Worry and anger rumination in fibromyalgia syndrome

Abstract

The aim of the present study was twofold: 1) to investigate the psychological profile of patients with fibromyalgia syndrome (FS) as compared to patients with other chronic pain syndromes (CP) and healthy subjects (HS); 2) to examine the associations between anxiety, depression, worry and angry rumination in FS patients. FS patients (N=30), CP patients (N=30) and HS (N=30) completed measurements of anxiety, depression, worry and angry rumination. FS patients showed higher levels of state and trait anxiety, worry and angry rumination than CP patients and HS, and higher levels of depression than HS. Worry and angry rumination were strongly associated in the FS group. FS patients may use worry and rumination as coping strategies to deal with their negative emotional experience, which might impair their emotional wellbeing. Findings from the present study add to our understanding of the psychological profile of FS patients, and have important implications for developing a tailored CBT protocol for pain management in FS patients.

Anger rumination mediates differences between fibromyalgia patients and healthy controls on mental health and quality of life

“…This is the first study, to our knowledge, to examine anger rumination in FMS patients relative to healthy controls and to further test the mediating role of anger rumination in accounting for mental health and quality of life differences between FMS patients and healthy controls. The current results mostly confirm our hypotheses and are consistent with previous work showing higher levels of anger, rumination and anger rumination in individuals with FMS compared with controls . The present findings also align with research showing the harmful associations of anger rumination with mental health and quality of life .…”

“…Consistent with the extant literature, it was expected that FMS patients would show higher levels of depression and anxiety symptoms and lower levels of mental health‐related and overall quality of life. It was also expected that FMS patients would show higher levels of anger rumination as compared with controls, as research has noted that FMS patients have elevated levels of anger, rumination and anger rumination compared with healthy individuals . These higher levels of anger rumination were expected to explain the differences (i.e.…”

“…It was also expected that FMS patients would show higher levels of anger rumination as compared with controls, as research has noted that FMS patients have elevated levels of anger, rumination and anger rumination compared with healthy individuals. [17][18][19]37 These higher levels of anger rumination were expected to explain the differences (i.e. mediate) between FMS patients and controls on mental health and quality of life outcomes.…”

“…Higher levels of negative emotions, such as anger and anger rumination, have been found among individuals with FMS compared with healthy controls . There are several reasons to expect anger to be elevated in FMS patients.…”

“…14 Higher levels of negative emotions, such as anger and anger rumination, have been found among individuals with FMS compared with healthy controls. [17][18][19] There are several reasons to expect anger to be elevated in FMS patients. FMS patients, like many chronic pain patients, may be angry with several individuals and systems.…”