Institute of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany.
Pain Center of the Department of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany.
Psychopathology. 2021;54(3):144-149. doi: 10.1159/000513774. Epub 2021 May 5.
People suffering from fibromyalgia syndrome report various difficulties in emotional processing, possibly resulting from changes in bodily perception (interoception). In our study, we investigated the relationships between interoceptive sensibility (IS) and two disease-relevant emotional components (alexithymia and emotion regulation) in fibromyalgia sufferers compared to healthy individuals.
Fifty-five fibromyalgia sufferers and 55 healthy individuals, matched with regard to age and gender, participated in our cross-sectional study. All participants completed the following self-report measures: the Multidimensional Assessment of Interoceptive Awareness, the Toronto Alexithymia Scale, and the Emotion Regulation Skills Questionnaire. Depression and anxiety scores served as confounding variables.
Fibromyalgia sufferers reported a stronger tendency to note as well as to avoid (unpleasant) body sensations. IS and psychopathology each explained about thirty percent of the variance in emotion regulation in fibromyalgia sufferers. Alexithymia was related to IS and emotion regulation in controls but not in fibromyalgia sufferers.
Disturbances in interoception could be seen as the starting point of emotional difficulties in people with fibromyalgia. Following the fear-avoidance-model, experiential avoidance may restrict patients' ability to adaptively regulate emotional states, possibly initiating a vicious cycle of psychological distress and pain.
患有纤维肌痛综合征的人报告说，他们在情绪处理方面存在各种困难，这可能是由于身体感知（内感受）的变化所致。在我们的研究中，我们调查了纤维肌痛患者与健康个体相比，内感受敏感性（IS）与两种与疾病相关的情绪成分（述情障碍和情绪调节）之间的关系。
55 名纤维肌痛患者和 55 名年龄和性别相匹配的健康个体参加了我们的横断面研究。所有参与者都完成了以下自我报告的测量：多维内感受意识评估、多伦多述情障碍量表和情绪调节技能问卷。抑郁和焦虑得分作为混杂变量。
纤维肌痛患者报告说，他们更倾向于注意（不愉快的）身体感觉，也更倾向于回避这些感觉。IS 和精神病理学各自解释了纤维肌痛患者情绪调节中约 30%的差异。在对照组中，述情障碍与 IS 和情绪调节有关，但在纤维肌痛患者中则不然。
内感受障碍可以被视为纤维肌痛患者出现情绪困难的起点。根据恐惧回避模型，体验回避可能会限制患者适应调节情绪状态的能力，从而可能引发心理困扰和疼痛的恶性循环。
