Effect of autogenic relaxation therapy on stress, anxiety and depression among mothers of special children

Abstract

There is no role in life that is more essential than that of motherhood. Mothers of children with special needs are frequently exhausted and sad. Their time and self-care resources are significantly depleted compared to ordinary parents. To stay on track in the race of caring for a special needs kid, it is vital that moms, as primary caregivers, respond to their own needs by engaging in various relaxation methods. Autogenic relaxation therapy focuses on creating feelings of relaxation and peace in your body in order to reduce psychological suffering. Aim: Effect of autogenic relaxation therapy on stress, anxiety and depression among mothers of special children in selected special school at, Puducherry. Methodology: Quantitative Research approach with True Experimental Research design was adapted among 20 mothers of special children in experimental and control group each and were chosen by Simple Random Sampling Technique who has fulfilled Sampling Criteria. Demographic characteristic and The pretest and post test level of depression, anxiety and stress was measured by using becks depression inventory, becks anxiety inventory and berry and jonnes parental stress scale for both experimental and control group  and  an autogenic relaxation therapy was provided twice in a week for 8 subsequent weeks and the post test was done at the end of 12th week  . The total autogenic relaxation session for one participant lasts for about 20-25 minutes for experimental group only. The study participants of control group were wait listed till the time duration of data collection and the Autogenic RT has been provided after the post test assessment. Results: The study results revealed that after providing Autogenic relaxation therapy in experimental group the mean score of stress, anxiety and depression has been reduced to 27.9%, 37.12 % and 36% when comparing between 1 week and 12 week whereas in control group the mean scores of stress, anxiety and depression has been increased to 1.19%, 8.23% and 3.74% respectively.  Conclusion: On the basis of the results drawn from 20 mothers of experimental group and 20 mothers of control group, the study findings shows that autogenic relaxation therapy was discovered to be useful in lowering the level of stress, anxiety and depression among mothers of special children.