Study of anxiety and intrapersonal fears in persons with panic disorder when exposed to the method of formation and activation of artificially stable functional connections

Relevance. It is justified by the need to study panic states in healthy and sick individuals, the difficulty correcting acute and chronic anxiety disorders, and the search for modern, effective and safe methods of correction.

Intention. To study intrapersonal fears and anxiety as components of the current mental state in people with panic disorder when exposed to the method of formation and activation of artificial stable functional connections (ASFC).

Methodology. The sample consisted of 60 individuals with panic disorder (F 41.0 according to ICD-10) in the interattack period, 18 of them participated in the correction program, while 20 healthy individuals were examined as a control group. The dynamics of indicators of the current mental state of the subjects was studied using Taylor questionnaires, questionnaire of current personal fears and Lusher test, and a standardized personality inventory. Formation and activation of ASFC was conducted using rhythmic photostimuli with given frequencies.

The results and discussion. The study of the current mental state of 60 people with panic disorder showed significant excess of normative indicators of anxiety and fears. At the same time, undirected paroxysmal fear was the leading symptom in 100% of cases. The division of the total sample into male (42 %) and female (58 %) subgroups showed a gender difference in the structure of actual intrapersonal fears. Heterogeneous anxiety was revealed in people with panic disorder. 18 patients underwent a course of correction by the method of formation and activation of ASFC. There were significant positive changes in the clinical picture and in indicators of anxiety and intrapersonal fears, also when compared with the control group. The correlation analysis showed disconnection between the indicators of anxiety and fears after the correction course.

Conclusion. Changes in the main components of the current mental state in people with panic disorder are shown: a decrease in the level of anxiety and fears, loss of correlation between them and indicators of the SMIL scale. The positive experience of using the method of formation and activation of ASFC via photostimulation of a given frequency in persons with panic disorder in the interattack period in connection with the correction tasks was revealed.

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