Stress Relief Measurements in Young Adults and Adolescents—A Comparative Pilot Study with Different Relaxation Programs

Background: Chronic stress is a emotional challenge. Constant pressure presents a serious risk of damage to mental and physical health and hence is associated with increased incidence of various diseases. The ability to cope with chronic stress may be a function of psychological resilience including intellectual capacities, but more so of external factors such as life experience and education. Adolescents are more vulnerable to chronic stress than adults. The measures introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic brought up major societal problems. As both children and adolescents lost their life anchors, the prevalence of stress in adolescents increased from 20% to 45%. Chronic psychological stress can impede the normal development of schoolchildren. It may cause anxiety, social withdrawal, interpersonal conflicts and aggression. This applies particularly to those in puberty, with the adolescent already facing unstable social bonds and elevated fear about the future. It is likely that the puberty cohort accounts for the dramatic increase in the prevalence of stress. Since it impacts public health, chronic stress among school-age children is increasingly taking on a socio-political dimension. Non-clinical stress intervention studies can investigate how to achieve stress reduction in school children. Methods: In a small pilot study, we analysed the effects of a training program with four different standard interventions, i.e. mindfulness training, progressive muscle reflection, autogenic training, and sound meditation. We obtained baseline scores of 10 stress-indicators, and re-tested after the interventions were performed. Results: The four applied interventions resulted in a reduction of 8 (out of 10) stress-indicators, such as “feeling stressed” or stress related symptoms (headaches, dizziness, sweating). This positive impact of the interventions significantly reduced “Fears about the future” (p Discussion: School children recognise the positive potential of stress reducing training or interventions. Our results provide evidence in support of integrating the training of relaxation techniques in the school curriculum. We propose that a larger study be undertaken to determine which methods would be most effective.

CHANGES OF PSYCHOLOGICAL STRESS STATE AND THE EFFECT OF ACPUNCTURE INTERVENTION IN ARMED ANTI-TERRORISM POLICEMEN

Objective:To observe psychological changes of the armed policemen under stress state and the effect of acupuncture intervention for exploring possible measures in raising the armed policemen's capability in dealing with the suddenly-occurred accidents. Methods: In the first part of the study for observing psychological changes, a total of 90 volunteer armed policemen participating in anti-terrorism maneuver were randomly and evenly divided into anti-chemical weapon group, flight reconnaissance group and hostage-rescuing group. 30 logistic personals were selected to form control group. Symptom Checklist-90 (SCL-90) questionnaire was used to assess the psychological state of these anti-terrorism policemen. In the second part of the study for observing the effect of acupuncture, 60 policemen with anxiety and depression who were determined by Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS) and Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS) were randomly and evenly divided into non-acupuncture and acupuncture groups, and other 30 policemen with normal psychological state were selected to form control group. Two weeks before anti-terrorism maneuver, participants of acupuncture group were asked to receive continuous acupuncture treatment of bilateral Neiguan (内关 PC 6) and Zusanli (足三里 ST 36), once daily, 15 min every time. Results:Comparison among the first 4 groups displayed that the total scores, scores of body feeling reactions, interpersonal relation, depression, anxiety, terror, and psychological problems of flight reconnaissance and hostage-rescuing groups were significantly higher than those of control group (P<0.05-0.01), suggesting that the psychological stress pressure was strongest in flight reconnaissance policemen and secondary in hostage-rescuing policemen, followed by anti-chemical weapon policemen. Following administration of acupuncture intervention, scores of both SDS and SAS in acupuncture group were considerably lower than those of non-acupuncture group (P< 0.01), showing that acupuncture intervention could reduce psychological stress reactions in the armed policemen undergoing anti-terrorism exercise. Conclusion: Before anti-terrorism exercise,neerly all the armed policemen have different degrees of psychological problems, while acupuncture intervention can improve their psychological state.

Potential therapeutic interventions based on the role of the endoplasmic reticulum stress response in progressive neurodegenerative diseases

In 1945,Porter et al.published an electon microscopy study of cultured chick fibroblasts in which they observed：＇a granular background and details of a darker lacelike reticulum which in places appears to be made up of chains of＂vesicles＂＇（Porter et al.,1945）.This constituted the first published observation of the endoplasmic reticulum（ER）and,while it was not evident at that time,this cytoplasmic system of interconnecting membrane-lined channels, comprising vesicles, tubules and cisternae, has numerous important functions.