I'm The ASMR Psychologist. Welcome to this new ASMR Whispering series where I'll be sharing
with you the latest and, I guess, what I feel is the most interesting news in the world
of psychology. And today, I'm going to share with you an
article from Science Daily which discusses how some people may actively choose to worry,
rather than to relax. Now, if you have any questions for me about
psychology, or mental health, or ASMR, if you go to the 'About' section in my channel
description, there's a link there that you can follow to ask me any questions.
Okay, so, let's read this article. Okay.
Relaxing is supposed to be good for the body and soul, but people with anxiety may actively
resist relaxation and continue worrying to avoid a large jump in anxiety if something
bad does happen, according to Penn State research. In a new study, the researchers found that
people who were more sensitive to shifts in negative emotion -- quickly moving from a
relaxed state to one of fear, for example -- were more likely to feel anxious while
being led through relaxation exercises. Michelle Newman, professor of psychology,
said the results could help benefit people who experience "relaxation-induced anxiety,"
a phenomenon that occurs when people actually become more anxious during relaxation training.
"People may be staying anxious to prevent a large shift in anxiety, but it's actually
healthier to let yourself experience those shifts," Newman explains. "The more you do
it, the more you realise you can do it, and it's better to allow yourself to be relaxed
at those times. Mindfulness training and other interventions can help people let go and live
in the moment." Hanjoo Kim, a graduate student in psychology,
said the study also sheds light on why relaxation treatments designed to help people feel better
can potentially cause anxiety. "People who are more vulnerable to relaxation-induced
anxiety are often the ones with anxiety disorders who may need relaxation more than others,"
Kim said. "And of course, these relaxation techniques are meant to help, not to make
someone more anxious. Our findings will hopefully serve as a cornerstone for providing better
care for these populations." Newman said that while researchers have known
about relaxation-induced anxiety since the 1980s, the specific cause of this phenomenon
has remained unknown. When Newman developed the contrast avoidance theory in 2011, she
thought the two concepts might be connected. "The theory revolves around the idea that
people make themselves anxious intentionally as a way to avoid the letdown they might get
if something bad were to happen," Newman said. "This isn't actually helpful and just makes
you more miserable. But, because most of the things we worry about don't end up happening,
what's reinforced in the brain is, 'I worried and it didn't happen so I should continue
worrying.'" For this study, the researchers recruited
96 college students. Participants included 32 people with generalised anxiety disorder,
34 people with major depressive disorder, and 30 controls with neither disorder.
When the participants arrived in the lab, the researchers led them through relaxation
exercises before having them watch videos that may elicit fear or sadness. The participants
then answered a list of questions designed to measure how sensitive they were to changes
in their emotional state. For example, some people may be uncomfortable with the negative
emotions incited by the videos right after relaxing, while others might find the relaxation
session helpful in dealing with those emotions. Next, the researchers led the participants
through a relaxation session once more before having them fill out a second survey. These
questions were designed to measure the participants' anxiety during the second relaxation session.
After analysing the data, the researchers found that people with generalised anxiety
disorder were more likely to be sensitive to sharp spikes in emotion while going from
feeling relaxed to feeling scared or stressed. Additionally, this sensitivity was linked
to feeling anxious during sessions intended to induce relaxation.
The researchers found similar results in people with major depressive disorder, although the
effect wasn't as strong. Kim said he hopes the results -- recently
published in the Journal of Affective Disorders -- may help clinicians provide better care
for people with anxiety. "Measuring relaxation-induced anxiety and
implementing exposure techniques targeting the desensitisation of negative contrast sensitivity
may help patients reduce this anxiety," Kim said. "Also, it would be important to examine
relaxation-induced anxiety in other disorders,
such as panic disorder and persistent mild depression."
Okay, that's the end of the article, I hope it was enjoyable for you.
If you did enjoy it, give me an up thumb, and maybe drop a
comment in the comments section. And, of course, if you're not already part of my community,
maybe consider subscribing and hitting that notification button. But, in the meantime,
enjoy the rest of your day, and I'll see you soon.