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Review
. 2022 May 19:13:913406.
doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.913406. eCollection 2022.

Anxiety and Depression in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: Perspectives on the Use of Hypnosis

Hernán Anlló  1   2 , François Larue  2   3 , Bertrand Herer  2   4
Affiliations
Review

Anxiety and Depression in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: Perspectives on the Use of Hypnosis

Hernán Anlló et al. Front Psychol. .

Abstract

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is a highly prevalent and debilitating respiratory condition, characterized by chronic airflow limitation, breathlessness, and other persistent respiratory symptoms. Critically, patients suffering from COPD often find themselves trapped in a vicious comorbidity cycle: while breathlessness and increased respiratory rate are known inducers of anxiety, the latter have been shown in turn to exacerbate breathlessness and chest discomfort. Hypnosis holds great potential for the simultaneous complementary management of anxiety and breathlessness in COPD. It is an inexpensive psychological intervention tailored to the patient's own experience, convenient in terms of logistics and implementation. In this short qualitative review, we present hypnosis' structural, cognitive, and neural fundamentals, and assess existing instances of hypnosis use in the treatment of anxiety, depression, and respiratory disease. We then discuss its potential as a tool for improving health-related quality of life and the self-management of COPD within (and beyond) pulmonary rehabilitation.

Keywords: COPD; anxiety; breathlessness; comorbidity; complementary care; depression; hypnosis; self-management.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the review was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Examples of hypnotic suggestions. Hypnotic and posthypnotic suggestions can either inhibit or facilitate a vast array of motor, perceptual, cognitive, and affective responses. Examples are provided together with studies evaluating their implementation and phenomenology.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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