnotic responsivity, independent of the technique used, significantly improved on psychiatric assessment and decreased average systolic blood pressure from 126.1 to 122.5 mm Hg over the 8-week period. The responsivity scores at the higher end of the hypnotic responsivity spectrum were proportionately correlated to greater decreases in systolic blood pressure and to improvement by psychiatric assessment. There was, however, no consistent relation between hypnotic responsivity and the other assessments made, such as diastolic blood pressure, oxygen consumption, heart rate and the self-rating questionnaires. The meditational and self-hypnosis techniques employed in this investigation are simple to use and effective in the therapy of anxiety.
Department of Medicine, New England Deaconess Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston. This study evaluated the efficacy of the relaxation response on the post-operative recovery of 27 cardiac surgery patients randomly assigned to one of two groups. Thirteen experimental group patients received educational information and practiced eliciting the relaxation response before and after surgery. The 14 patients in the control group received only information. Experimental and control groups were compared before and after surgery on both physiological and psychological recovery variables. There were no initial differences between experimental and control groups on demographic, physiological, and most psychological variables. The experimental group had lower incidence of postoperative supraventricular tachycardia (SVT) than the control group despite having had the same occurrence previously. Experimental and control groups did not significantly differ over the course of study on any other physiological variables. Patients practicing the relaxation response had greater decreases in psychological tension and anger than those who received only educational information. The decreases in psychological tension may have been a result of regression to the mean because the experimental group started with elevated tension relative to the control group. We conclude that practicing the relaxation response before and after surgery may reduce SVT, tension, and anger.
New England Deaconess Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts. There is increasing evidence that a behavioral treatment approach might be efficacious in the treatment of the emotional aspects of infertility and may lead to increased conception rates. The first 54 women to complete a behavioral treatment program based on the elicitation of the relaxation response showed statistically significant decreases in anxiety, depression, and fatigue as well as increases in vigor. In addition, 34% of these women became pregnant within 6 months of completing the program. These findings established a role for stress reduction in the long-term treatment of infertility. They further suggest that behavioral treatment should be considered for couples with infertility before or in conjunction with reproductive technologies such as intrauterine insemination and gamete intrafallopian transfer.
Center for Stress and Anxiety Disorders, University at Albany, State University of New York, 12203, USA. lannekeefer@aol.com Ten of thirteen original participants with Irritable Bowel Syndrome
(IBS) participated in a one year follow-up study to determine whether
the effects of Relaxation Response Meditation (RRM) on IBS symptom
reduction were maintained over the long-term. From pre-treatment
to one-year follow-up, significant reductions were noted for the
symptoms of abdominal pain, diarrhea, flatulence, and bloating.
When we examined changes from the original three month follow-up
point to the one year follow-up, we noted significant additional
reductions in pain and bloating, which tended to be the most distressing
symptoms of IBS. It appears that: (1) continued use of meditation
is particularly effective in reducing the symptoms of pain and
bloating; and (2) RRM is a beneficial treatment for IBS in the
both short- and the long-term.
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