Stress Management

The ProlEx-Context study aims to investigate how a slow-paced breathing technique with prolonged exhalation affects decision-making in the context of acute social stress.

This study, "Biobehavioral Intervention to Reduce PTSD Symptoms After an ICD Shock," addresses a critical need in cardiology care by describing the feasibility and acceptability of a timely, highly promising, electronically-delivered intervention for patients who have recently received an ICD delivered shock. The study intervention and outcomes are designed to reduce anxiety, enhance return to activities of daily living (ADLs), and prevent the development of severe distress and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and ultimately promote quality of life. The study is a two-arm, embedded mixed methods, randomized trial (N=60, 30/group). The purpose is to determine feasibility and potential effects of a self-management intervention (SPSM) plus usual care (UC) compared to UC alone, delivered during the critical 1 month period after an ICD shock when distress is high. The intervention will be delivered over 1 month following an ICD shock; a 6-month follow-up will be used to assess the sustainability of intervention effects and determine if the incidence of PTSD is reduced. SPSM includes: 1) training in heart rate (HR) self-monitoring; and 2) individualized learning through 4 self-paced, web-based modules. The study interventions are delivered at a crucial time, closely after an ICD shock when stress is high, but PTSD has not yet developed. The specific aims are to: 1) examine the effects of the SPSM intervention plus UC vs. UC alone on the primary outcome of ICD shock anxiety at 1 and 6 months post-shock event, 2) describe the impact of SPSM plus UC compared to UC alone on the secondary outcomes of total daily physical activity, depression, PTSD symptoms, QOL, salivary cortisol levels, and self-efficacy and outcome expectations at 1 and 6 months post-shock event, and 3) assess feasibility, acceptability, and safety of the SPSM intervention, SDOH will be used to describe differential responses to the SPSM intervention. This study fills a significant gap in the care of patients with an ICD, through the systematic testing of a brief, novel and cost-effective intervention that provides the knowledge and skills to improve quality of life. Study findings will be used to design future larger RCTs to test intervention effectiveness for more diverse samples and settings.

The aim of this randomized controlled clinical trial is to evaluate the effects of a mindfulness-based self-efficacy development program on menopausal symptoms and quality of life in postmenopausal women. The main questions it aims to answer are: Does the mindfulness-based program reduce the severity of menopausal symptoms? Does the mindfulness-based program improve the quality of life of postmenopausal women? Does the mindfulness-based program significantly increase participants' overall self-efficacy? The researchers will compare whether there are differences between the mindfulness-based training program applied to the intervention group and the control group in terms of menopausal symptoms, quality of life, and self-efficacy scores. The main tasks that will be asked of the participants are as follows: Those in the intervention group will participate in a face-to-face mindfulness-based self-efficacy development program, each session lasting at least 120 minutes, once a week for 8 weeks, with a maximum of 10 people per group. The control group will not receive any intervention. Participants in both groups will be evaluated with a personal information form and measurement tools such as the Menopause Symptoms Assessment Scale, the Menopause Specific Quality of Life Scale, and the General Self-efficacy Scale.