Differential effects of a brief body scan session on pain and anxiety levels

Abstract

AbstractObjectiveThis study aimed to examine the impact of a brief body scan session on individuals' anxiety and pain levels considering individuals' levels of symptom severity (low vs. high).MethodThe sample was composed of 355 undergraduate or graduate students. Participants completed a series of questionnaires, performed a 14‐min body scan exercise and completed some of the questionnaires a second time. Two questionnaires were aimed at identifying individuals reporting high and low levels of symptomatology (i.e. anxiety and somatic symptoms) in their everyday life, while other questionnaires were aimed at assessing the effectiveness of the body scan session in reducing current symptoms.ResultsAs hypothesised, body scanning was more effective in decreasing anxiety and pain for students with high‐symptom severity than for those with low‐symptom severity.DiscussionWe demonstrated that individuals with high levels of symptoms, and especially anxiety symptoms, can benefit from a brief form of body scan.