Impact of Yoga on Stress, Anxiety, and Depression in Male Drug Addicts During Rehabilitation

Abstract

Background: Drug addiction is a significant global concern. Individuals suffering from drug addiction often experience high levels of Depression, Anxiety, and Stress (DAS). These psychological conditions can intensify the cycle of substance abuse and pose significant barriers to recovery. Although yoga is widely recognised for its benefits to physical and mental health, its specific effects on males with Substance Use Disorders (SUDs) during rehabilitation— particularly in managing DAS — remain underexplored. Conclusion: An 8-week yoga program significantly reduced DAS among male drug addicts as compared to the control group. Material and Methods: A randomised controlled trial was conducted with 80 male participants from a drug addiction rehabilitation centre. The participants were divided into two groups: a control group with 40 subjects and an experimental group with 40 subjects. This study used a pre-test-and-post-test design to evaluate participants' psychological states, measuring Depression, Anxiety, Stress levels using the DASS-21 scale both before and after the intervention. The experimental group engaged in an 8-week yoga program for 60 minutes daily, excluding Sundays, while the control group continued with other rehabilitation routine activities without yoga intervention. Results: After the intervention, significant improvements were observed in the experimental group (p < 0.001), where 97.5% of participants exhibited normal stress levels, 95% showed reductions in anxiety, and 85% experienced decreased symptoms of depression. These percentages were markedly greater than those recorded in the control group.

Keywords

• stress
• anxiety
• depression
• drug addicts
• substance use disorder