A 10-week psychological program designed to manage stress was associated with lower levels of depressed mood, anxiety, anger, and confusion in men with HIV who reported symptoms, based on standardized questionnaires taken before and after the program.

A 10-week program that teaches stress management techniques reduces the amount of cortisol released in urine over 24 hours in gay men with HIV who are experiencing symptoms, compared to those who do not receive the program.

In men with HIV who experience depressive symptoms, improvements in mood from a 10-week stress management program tend to last for up to a year, but these mood improvements do not help explain further changes in immune function beyond what occurred during the program.

In symptomatic HIV-infected gay men, a 10-week stress management program that reduces feelings of depression is linked to a corresponding decrease in cortisol levels measured over 24 hours.

In men with symptomatic HIV, a 10-week stress management program is linked to lower stress hormone levels and improved mood during the program, and these changes are associated with higher levels of a specific type of immune cell several months later.

In men with HIV who experience a reduction in depressive symptoms after participating in a 10-week stress management program, higher levels of a specific type of immune cell are observed 6 to 12 months later.