Having heart disease can be stressful, not knowing when or if you may suffer a heart attack, and stress and anxiety can increase this chance by increasing your blood pressure. However, listening to music may lead to lower heart rate, blood pressure, and less anxiety and stress, a metaanalysis shows.

The review was done using 23 studies with a total of 1,461 patients. Two studies used music therapists, but most used interventions where healthcare professionals handed out pre-recorded CDs of music. The studies had patients listen to a variety of types of music and for different durations.

The music appeared to lower heart rate and blood pressure in patients with coronary heart disease. There was also an indication that the music improved mood in some individuals; however, this was not the case for individuals who were suffering from depression due to heart disease.

More research is needed into music listening for helping heart disease patients, the reviewers note.

Source:

Psych Central: Music Relieves Stress in Heart Patients

The researchers used a computer game known as BeanFest to measure participants’ attitudes toward learning new negative and positive information. The game contains good beans and bad beans. A person can distinguish between the two types of beans based on how many speckles a bean has and the shape of the bean. Good beans earned a participant points while bad beans took away points. The goal of the game is to get as many points as possible.

Seventeen college participants with clinical depression and seventeen students without depression participated in the study. During the game phase, each participant played the game, deciding whether or not to accept or reject a bean as it appeared on the computer screen. After each turn, the particpant was shown how many points he or she earned or had detracted if he or she accepted a bean or how many points he or she would have earned or had detracted if he or she had accepted the bean.

Each bean was shown three different times during this phase so that participants had a sufficient opportunity to learn which beans were good versus which beans were bad.

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Steven Silverstein, Ph.D., director and Stephanie Marcello, Ph.D. are implementing the study at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. Marcello asserts that approximately 60% of individuals suffering from severe PTSD also suffer from another serious mental illness, such as bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, or major depression. Research has already discovered that individuals who suffer from a severe mental illness in addition to PTSD rarely have their PTSD symptoms go away on their own. Thus, there is a need for a specialized therapy for people who suffer from both PTSD and another serious mental illness.

Approximately 75 people are currently taking part in the study, which will span four years. The researchers want to treat 200 people by the time four years is over.

The therapy entails relaxation techniques, “cognitive restructuring,” which is a technique used to help individuals realize anxiety-arousing thoughts and helps them replace these thoughts with more realistic ones about themselves and the safety of the environment around them, and information about how stress can cause mental illness symptoms. All participants in the study come from University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey community mental health centers in South Bunswick, Newark, New Bunswick, and Piscataway.

Hopefully, this treatment will prove to be effective for treating individuals with PTSD and another serious mental illness. Perhaps in the future, this form of cognitive-behavioral treatment will become more available so that more individuals suffering with these conditions can receive help.

Source:

Psych Central: Treatment for PTSD and Another Mental Illness