Impact of yoga and naturopathy on stress, anxiety, heart rate variability, and quality of life of a patient with social anxiety disorder

Abstract: A 32-year-old male diagnosed with social anxiety disorder (SAD) visited our hospital with complaints of avoiding social events due to fear of negative judgment, difficulty in conveying thoughts, embarrassment, and overthinking. He also struggled to initiate conversations and experienced agoraphobia, which made him feel anxious in crowded places. He underwent a 23-day comprehensive yoga and naturopathy intervention. Compared to the baseline, the postintervention assessment showed a reduction in Perceived Stress Scale score and Hamilton Anxiety Rating scores and improvement in heart rate variability (HRV) and Short Form (SF)-36 healthy survey. It suggests that yoga and naturopathy might be beneficial in decreasing stress and anxiety and in enhancing HRV and quality of life of people with SAD. However, as this is a single case report, more studies are recommended to validate the findings of this study.