About the Article
Published in:
Vol. 5, No. 2
Category:
Commentaries
About the Author
Sandra Sgoutas-Emch, Tara Fox, Michelle Preston, Carrie Brooks, and Eva Serber
The Doman-Delacato Patterning Treatment for Brain Damage
Acupuncture: Another Clinical Trial Fails
Stress Management: Aromatherapy As an Alternative
Abstract. The consequences of a stressful lifestyle include myriad symptoms from depression to decreased function of the immune system. In the past, researchers have focused on the efficacy of traditional psychotherapy techniques in reducing the signs of stress. However, these techniques usually require trained individuals to facilitate the programs, participants must do a lot of work on their own, and it may take a long time to produce results. Because of the inconvenience and cost of these techniques, many have turned to alternative methods for stress reduction. The present study examined the efficacy of one of these alternatives, namely aromatherapy, in reducing psychological and physiological responses to an acute stress situation. Participants were randomly assigned to 1 of 4 conditions based on whether they were aware of the aromatherapy or whether they got the treatment. All groups were exposed to a short, 12-minute mental arithmetic task in which their performance was monitored. State anxiety and cardiovascular responses were recorded as well. No group differences in either perceived stress or the physiological responses to the task were recorded. Conversely, correlations displayed that one’s knowledge of alternative medicine was highly related with one’s physiological responses to stress. This study therefore suggests that although aromatherapy by itself may not be the most effective treatment in reducing acute stress, one’s knowledge of the procedure may relate to how one responds.
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