Impact Of Gratitude Journal Writing Intervention on Depression, Anxiety, Stress, Self-Criticism and Self Compassion in Women With PCOS

Abstract

Background: It is relatively unknown about the experience and impact of self-criticism specifically in the context of PCOS in women. Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) is a prevalent hormonal condition that impacts women in their reproductive age and is connected to physical and emotional strain. Although there are many studies done on Psychological distress like Depression, Anxiety and Stress, to the best of our knowledge this is the first study that measured the variable Self Criticism on PCOS women .This research also measured self-compassion level, and attempted to give a simple, yet powerful method of gratitude journal writing. This study also aims to investigate if Gratitude Journal Writing, which is a simple yet powerful method, can improve self-compassion and bring down self-criticism along with other psychological distress factors like depression, anxiety, stress in women with PCOS. Studies have found lower mental well‐being among PCOS women than in the Non-PCOS women. Positive psycho-logical interventions provide fruitful ways of enhancing the mental well‐being, but little is known about whether Gratitude Journal writing could mitigate Psychological distress and self-criticism and increase self-compassion in PCOS women 

Methods: This study aimed to investigate the effect of Gratitude Journal Writing in decreasing self-criticism, depression, anxiety, stress and increasing self-compassion in women with PCOS. Twenty-eight women with PCOS was randomly assigned to either a gratitude journal writing intervention group or a control group. Participants in the intervention group engaged in six weeks of gratitude journal writing, while the control group received no intervention. Depression, Anxiety, Stress, Self-criticism and self-compassion were measured using validated self-report measures of DASS-21, FSCRS and SCS (26 items) scale at baseline and after the intervention.

Results: The results were evaluated and the gratitude journal writing in the experimental group had significantly decreased depression (p<0.001), anxiety (p<0.001), stress (p<0.001) and self-criticism (p<0.001) and increased self-compassion (p<0.001). On the other hand, the control group did not have altered results. 

Conclusion: These findings suggest that gratitude journal writing is an effective intervention for decreasing depression, anxiety, stress and self-criticism, and improving self-compassion in women with PCOS. Gratitude Journal Writing could be incorporated into treatment plans for PCOS-related psychological distress, which could help them to improve their mental health. Nonetheless, it is recommended to increase the sample size in order to validate these findings. Additional investigation is required to ascertain the enduring practices, habits, and impacts of maintaining a gratitude journal within this particular group.