45. The intervention effect of psychological care guided by Japanese wabi-sabi philosophy on anxiety symptoms of Chinese professional women

Abstract Background Professional women in China often face multiple burdens such as work pressure, family responsibilities and social expectations, and anxiety symptoms are widespread. Although traditional psychological intervention methods have certain effects, they lack cultural adaptability and philosophical depth. The Japanese wabi-sabi philosophy emphasizes the acceptance of imperfection, impermanence and the beauty of simplicity. Its concept is in line with the traditional Chinese thought of "conforming to nature," and it may provide a new approach for localized psychological care. To expand the cultural integration psychological support model, this study integrates the wabi-sabi philosophy into psychological care and explores its feasibility and effect in alleviating the anxiety of Chinese professional women. Methods A total of 180 professional women who met the screening criteria for anxiety symptoms in enterprises and public institutions of a certain city from June 2023 to May 2024 were selected as the research subjects and divided into the experimental group (n = 90) and the control group (n = 90) by the random number table method. The control group received regular mental health education, including a monthly stress management lecture and the distribution of self-help emotion regulation materials. The experimental group participated in a psychological nursing course guided by the philosophy of wabi-sabi on the basis of conventional education. The Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) and the Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS) were used for assessment before the intervention, 5 weeks after the intervention, and 10 weeks after the intervention respectively. And collect the participants' feedback on the course and their subjective experience reports. Results At baseline, there was no significant difference in GAD-7 and SAS scores between the two groups (p>.05). After 10 weeks of intervention, the GAD-7 score of the experimental group decreased to (6.4 ± 3.2) points, and the SAS score decreased to (45.8 ± 7.1) points. The score of GAD-7 in the control group was (9.8 ± 3.9) points, and the score of SAS was (52.4 ± 8.3) points. The decrease in the scores of the two items in the experimental group was significantly greater than that in the control group (p<.01). In terms of symptom relief, the relief rate of anxiety symptoms in the experimental group was 74.4% (67/90), and that in the control group was 51.1% (46/90). The difference was statistically significant (p<.001). Qualitative feedback indicated that the participants in the experimental group showed positive improvements in aspects such as "self-acceptance," "stress cognition reconstruction," and "emotional calmness.". Discussion Psychological care based on wabi-sabi philosophy can effectively alleviate the anxiety symptoms of Chinese professional women and enhance their emotional regulation and psychological adaptability. This model is characterized by cultural integration and practicality, and is easy to be incorporated into daily life. It is suitable as a supplementary intervention method for promoting the mental health of professional groups. It is suggested that in future practice, adjustments be made in combination with the characteristics of local culture, and its long-term effects and applicability to different career stages can be further explored.