Biofeedback reduces somatic anxiety via which cognitive strategy?

• A. Self-talk/Visualization
• B. Warming up
• C. Cryotherapy
• D. Cooling down

Answer: (A)

Biofeedback reduces somatic anxiety by linking awareness of bodily states with deliberate mental control. It gives real-time feedback on signals like heart rate, muscle tension, and breathing, and teaches you to influence those signals using cognitive strategies. Self-talk helps shift your inner dialogue to be calm and confident, which lowers arousal. Visualization uses mental imagery to rehearse a relaxed or successful state, guiding breathing and muscle relaxation and further reducing tension. Over time, you learn to evoke a calmer physiological response on demand, addressing the physical symptoms of anxiety such as a racing heart, trembling, and tight muscles. Warming up tends to raise readiness and arousal, while cryotherapy and cooling down are physical recovery methods and don’t center on using cognitive strategies to control anxiety through biofeedback.