OS EFEITOS DA MEDITAÇÃO E EXERCÍCIOS RESPIRATÓRIOS NO TRANSTORNO DE ANSIEDADE GENERALIZADA: REVISÃO INTEGRATIVA

Abstract

Anxiety is considered a normal human emotion triggered by a stimulus that represents a real or perceived threat, characterized by an emotional reaction of fear and apprehension, which manifests physically through tachycardia, sweating, muscle tension, increased urinary and fecal secretion, and headache. This study aimed to analyze the effects of regular meditation and breathing exercises on the reduction of symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), seeking to understand how these techniques can act as complementary interventions in the treatment of this disorder. For the development of this study, an integrative review was conducted in the SciELO, Google Scholar, and PubMed databases, covering the period from 2016 to 2024, including 10 studies. Integrative reviews, randomized clinical trials, systematic reviews, and descriptive studies with full texts in Portuguese or English were selected.RESULTS: Most studies report that breathing exercises and meditation may contribute to the reduction of symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder, although they present methodological heterogeneity and small sample sizes.: Breathing exercises and meditation have shown efficacy in reducing anxiety, offering physiological and psychological benefits, and representing accessible, low-cost, non-pharmacological strategies.