Exercise anxiety: A qualitative analysis of the barriers, facilitators, and psychological processes underlying exercise participation for people with anxiety-related disorders

Mason, J. D. T.; Faller, Y. Nichole; LeBouthillier, Daniel M.; Asmundson, Gordon J.G.

doi:10.1016/j.mhpa.2018.11.003

Cited by 33 publications

(30 citation statements)

References 62 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…For the participants, anxiety was composed of emotional experiences (e.g., feeling angry, feelings of hatred, feeling lonely, feelings of worthlessness, lack of inner peace, losing one’s mind, remaining silent, suicidal ideations, rumination, and cries), bodily experiences (e.g., weight loss, headaches, loss of appetite, trouble breathing, sleep disturbances, fatigue, and irritability), cognitive problems like losing concentration and social withdrawal experiences like low interest in peer convivial gatherings. These experiences are similar to those highlighted by prior studies [ 53 – 55 ]. Conversely, symptoms of anxiety such as frustration, guilt, feelings of loss [ 54 ], challenging self-treatment (e.g., self-criticism, self-interruption, and worry), apprehension (chronic painful emotions and fear of triggers), emotional avoidance (e.g., self-distraction), behavioural avoidance (e.g., over-compliance and avoidance of conflict) and unmet needs (e.g., to be protected, to be loved, to be acknowledged) [ 53 ] were not found in the current study.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

A qualitative analysis of negative feelings among incarcerated filicide mothers in Rwanda

et al. 2022

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background Most of the research on filicide mothers suggests that they experience negative feelings before they kill their child. However, little is known about whether these negative feelings can be expressed after one-year post-offense among incarcerated filicide mothers with no history of psychiatric problems. In this study, we aimed to conduct a qualitative analysis to (a) understand negative feelings evolving from negative emotions such as anger, guilt, shame, depression, and anxiety among filicide mothers incarcerated in Nyarugenge Prison in Rwanda, (b) identify the impact of experienced negative feelings on their personal wellbeing, and (c) explore their coping strategies. Methods This study adopted a phenomenology research design and face-to-face in-depth interviews to explore the problem among twenty filicide mothers selected from Nyarugenge prison. Data were audio recorded, transcribed verbatim, organized, and analysed by using ATLAS.ti 8 Windows. Results Anxious and depressed participants experienced both physical and emotional negative feelings. Social withdrawal and cognitive problems were expressed by anxious participants, while avoidance behaviours were particularly experienced by depressed participants. Intolerance created anger, while self-blame, regret, and acute stress created guilt. In addition, avoidance behaviours and poor self-judgment emerged from shame. Participants felt disconnected from their community and worried about a variety of issues because of their negative feelings. To cope with negative feelings, participants reported that they used abnormal defense, surrender and support from community resources. Discussion Our findings highlight the overall negative feelings of incarcerated filicide mothers, which can guide mental health professionals and different stakeholders to respond with appropriate interventions.

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

A qualitative analysis of negative feelings among incarcerated filicide mothers in Rwanda

et al. 2022

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…One reason for this might be associated with SAD symptomatology per se, because it requires motivation and a degree of open-mindedness to participate in an intervention and to attend to it regularly, which is a major challenge for people with SAD. A further hurdle that needs to be overcome is that often anxiety disorders are related with exercise anxiety (Mason et al, 2019), which might be another reason for dropout or a reason which prevents people with SA from engaging in regular PA. Nevertheless, we suggest including people with severe SAD symptomatology in future studies, although this might be challenging due to the nature of the disorder and to the expectation of high dropout rates.…”

Section: Overall Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Physical Activity as a Treatment for Social Anxiety in Clinical and Non-clinical Populations: A Systematic Review and Three Meta-Analyses for Different Study Designs

Zika

Becker

2021

Front. Hum. Neurosci.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The fear of being in the focus of attention in social situations can develop into a social anxiety disorder (SAD). The classical treatment for SAD is cognitive behavioral therapy, which is in many cases accompanied by drug treatments. A promising alternative treatment is physical activity (PA) interventions, because regular PA has been shown to be suitable for reducing anxiety in general. We conducted a pre-registered systematic review and meta-analysis (PROSPERO registration no. CRD42020191181) as well as two additional searches. Our aim was to investigate whether PA interventions are a suitable treatment for SAD and whether PA is suitable for reducing social anxiety (SA) in general. For studies with randomized controlled trial designs, a not statistically significant effect of medium size toward lower general SA symptomatology was found in the PA group in comparison with the control group (d = −0.24, p = 0.377). For studies with longitudinal designs, significantly lower SA symptoms were found after PA treatments (d = −0.22, p = 0.001). The effect of PA on SA was stronger for adults than for children and adolescents (p = 0.003). For cross-sectional studies, a small negative association between SA symptoms and the amount of PA was found, i.e., lower SA was found for people who were more physically active (r = −0.12, p = 0.003). We conclude that PA is a promising means for the (additional) treatment of SAD or to reduce SA in general in non-clinical samples, but more research in which high-quality studies with randomized controlled trial designs are used is needed. Furthermore, open questions with respect to moderating variables (e.g., age, sex, BMI, type of intervention, stress, amount of regular PA before the intervention, and comorbidities) remain still open.

show abstract

“…In addition, they experience social evaluation barriers such as thoughts of being judged by others while they are exercising; negative evaluations from others about their exercise techniques or being judged by others for their physical appearance (e.g. sweating) (Mason et al 2019 ). The misattribution of physiological effects is also a barrier people encounter with anxiety disorders.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The misattribution of physiological effects is also a barrier people encounter with anxiety disorders. When they realize that exercising can have physiological sensations that are similar to sensations from anxiety, they start to avoid physical activity (Mason et al 2019 ). Mason et al ( 2019 ) showed that people with anxiety-related disorders have specific barriers to becoming more physically active and that they might need an alternative approach to increase their physical activity.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…There are only a few studies that investigated the needs among people with moderate mental disorders that can be used for the development of (online) interventions to promote physical activity. The qualitative studies that exist investigate determinants among a specific group or physical activity such as alcohol and drug users (Horrell et al 2020 ), anxiety-related disorders (Mason et al 2019 ), football (Friedrich and Mason 2018 ) and rugby (Wilcock et al 2021 ). The current study aims to qualitatively identify determinants, barriers and facilitators of physical activity among a broader population with mental health disorders among a broader definition of physical activity.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

A qualitative analysis of facilitators and barriers to physical activity among patients with moderate mental disorders

Rijen

Hoor

2022

J Public Health (Berl.)

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Aim The current study aims to qualitatively identify determinants, barriers and facilitators of physical activity among a population with mental health disorders. Subject and methods Seventeen participants with moderate mental disorders were recruited. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to identify physical activity facilitators and barriers. Data were organized and analysed in ATLAS.ti, mainly based on a generic qualitative research approach. Results Most participants found physical activity important and expressed a positive attitude towards it. In general, higher self-efficacy and more social support were beneficial for participants’ physical activity levels. Reasons/facilitating factors to be more physically active were: having fun, good weather, progress, routine, self-compassion and a stimulating environment. Barriers were not having fun, being busy, mental complaints, lack of energy, procrastination and physical complaints. Conclusion Future interventions could promote physical activity among people with moderate mental disorders to help them identify and overcome barriers. The newly identified determinant ‘self-compassion’ could be an interesting target for promoting physical activity in this group of people with moderate mental disorders.

show abstract

Exercise anxiety: A qualitative analysis of the barriers, facilitators, and psychological processes underlying exercise participation for people with anxiety-related disorders

Cited by 33 publications

References 62 publications

A qualitative analysis of negative feelings among incarcerated filicide mothers in Rwanda

A qualitative analysis of negative feelings among incarcerated filicide mothers in Rwanda

Physical Activity as a Treatment for Social Anxiety in Clinical and Non-clinical Populations: A Systematic Review and Three Meta-Analyses for Different Study Designs

A qualitative analysis of facilitators and barriers to physical activity among patients with moderate mental disorders

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About