Dr. (Research Scholar) A. Manjula Arunraj is a psychologist and Senior Research Associate at M.V. Hospital for Diabetes, Chennai. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science (B.Sc.) and a Master’s degree in Information Technology (M.Sc. IT). After a brief career break due to familial responsibilities, she transitioned into the field of psychology, completing her M.Sc. in Psychology in 2014.
She further pursued a Postgraduate Diploma in Counseling and Psychotherapy, followed by an M.Phil. in Psychology from Women’s Christian College (WCC), Chennai, in 2019.
Professionally, she has served as a School Psychologist at BCS Jain School and as a Counselor at Sri Ramakrishna Polytechnic College. She is currently involved in clinical and research work in the area of diabetes and mental health.
She is presently pursuing her Ph.D. at St. Joseph’s University, with a focus on psychological aspects related to health and well-being.
EDUCATION
Msc (psychology),PG diploma in counseling and psychotherapy, Mphil (Applied psychology),PhD research scholar
RESEARCH, TEACHING, or OTHER INTERESTS
Clinical Psychology, General Psychology, Applied Psychology, Arts and Humanities
Authors’ response Manjula Arunraj, Vaishnavi Vijay, Satyavani Kumpatla, Vijay Viswanathan Indian Journal of Medical Research, 2025
The effect of progressive muscle relaxation therapy on diabetes distress & anxiety among people with type 2 diabetes Manjula Arunraj, Vaishnavi Vijay, Satyavani Kumpatla, Vijay Viswanathan Indian Journal of Medical Research, 2025 Background & objectives Diabetes distress (DD) is a mental condition that can develop in people with diabetes and shares characteristics with stress, anxiety, and depression. The aim was to determine the effect of Jacobson’s Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR) therapy on DD, anxiety, glycemic control, hemodynamic and lipid measures among people with type 2 diabetes (T2DM). Methods A total of 80 participants were recruited for this prospective randomised intervention study and divided into two groups equally; group 1 (Control) (n=40) received general counselling for stress reduction and group 2 (Intervention) (n=40) received PMR therapy and general counselling for stress reduction. A pre-, and post-test was done with diabetes distress Scale (DDS) and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) Scales. Baseline data on anthropometric, hemodynamic, biochemical details were collected and repeated after three months. Thirty-six participants, with four dropouts in each group, reported for follow up. Diabetes medication regimens in both groups remained unchanged throughout the study period. Results There was a significant reduction in the total mean scores of DDS (Pre vs. Post) (3.8 vs. 1.6) and GAD Scale (17.9 vs. 6.3; P<0.0001) in the intervention group. The PMR therapy group showed a significant reduction in HbA1c, fasting and post prandial (PP) glucose levels with HbA1c (baseline vs. follow up; 9.2% vs. 7.6%), fasting (194.5 mg/dl vs. 142.4 mg/dl) and PP glucose levels (266.5 mg/dl vs. 175.5 mg/dl) (P=0.001) whereas control group showed an increase in HbA1c, fasting and PP glucose levels. The impact of PMR therapy was also reflected in the lipid profile. Seventy per cent of the intervention group participants followed PMR therapy regularly. Interpretation & conclusions Our study findings highlighted that PMR therapy had a positive effect on diabetes distress and anxiety among people with T2DM. It also improved glycemic control and can be used as an adjunctive to the medications for better management of T2DM.
