Yoga is not just about physical fitness—it’s a powerful tool for mental health. A 2024 study by Yadla et al. explored the effectiveness of yoga as an addition to traditional treatments for panic disorders. This randomized controlled trial revealed fascinating insights.

The study involved 64 participants divided into two groups. One group followed standard treatments like medication and cognitive-behavioral therapy, while the other incorporated a structured 12-week yoga program. The yoga sessions included breathing techniques (Pranayama), mindfulness meditation, and physical postures (Asanas), all designed to address both mental and physical symptoms of panic disorders.

Results showed that participants in the yoga group experienced significantly greater reductions in anxiety (measured by the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale) and improvements in quality of life (evaluated using the WHOQOL-BREF). The yoga group demonstrated substantial progress in psychological resilience, social engagement, and environmental satisfaction. This research highlights how integrating yoga into conventional therapy can provide a holistic approach to managing panic disorders (Yadla et al., 2024).

In this video, we explore how changing the way we talk to ourselves can help reduce anxiety. Based on a study by Kross et al. (2014), using third-person language or addressing yourself by name, rather than using “I”, creates emotional distance that helps to calm the mind. Whether you’re facing social anxiety, stress from public speaking, or just everyday worries, learning to adjust your internal dialogue can make a big difference. Watch to learn more about how small changes in self-talk can have a powerful impact on your mental health.
The study by Ethan Kross and his colleagues (2014), published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, investigates how using different forms of self-talk (first-person vs. non-first-person) influences emotional regulation, especially under stressful conditions. The key finding is that using non-first-person pronouns (like “you” or one’s own name) helps create psychological distance, which aids in regulating emotions and reduces stress more effectively than using first-person pronouns like “I”. This self-distancing mechanism can reduce anxiety, improve performance in stressful situations, and help people view future stressors as challenges rather than threats. This method is particularly useful even for individuals with social anxiety, showing broad applicability.

Hashtags:

#MentalHealth #AnxietyRelief #SelfTalk #EmotionalRegulation #StressManagement #PsychologyTips #AnxietyHelp #MindsetShift #SelfImprovement #PublicSpeakingAnxiety
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Studies (small sample only):

Gainsburg, I., Sowden, W. J., Drake, B., Herold, W., & Kross, E. (2022). Distanced self-talk increases rational self-interest. Scientific reports, 12(1), 511.

Gainsburg, I., & Kross, E. (2020). Distanced self-talk changes how people conceptualize the self. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 88, 103969.

Kross, E., Bruehlman-Senecal, E., Park, J., Burson, A., Dougherty, A., Shablack, H., … & Ayduk, O. (2014). Self-talk as a regulatory mechanism: how you do it matters. Journal of personality and social psychology, 106(2), 304.

Kross, E., Vickers, B. D., Orvell, A., Gainsburg, I., Moran, T. P., Boyer, M., … & Ayduk, O. (2017). Third‐person self‐talk reduces Ebola worry and risk perception by enhancing rational thinking. Applied Psychology: Health and Well‐Being, 9(3), 387-409.

Moser, J. S., Dougherty, A., Mattson, W. I., Katz, B., Moran, T. P., Guevarra, D., … & Kross, E. (2017). Third-person self-talk facilitates emotion regulation without engaging cognitive control: Converging evidence from ERP and fMRI. Scientific reports, 7(1), 4519.

Orvell, A., Vickers, B. D., Drake, B., Verduyn, P., Ayduk, O., Moser, J., … & Kross, E. (2021). Does distanced self-talk facilitate emotion regulation across a range of emotionally intense experiences?. Clinical Psychological Science, 9(1), 68-78.

Webb, T. L., Miles, E., & Sheeran, P. (2012). Dealing with feeling: a meta-analysis of the effectiveness of strategies derived from the process model of emotion regulation. Psychological bulletin, 138(4), 775.

For a long time, I suffered from severe exam anxiety. As a result, I either didn’t take important exams at all, put them off for a long time or only got through them under enormous stress (+ panic attacks). It was only when my brain understood some things better (cognitive restructuring) that exam situations became much more bearable, sometimes even downright relaxed. Watch the video to find out six of the best tips that have helped me (and many others)…

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Studies (just a small selection):

Brooks, A. W. (2014). Get excited: reappraising pre-performance anxiety as excitement. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 143(3), 1144.

Bruehlman-Senecal, E., & Ayduk, O. (2015). This too shall pass: temporal distance and the regulation of emotional distress. Journal of personality and social psychology, 108(2), 356.

Bruehlman-Senecal, E., Ayduk, Ö., & John, O. P. (2016). Taking the long view: Implications of individual differences in temporal distancing for affect, stress reactivity, and well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 111(4), 610.

Gao, Y., Zhang, Q., He, R., Liao, J., Feng, H., Deng, H., … & Mo, L. (2022). The Influences of Social Distance on Anxiety Caused by Spatial and Temporal Distance.

Rinaldi, L., Locati, F., Parolin, L., & Girelli, L. (2017). Distancing the present self from the past and the future: Psychological distance in anxiety and depression.

Countless studies show: If you want to overcome your fear, you would do well to face it. Whether it’s a fear of spiders, dogs, lectures, heights, thunderstorms, small rooms, dental treatment, etc., as soon as we manage to shed our avoidance behavior, we can make the important experience that the feared situations are nowhere near as dangerous as we originally feared (or sometimes even fun).
But what mindset allows us to get the maximum therapeutic benefit from a confrontation? A classic study by Southworth and Kirsch (1988) with subjects suffering from agoraphobia provides exciting answers…

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Studies (small sample only):

Southworth, S., & Kirsch, I. (1988). The role of expectancy in exposure-generated fear reduction in agoraphobia. Behavior Research and Therapy, 26(2), 113-120.

Burck, E. (2019). Angst-Was hilft wirklich gegen Angst und Panikattacken?: The most effective strategies against anxiety and panic from a research perspective. BoD Books on Demand.

Many believe in them. Many have one. Lucky charms are objects that have accompanied us through many difficult situations and to which we attribute that we have survived these dangerous situations because they have brought us luck. But can talismans also be used therapeutically? Can they be used as reminders of anxiety situations that have already been successfully overcome? Do they give us the peace of mind we need to overcome new scary situations with ease? Or is carrying lucky charms ultimately even a counterproductive safety behavior that slows down progress?
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Studies (just a small selection):

Culver, N. C., Stoyanova, M., & Craske, M. G. (2011). Clinical relevance of retrieval cues for attenuating context renewal of fear. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 25(2), 284-292.

Dibbets, P., Moor, C., & Voncken, M. J. (2013). The effect of a retrieval cue on the return of spider fear. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 44(4), 361-367.

Dibbets, P., Moor, C., & Voncken, M. J. (2013). The effect of a retrieval cue on the return of spider fear. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 44(4), 361-367.

Shin, K. E., & Newman, M. G. (2018). Using retrieval cues to attenuate return of fear in individuals with public speaking anxiety. Behavior therapy, 49(2), 212-224.

The evidence is very clear: the more we embrace fear (exposure, confrontation), the more it will release us from its grip. But what can help us to successfully confront fears? And how can therapeutic fear confrontation be made even more effective?
The video contains four tips that have been derived directly from studies and are effective both in everyday life and in anxiety therapy.

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Studies (only a small selection; more studies can be found in the book “Angst – Was hilft wirklich… “):

Craske, M. (2015). Optimizing exposure therapy for anxiety disorders: an inhibitory learning and inhibitory regulation approach. Behavior Therapy, 25(2), 134-143.

Craske, M. G., Treanor, M., Conway, C. C., Zbozinek, T., & Vervliet, B. (2014). Maximizing exposure therapy: An inhibitory learning approach. Behavior research and therapy, 58, 10-23.

Gearing, R. E., Schwalbe, C. S., Lee, R., & Hoagwood, K. E. (2013). The effectiveness of booster sessions in CBT treatment for child and adolescent mood and anxiety disorders. Depression and anxiety, 30(9), 800-808.

Kirsch, I., Tennen, H., Wickless, C., Saccone, A. J., & Cody, S. (1983). The role of expectancy in fear reduction. Behavior Therapy, 14(4), 520-533.

Trivasse, H., Webb, T. L., & Waller, G. (2020). A meta-analysis of the effects of training clinicians in exposure therapy on knowledge, attitudes, intentions, and behavior. Clinical Psychology Review, 80, 101887.

Weisman, J. S., & Rodebaugh, T. L. (2018). Exposure therapy augmentation: A review and extension of techniques informed by an inhibitory learning approach. Clinical Psychology Review, 59, 41-51.

Is it possible to rewrite old traumatic fear memories and thus significantly reduce the suffering of many patients? The discovery of memory reconsolidation suggests that this could be much easier than many researchers have long assumed.  This is because new research has shown that our memory hovers in a changeable, protein synthesis-dependent state after each recall. During this time window, it is possible to “update” the memory through interventions (e.g. preventing protein synthesis with anisomycin). (Nader & Hardt, 2009; Nader, Schafe, & Le Doux, 2000). Our memory is therefore much more modifiable than we realize. This opens up many new possibilities for the psychotherapy of anxiety disorders (panic disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, social anxiety, phobias, agoraphobia, etc.).

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Studies (just a small selection):  Elsey, J. W., & Kindt, M. (2017). Tackling maladaptive memories through reconsolidation: From neural to clinical science. Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, 142, 108-117.

Mallet, C., Chick, C. F., Maatoug, R., Fossati, P., Brunet, A., & Millet, B. (2022). Memory reconsolidation impairment using the β-adrenergic receptor blocker propranolol reduces nightmare severity in patients with posttraumatic stress disorder: a preliminary study. Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, 18(7), 1847-1855.

Pigeon, S., Lonergan, M., Rotondo, O., Pitman, R. K., & Brunet, A. (2022). Impairing memory reconsolidation with propranolol in healthy and clinical samples: a meta-analysis. Journal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience, 47(2), E109-E122.

Soeter, M., & Kindt, M. (2011). Disrupting reconsolidation: pharmacological and behavioral manipulations. Learning & Memory, 18(6), 357-366.

The Power of cogntive reappraisal in anxiety therapy can be very strong. If we find good cognitive reappraisals anxiety can be overcome. For example we can try to speak of protection attacks instead of panic attacks…

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Studies (just a small selection):

Goldin, P. R., Ziv, M., Jazaieri, H., Hahn, K., Heimberg, R., & Gross, J. J. (2013). Impact of cognitive behavioral therapy for social anxiety disorder on the neural dynamics of cognitive reappraisal of negative self-beliefs: randomized clinical trial. JAMA psychiatry, 70(10), 1048-1056.

Goldin, P. R., Manber-Ball, T., Werner, K., Heimberg, R., & Gross, J. J. (2009). Neural mechanisms of cognitive reappraisal of negative self-beliefs in social anxiety disorder. Biological psychiatry, 66(12), 1091-1099.

Goldin, P. R., Ziv, M., Jazaieri, H., Werner, K., Kraemer, H., Heimberg, R. G., & Gross, J. J. (2012). Cognitive reappraisal self-efficacy mediates the effects of individual cognitive-behavioral therapy for social anxiety disorder. Journal of consulting and clinical psychology, 80(6), 1034.

Kivity, Y., & Huppert, J. D. (2016). Does cognitive reappraisal reduce anxiety? A daily diary study of a micro-intervention with individuals with high social anxiety. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 84(3), 269.

Picó-Pérez, M., Radua, J., Steward, T., Menchón, J. M., & Soriano-Mas, C. (2017). Emotion regulation in mood and anxiety disorders: a meta-analysis of fMRI cognitive reappraisal studies. Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology and Biological Psychiatry, 79, 96-104.

ACCEPTANCE AND COMMITMENT THERAPY is one of the most exciting advances in psychotherapy. According to recent studies, ACT has achieved similar “cure rates” in the treatment of anxiety and depression as the proven Cognitive Behavioral Therapy …

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Studies (only a small selection):

Arch, J. J., Eifert, G. H., Davies, C., Vilardaga, J. C. P., Rose, R. D., & Craske, M. G. (2012). Randomized clinical trial of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) versus acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) for mixed anxiety disorders. Journal of consulting and clinical psychology, 80(5), 750.

Han, A., Yuen, H. K., & Jenkins, J. (2021). Acceptance and commitment therapy for family caregivers: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Health Psychology, 26(1), 82-102.

Ong, C. W., Lee, E. B., & Twohig, M. P. (2018). A meta-analysis of dropout rates in acceptance and commitment therapy. Behaviour research and therapy, 104, 14-33.

Fang, S., & Ding, D. (2020). A meta-analysis of the efficacy of acceptance and commitment therapy for children. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science, 15, 225-234.

Bai, Z., Luo, S., Zhang, L., Wu, S., & Chi, I. (2020). Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) to reduce depression: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of affective disorders, 260, 728-737.

Can magnesium help against anxiety and depression? Countless research studies have already been devoted to this question. However, only a few of these studies are of high quality (randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled). In the video, we take a look at some of the most interesting and informative studies…
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Studies (small sample only):

Barić, H., Đorđević, V., Cerovečki, I., & Trkulja, V. (2018). Complementary and alternative medicine treatments for generalized anxiety disorder: systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Advances in therapy, 35(3), 261-288.

Botturi, A., Ciappolino, V., Delvecchio, G., Boscutti, A., Viscardi, B., & Brambilla, P. (2020). The role and the effect of magnesium in mental disorders: a systematic review. Nutrients, 12(6), 1661.

Burck, E. (2021). Naturtherapie bei Angst und Depression: Die erstaunliche Wirkung von Heilkräutern, gesunder Ernährung und anderen natürlichen Therapien auf Gehirn und Stimmung im Vergleich zu herkömmlichen Antidepressiva. BoD–Books on Demand.

Fard, F. E., Mirghafourvand, M., Mohammad-Alizadeh Charandabi, S., Farshbaf-Khalili, A., Javadzadeh, Y., & Asgharian, H. (2017). Effects of zinc and magnesium supplements on postpartum depression and anxiety: A randomized controlled clinical trial. Women & health, 57(9), 1115-1128.

De Souza, M. C., Walker, A. F., Robinson, P. A., & Bolland, K. (2000). A synergistic effect of a daily supplement for 1 month of 200 mg magnesium plus 50 mg vitamin B6 for the relief of anxiety-related premenstrual symptoms: a randomized, double-blind, crossover study. Journal of women’s health & gender-based medicine, 9(2), 131-139.

Grases, G., Pérez-Castelló, J. A., Sanchis, P., Casero, A., Perelló, J., Isern, B., … & Grases, F. (2006). Anxiety and stress among science students. Study of calcium and magnesium alterations. Magnesium research, 19(2), 102-106.

Cheungpasitporn, W., Thongprayoon, C., Mao, M. A., Srivali, N., Ungprasert, P., Varothai, N., … & Erickson, S. B. (2015). Hypomagnesaemia linked to depression: a systematic review and meta‐analysis. Internal medicine journal, 45(4), 436-440.

Hanus, M., Lafon, J., & Mathieu, M. (2004). Double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled study to evaluate the efficacy and safety of a fixed combination containing two plant extracts (Crataegus oxyacantha and Eschscholtzia californica) and magnesium in mild-to-moderate anxiety disorders. Current medical research and opinion, 20(1), 63-71.

Phelan, D., Molero, P., Martínez-González, M. A., & Molendijk, M. (2018). Magnesium and mood disorders: systematic review and meta-analysis. BJPsych open, 4(4), 167-179.

Rajizadeh, A., Mozaffari-Khosravi, H., Yassini-Ardakani, M., & Dehghani, A. (2017). Effect of magnesium supplementation on depression status in depressed patients with magnesium deficiency: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Nutrition, 35, 56-60.

Li, B., Lv, J., Wang, W., & Zhang, D. (2017). Dietary magnesium and calcium intake and risk of depression in the general population: A meta-analysis. Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 51(3), 219-229.

Sun, C., Wang, R., Li, Z., & Zhang, D. (2019). Dietary magnesium intake and risk of depression. Journal of affective disorders, 246, 627-632.

You, H. J., Cho, S. E., Kang, S. G., Cho, S. J., & Na, K. S. (2018). Decreased serum magnesium levels in depression: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Nordic journal of psychiatry, 72(7), 534-541.