This smells fishy.
A recent study has found that social anxiety will be reduced with the assistance of human “chemo-signals” — on this case, other people’s body odor.
Even though it seems unappealing, exposure to the stink reduced social anxiety by nearly 40% when accompanied by mindfulness therapy, researchers from the Karolinska Institute in Sweden discovered.
“Our frame of mind causes us to provide molecules (or chemo-signals) in sweat, which communicate our emotional state and produce corresponding responses within the receivers,” lead researcher Elisa Vigna told SWNS.
“The outcomes of our preliminary study show that combining these chemo-signals with mindfulness therapy seem to provide higher leads to treating social anxiety than will be achieved by mindfulness therapy alone.”
Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD), affecting roughly 15 million US adults, is defined as an intense fear of being judged or rejected in social settings.
Those that have social anxiety are inclined to avoid certain situations and might feel distressed if these environments are inescapable.
People’s anxiety levels have grown significantly for the reason that start of the COVID-19 pandemic, surveys have shown.
This latest study used samples of volunteers’ sweat, extracting chemo-signals and exposing participants to them.
Sweat and smells were collected while the volunteers experienced various feelings.
Researchers selected a variety of movie clips meant to elicit emotions, reminiscent of joy or fear, to find out if the results of the chemo-signals differed based on the reactions of the perspiring person.
Forty-eight women aged 15 to 35 with social anxiety participated within the study.
They were divided into three groups and subjected to the scent treatment for 2 days, with one group exposed to wash air because the control. All groups received mindfulness therapy as well.
The team found that after undergoing one session of mindfulness therapy with the chemo-signals, social anxiety was reduced by about 39%. In contrast, the control group only saw a 17% decrease.
“We found that the ladies within the group exposed to sweat from individuals who had been watching funny or fearful movies responded higher to mindfulness therapy than those that hadn’t been exposed,” Vigna said.
Researchers didn’t observe a difference in outcomes based on the emotional state of the perspiring person.
“So there could also be something about human chemo-signals in sweat generally which affects the response to treatment,” Vigna added, saying further research is vital.
The scientists say they’re within the strategy of a follow-up study to check the BO collected during “emotionally neutral documentaries.”
Vigna is “hopeful” the outcomes can yield a recent kind of treatment for individuals who experience social anxiety. Their findings could increase “the effectiveness of standalone e-health interventions (reminiscent of meditation apps).”
The research was presented on the European Congress of Psychiatry in Paris this weekend.
Dr. Julian Beezhold, from the University of East Anglia, said the “findings are interesting,” but require further independent studies.
“We welcome this study, taking a look at one in all the least-researched senses and its interaction with mental health,” Beezhold, who was not involved within the research, told SWNS.
Previous studies have found that exercise and meditation also can alleviate symptoms of tension, while pheromones — or, chemo-signals — have been observed to play a task in relationships.
A study last yr found single bachelors smell more strongly than married men, while the ladies of TikTok relied on “vabbing” — using vaginal fluids as a type of perfume — to draw singletons on the bar.
