Anxiety sensitivity, in a much simpler term is known as being afraid of fear. Sounds confusing, right? But when people who have anxiety sensitivity also develop asthma, it increases their suffering and puts them at a higher risk especially in managing their asthma.
According to a new study conducted by Alison McLeish, a University of Cincinnati associate professor of psychology, Emily O'Bryan, a graduate student in the UC Department of Psychology and Christina Luberto, a recent doctoral graduate from UC and clinical fellow at Massachusetts General Hospital, it aims to help reduce the occurrence of asthma cases. The said research will take place Nov. 12-15 in Chicago and will be presented in the 49th Annual Convention of the Association of the Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies (ABCT).
The study gathered 101 participants from various college undergraduates. Its objective is to copy the symptoms of asthma by letting the participants breathe in-and-out through a narrow straw, about the width of a coffee-stirrer straw.
As reported by Medical News Today, McLeish claims that more than just explaining the high amount of cases of anxiety disorders, it is also related with poor asthma outcomes. And just like the experts have anticipated after the straw-breathing experiment, people who had higher anxiety sensitivity also experienced greater asthma symptoms and decreased lung function.
Safety measures of course were prioritized in the said activity. Before the experiment starts, participants were required to have their inhalers with them in case they experienced an asthma attack and were also told that they can stop at any time while doing the task.
Thus, the said experiment suggests various interventions for anxiety sensitivity such as exposure therapy that aims to decrease the anxiety severity of an individual.
Committed to the development of different scientific approaches to the understanding and enhancement of human functioning, The Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies is a multidisciplinary organization which aims to investigate the application of behavioral, cognitive and other evidence-based principles. Furthermore, the organization also wishes to assess, prevent and treat human problems as well as enhance an individual's well-being.
