scholarly journals Imagination, anxiety, and loneliness during the COVID-19 pandemic.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Darya Zabelina ◽  
John Clay ◽  
Joshua Upshaw

Imagination is relevant in many aspects of our lives, and has been associated with creativity and overall cognitive development, yet imagination may also have a dark side. In two studies we examined the link between imagination, anxiety, and loneliness during the COVID-19 pandemic. US college students (N = 101, Study 1) and participants from an international community sample (N = 61, Study 2) were tested around the time that rates of COVID-19 cases were escalating. Across both samples, we found that spending more time in one’s imagination was associated with elevated levels of anxiety. Furthermore, frequency of imagination interacted with loneliness in predicting changes in anxiety during, compared to before the pandemic. Specifically, lonely people who spent more time imagining experienced the largest increases in anxiety during, compared to before the pandemic. In Study 1 valence of imagination and changes in anxiety were also moderated by feelings of loneliness, although this effect was not replicated in Study 2. Results indicate that at least some features of imagination, particularly how much time people spend in imaginative states, may be associated with negative mood states, such as feelings of anxiety. Implications and future directions are discussed.

1990 ◽  
Vol 66 (2) ◽  
pp. 509-510 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathleen Moore ◽  
Robb Stanley ◽  
Graham Burrows

The Profile of Mood States was administered to 90 Australian women, 30 depressed, 30 anxious, and 30 nonpsychiatric controls. Both clinical groups scored higher than the McNair, Lorr, and Droppleman (1971) normative samples on the negative mood states and scored lower on Vigor. The means for these groups are presented and compared with the 1971 normative data of McNair, Lorr, and Droppleman.


2021 ◽  
pp. 026988112097233
Author(s):  
Richard J Xia ◽  
Thomas Chao ◽  
Divya Patel ◽  
Gillinder Bedi

Background: Aspects of the canonical stress response differ in stimulant, opioid, and alcohol users relative to controls, and dysregulated responses to stress may contribute to continued use of these drugs. Little prior research has focused on stress responses in regular cannabis smokers. We assessed responses to a standardized laboratory social stress assay (the Trier Social Stress Task; TSST) in regular cannabis smokers (CANs) compared with controls (CONs). Methods: Healthy, non-treatment-seeking adult CANs (⩾4×/week; smoking cannabis as usual) and demographically matched CONs completed the TSST. Outcome measures were subjective mood, heart rate, and salivary cortisol. Results: Nineteen CANs (1 female) and 20 CONs (2 female) participated; groups were matched on trauma exposure, sex, race, and age. CANs smoked cannabis 6.4 ± 1.1 days/week. Eight CANs and one CON smoked tobacco cigarettes daily. Overall, the TSST produced expected increases in anxiety, negative mood states, cortisol, and heart rate. CANs had blunted subjective response to stress relative to CONs, but they did not differ in physiological (cortisol and cardiovascular) stress responding. Conclusion: These results indicate that CANs have blunted mood responses to social stress, but normative physiological stress responding. Observed differences could be due to residual effects of cannabis, reluctance to endorse negative mood states, or to issues related to identifying (i.e., emotional identification) or feeling (i.e., interoception) stress-related affective states. Further research is warranted to characterize the mechanisms of these differences and assess implications for daily functioning and treatment outcomes.


2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kaiyi Han

The aim of this study was to confirm if there was a correlation between trait mindfulness, negative mood states, and stress. Our study is based on the assumption that practicing mindfulness did have the efficacy and ability to regulate negative emotions and thoughts produced by negativity-inducing external stimuli. A hundred and fifteen individuals (M age = 32.17 years, SD = 8.21, 59 males and 56 females) mostly from Beijing and Shanghai completed a series of measures, which included the Five-Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ), the Profile of Mood States-Brief Questionnaire (POMS-B), and the Stress Self-Perception Scale. After analyzing the collected data with SPSS 22.0, results showed that trait mindfulness has a significant relation with both negative mood states and stress, the relation being negative mood states and stress having a negative correlation to mindfulness and vice versa. This study verified the ability of mindfulness to stabilize and regulate negative emotions like depression and indicated the importance of practicing mindfulness as a way to cope with negativity-inducing stimuli and associated thoughts and emotions. Limitations and future research directions are discussed.


2013 ◽  
Vol 2013 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arndt Büssing ◽  
Anne-Gritli Wirth ◽  
Knut Humbroich ◽  
Kathrin Gerbershagen ◽  
Sebastian Schimrigk ◽  
...  

The aim of this cross-sectional anonymous survey with standardized questionnaires was to investigate which resources to cope were used by patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). We focussed on patients' conviction that their faith might be a strong hold in difficult times and on their engagement in different forms of spirituality. Consecutively 213 German patients (75% women; mean age 43 ± 11 years) were enrolled. Fifty-five percent regarded themselves as neither religious nor spiritual (R−S−), while 31% describe themselves as religious. For 29%, faith was a strong hold in difficult times. This resource was neither related to patients' EDSS scores, and life affections, fatigue, negative mood states, life satisfaction nor to Positive attitudes. Instead it was moderately associated with a Reappraisal strategy (i.e., and positive interpretation of illness) and experience of gratitude/awe. Compared to spiritual/religious patients, R−S− individuals had significantly (P<.0001) lower Reappraisal scores and lower engagement in specific forms of spiritual practices. The ability to reflect on what is essential in life, to appreciate and value life, and also the conviction that illness may have meaning and could be regarded as a chance for development was low in R−S− individuals which either may have no specific interest or are less willing to reflect these issues.


1983 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 327-331 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patricia B. Sutker ◽  
Julian M. Libet ◽  
Albert N. Allain ◽  
Carrie L. Randall

2013 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 113-119 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dianah Rodrigues ◽  
Yvonne Tran ◽  
Nirupama Wijesuriya ◽  
Rebecca Guest ◽  
James Middleton ◽  
...  

1998 ◽  
Vol 87 (2) ◽  
pp. 507-512 ◽  
Author(s):  
Girardin Jean-Louis ◽  
Hans Von Gizycki ◽  
Ferdinand Zizi ◽  
Joao Nunes

Survey and laboratory evidence suggests several factors affecting sleep-wake patterns of college students. These factors include social and academic demands, diminution of parental guidance, reduction of total sleep time, delayed bedtime, and increased nap episodes. In this study, we examined the problem of falling asleep in school as a correlate of negative moods in this population ( N = 294). A multivariate analysis showed significant main effects of sleepiness on mood states based on the Profile of Mood States. Students who fell asleep in school reported higher negative mood states. Significant interactions were observed among sleepiness and age, sex, race, and duration of sleep. Specifically, younger men reported higher negative moods. No interactions were noted for alcohol and marijuana consumption; however, students who fell asleep in school consumed more alcoholic beverages and smoked more than those who did not. Perhaps falling asleep in school could be used as an index that characterizes students who manifest adaptive or psychological difficulty.


2016 ◽  
Vol 46 (15) ◽  
pp. 3213-3218 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. G. Davey ◽  
C. López-Solà ◽  
M. Bui ◽  
J. L. Hopper ◽  
C. Pantelis ◽  
...  

BackgroundNegative mood states are composed of symptoms of depression and anxiety, and by a third factor related to stress, tension and irritability. We sought to clarify the nature of the relationships between the factors by studying twin pairs.MethodA total of 503 monozygotic twin pairs completed the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS), an instrument that assesses symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress–tension. We applied a recently developed twin regression methodology – Inference about Causation from Examination of FAmiliaL CONfounding (ICE FALCON) – to test for evidence consistent with the existence of ‘causal’ influences between the DASS factors.ResultsThere was evidence consistent with the stress–tension factor having a causal influence on both the depression (p < 0.0001) and anxiety factors (p = 0.001), and for the depression factor having a causal influence on the anxiety factor (p < 0.001).ConclusionsOur findings suggest a critical role for stress–tension in the structure of negative mood states, and that interventions that target it may be particularly effective in reducing depression and anxiety symptoms.


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