The Effectiveness of Quality of Life Therapy on the Anxiety Sensitivity and Cohesive Self-Awareness in Women with Tension Headaches Admitted to the Psychiatric Department of Milad Hospital

Tension headache is a common type of headache characterized by non-throbbing bilateral pain, mild to moderate pain that can interfere with personal activities. Therefore, this study was conducted to determine the effectiveness of quality of life therapy on anxiety sensitivity and cohesive self-knowledge of women with tension headache.

The research was quasi-experimental with pre-test, post-test design and control group with quarterly follow-up. The statistical population of the study consisted of all women with tension headache admitted to the psychiatric ward of Milad Hospital in Tehran in 2020. By available sampling, 30 people were selected and divided into experimental (n= 15) and control (n= 15) groups. They filled out the anxiety sensitivity questionnaire and the cohesive self-knowledge questionnaire. In the experimental group, treatment based on improving the quality of life was performed in 8 sessions (1 session per week for 1.5 hours). Post-test was taken from the groups at the end of treatment. Data analysis was performed using repeated measures variance.

The results showed that the mean score of coherent self-knowledge and its dimensions in the experimental group significantly improved compared to the control group after the intervention (Eta=0.61, p=0.005, F=0.37). Moreover, the results showed that the quality of life therapy was beneficial in reducing anxiety sensitivity and its dimensions in the subjects of the intervention group as compared to the control group (Eta=0.60, p=0.001, F=43.45). The effects of this program on dependent variables continued during the follow-up period (p=0.001)

Based on the results of the present study, it can be concluded that quality of life therapy is associated with cohesive self-awareness and controlling anxiety sensitivity in patients with tension headache. Use of this program is recommended for patients with headaches.