Evidence-Based Reviews

Complementary treatments for anxiety: Beyond pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy

Current Psychiatry. 2018 July;17(7):29-30,32,34-36

References

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3. Siddiqui R, Gawande S, Shende T, et al. SSRI-induced coagulopathy: is it reality? Therapeutic Advances in Psychopharmacology. 2011;1(6):169-174.
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5. Slomski A. Blended CBT controls anxiety in cancer survivors. JAMA. 2017;318(4):323.
6. Forsell E, Bendix M, Holländare F, et al. Internet delivered cognitive behavior therapy for antenatal depression: a randomised controlled trial. J Affect Disord. 2017;221:56-64.
7. Lilliengren P, Johansson R, Town JM, et al. Intensive Short-Term Dynamic Psychotherapy for generalized anxiety disorder: A pilot effectiveness and process-outcome study. Clin Psychol Psychother. 2017;24(6):1313-1321.
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Qigong

In Chinese medicine, Qi is known as a vital life force that flows through the body. The disruption of Qi is hypothesized to contribute to disease.²¹

Qigong is a medical therapy that focuses on uniting the body, breath, and mind to improve health.²¹ It consists of rhythmic, choreographed movements used to position the body into postures believed to help direct Qi to specific areas in the body. Qigong also uses sound exercises, in which an individual creates certain syllables while breathing. Six syllables are used, each of which is believed to affect a certain organ.²¹

Korean researchers randomly assigned 32 healthy men to a Qigong training group or a sham Qigong control group.²² Individuals in the training group performed 25 minutes of sound exercises, 20 minutes of meditation, and 15 minutes of movements. The control group learned the same movements as the experimental group, but without the conscious effort of moving Qi. After 3 sessions, those in the Qigong training group had significantly decreased STAI scores and serum cortisol levels compared with those in the sham group.²²

In a different Korean study, researchers randomly assigned 50 participants with elevated distress levels to a Qigong training group or a waitlist control group in which participants called a trainer to describe stressful events.²³ After 4 weeks, participants in the Qigong group had significant decreases in STAI scores compared with the control group. However, there were no changes in salivary cortisol levels.²³

Auricular acupressure

Auricular acupressure involves applying pressure on certain portions of the auricle (outer ear) to alleviate pain and disease.²⁴Similar to Qigong, auricular acupressure focuses on reestablishing Qi in the body. Researchers randomly assigned 80 post-caesarean section women in Taiwan to 5 days of auricular acupressure or usual care.²⁵ The women who received auricular acupressure had significantly lower STAI scores and serum cortisol levels compared with women who received routine care.²⁵

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Complementary treatments for anxiety: Beyond pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy

References

Qigong

Auricular acupressure

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