Respiratory therapy for the treatment of anxiety: Meta-analytic review and regression

The Effect of Preoperative Anxiety on Postoperative Symptoms in Patients Without a History of Anxiety Scheduled for Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting

“…Dyspnea (shortness of breath or inability to breathe adequately) is frequently observed in anxious individuals. Anxiety causes changes in respiratory rate and respiratory volume and decreases carbon dioxide (PaCO2) levels in the blood and alveoli [40,46]. In our study, patients had mild dyspnea (the mean MBS score -2.02 ± 1.54) and the severity of dyspnea increased as the level of anxiety increased.…”

My Life in HRV Biofeedback Research

“…Van der Zwan et al ( 2019 ) found an increase in feelings of well-being among women given HRVB compared with a waiting list control, and a decrease in anxiety symptoms among pregnant women reporting high levels of stress. In a meta-analysis of controlled studies evaluating respiratory retraining as a treatment for anxiety disorders, Leyro et al ( 2021 ) found larger decreases in anxiety among studies employing biofeedback, mostly HRVB, as part of training than among people given other types of respiratory retraining. In a conservative meta-analysis of clinical HRVB effects, examining all measures taken in all studies of HRVB for all conditions, Lehrer, Kaur, et al ( 2020 ) found a moderate effect size across problems and measures, with large effect sizes for improvements in artistic/athletic performance, depression, anger, anxiety, systolic blood pressure, respiratory disorders, and gastrointestinal disorders, with moderate effect sizes for pain, executive/cognitive function, and substance craving, and only small effect sizes for PTSD symptoms, fatigue, diastolic blood pressure, quality of life, sleep, diastolic blood pressure, and, surprisingly, daily stress.…”

Psychological Management of COVID-19 Respiratory Anxiety: Emotion-Focused Normalization, Psychoeducation, and Respiratory Techniques Approach

“…The nature of this respiratory illness has yielded dramatic physiological and psychological effects, which often compound one another. There is more than 20 years of research establishing relationships between respiratory health and psychological status (Leyro et al, 2021). A significant correlation has been found between anxiety and the report of asthma-related symptoms, such as attacks of breathlessness, chest tightness, and wheezing (Janson et al, 1994;Pappens et al, 2012).…”

“…A gold-standard treatment for anxiety is cognitive-behavioral intervention techniques, accompanied by psychopharmacotherapy (Bandelow et al, 2017); however, in spite of their theoretical elements and broad clinical accessibility, these approaches do not directly address respiratory components (Leyro et al, 2021). In cases of respiratory anxiety, respiratory distress symptoms are often present, which suggests a need to specifically account for the respiratory component of anxiety.…”

“…In cases of respiratory anxiety, respiratory distress symptoms are often present, which suggests a need to specifically account for the respiratory component of anxiety. The clinical effectiveness of respiratory interventions (i.e., interventions that directly target respiration abnormalities) yielded significantly greater improvements in treating anxiety symptoms (Leyro et al, 2021). Therefore, the current study sought to outline and apply interventions designed to target COVID-19-related respiratory anxiety using emotion-and breathingfocused techniques.…”