Psychotherapy Treatment of Generalized Anxiety Disorder Improves When Conducted Under Narrow Band Green Light

Abstract

Background and Goals

Psychotherapy is one of the most highly recommended and practiced approaches for the treatment of Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). Commonly defined as excessive worry that is uncontrollable, GAD is one of the most prevalent psychiatric disorders. Anxiety is also one of the most common associated symptoms of migraine. Exposing migraineurs to narrow band green light (nbGL) reduces their anxiety and anxiety-like physiological symptoms such as throat tightness, shortness of breath, and palpitations. Here, we sought to determine whether the reduced anxiety described by our patients was secondary to the reduced headache or independent of it. The goal of the current study was therefore to determine whether exposure to nbGL can reduce anxiety in GAD patients who are not migraineurs.

Patients and Methods

Included in this open-label, proof-of-concept, prospective study were 13 patients diagnosed with moderate-to-severe GAD. We used the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory Questionnaire (Y-1) to compare anxiety level before and after each 45-minutes psychotherapy session conducted in white light (WL) (intensity = 100±5 candela/m²) vs nbGL (wavelength = 520±10nm (peak ± range), intensity = 10±5 candela/m²).

Results

Here, we show that psychotherapy sessions conducted under nbGL increase positive and decrease negative feelings significantly more than psychotherapy sessions conducted under regular room light (χ² = 0.0001).

Conclusion

The findings provide initial evidence for the potential benefit of conducting psychotherapy sessions for patients suffering GAD under nbGL conditions. Given the absence of side effects or risks, we suggest that illuminating rooms used in psychotherapy with nbGL be considered an add-on to the treatment of GAD.

Keywords:

• photophobia
• migraine
• psychotherapy
• GAD
• retina
• depression

Acknowledgments

Lamps emitting the narrow band green light were provided by Allay. No other support was provided for this study. We thank Lacey Burkett, Skyler Rosen, Erica Sanes, and Cara Harbaugh for their role in conducting the psychotherapy sessions at the different light conditions.

Disclosure

Dr Sait Ashina reports personal fees from Abbvie/Allergan, Eli Lilly and Company, Novartis, Amgen, Satsuma, Impel NeuroPharma, Biohaven, Percept, and Theranica, outside the submitted work. Rami Burstein reports the following conflicts within the past 12 months: Research Support: National Institutes of Health, AbbVie/Allergan, Eli Lilly, Teva. Consulting: Alder, Allergan/AbbVie, Amgen/Novartis, Biohaven, Dr. Reddy Lab, Eli Lilly, Ipsen, Neurolief, Percept, Revance, Teva, Theranica. Options: Theranica, Percept, Allay. Patents: 9061025: Methods for selecting headache patients responsive to botulinum toxin therapy, 11732265.1: Method and compositions for the treatment of migraine headaches, endothelial dysfunction and muscle tenderness with statin and vitamin D, US 10,766,952 B2: Methods for selecting a headache patient responsive to treatment with an anti-CGRP antibody and for reducing headache frequency in the selected patients comprising administering an anti-CGRP antibody, 10806890: Method and apparatus for managing photophobia and migraine photophobia, US2021-0015908: Methods for treating and for inhibiting progression of seizures, WO21007165: Methods for treating and for inhibiting progression of seizures, US2021-0128724: CGRP antagonists and clostridial derivatives for the treatment of cortical spreading depression associated disorders, WO21005497: CGRP antagonists and clostridial derivatives for the treatment of cortical spreading depression associated disorders. All other authors have no relevant financial or non-financial interests to disclose for this work.