Stress, anxiety or both?
Published by Debbie Featherstone in Discovering tinnitus series · Monday 17 Apr 2023
Cognitive Behaviour Therapy is well documented as an effective ‘treatment’ for tinnitus distress. It’s the distress that’s changed through CBT, and making use of CBT’s updated form (beyond 2nd wave CBT) clearly shows benefits in Outcomes. But, let’s not lose sight of what we MEAN by distress.
Are you aware, for example, that stress and anxiety are different? Both can affect tinnitus, and the perspective we have towards it; we can experience stress and anxiety simultaneously or experience one without much of the other, if at all. Although there is high prevalence of anxiety for people struggling with tinnitus, stress is equally prevalent and as pervasive. So, if we are planning to treat “distress”, we really need to know what it is we are treating before making assumptions that we know already! Equally, when we are on the receiving end as a patient, we are unlikely to know the difference, mostly due to stress causing similar symptoms to those of anxiety. The causes are different though, and it’s primarily the root cause or causes that CBT uncovers and works towards resolving.
A straightforward way to find out is to use a validated clinical measure for stress, and one for anxiety. The CBT for Tinnitus E-Programme uses the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) to measure stress and the GAD-7 to measure anxiety, both used before, during and on completion of the course. There’s also a measure for anxiety symptoms used. Together with the Tinnitus Functional Index (TFI), we are leaving as little as possible to “chance”, and make no assumptions.
The CBT for Tinnitus E-Programme blends online learning with 1-1 appointments and support. Before enrolling, you are asked to complete a TFI, and on enrolment, the additional measures including the PSS and GAD-7 are also completed. Course site: https://courses.tinnituseprogram.org
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