Background And Aims: Bowel Disorders of Gut-Brain Interaction (DGBI) are a highly stigmatized group of disorders. Even though the link between stigma and shame is overall acknowledged, few studies focusing on health-related stigma mention shame, and research on shame in Bowel DGBI is non-existent. The aim of this study was to examine the implications of shame in Bowel DGBI.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: We aimed to investigate the prevalence of avoidant/restrictive eating in individuals with versus without bowel symptoms in the general population, and identify factors associated with avoidant/restrictive eating.
Methods: In this Swedish population-based internet health survey, we included individuals with at least one bowel symptom used to diagnose a functional bowel disorder according to the Rome IV criteria, and an age- and sex-matched control group without bowel symptoms. Cutoffs for the Nine-Item avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder screen (NIAS) was used to determine the prevalence of avoidant/restrictive eating.
United European Gastroenterol J
June 2025
Background: Gut-directed hypnotherapy is effective for irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and a few studies have reported long-lasting therapeutic effects following intervention. No previous studies have evaluated the long-term effects of nurse-administered hypnotherapy.
Aims: We aimed to investigate the long-term effects of nurse-administered gut-directed hypnotherapy for IBS and identify factors associated with symptom improvement.
Background: Brain-gut behaviour therapies (BGBT) have gained widespread acceptance as therapeutic modalities for the management of disorders of gut-brain interaction (DGBI). However, existing treatment evaluation methods in the medical field fail to capture the specific elements of scientific rigour unique to behavioural trial evaluation.
Aims: To offer the first consensus on the development and testing of BGBT in DGBI.
Background: Breast cancer is the most diagnosed cancer in women worldwide and carries a considerable psychosocial burden. Interventions based on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and compassion-based approaches show promise in improving adjustment and quality of life in people with cancer. The Mind programme is an integrative ACT and compassion-based intervention tailored for women with breast cancer, which aims to prepare women for survivorship by promoting psychological flexibility and self-compassion.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFParenthood can be challenging when facing a child's chronic illness such as developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH). Although social support is known as a protective factor for the caregiver's mental health, the role of self-compassion is less explored. This study, conducted in Portugal, explored whether self-compassion and social support mediate the relationship between mothers' psychological adjustment and perception of their child's illness.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFClin Psychol Psychother
November 2024
Individuals with chronic illnesses and those infected with SARS-CoV-2 often face stigma, shame, and psychological distress related to their conditions. Higher psychological flexibility and self-compassion are often associated with less stigma and shame. Examining and comparing these experiences between people with chronic illness and people who have recovered from SARS-CoV-2 can provide valuable insights into the shared and unique challenges they encounter.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: The COVID-19 pandemic held considerable health-related outcomes worldwide, including mental health challenges, with elevated risk of psychiatric sequelae.
Methods: This study aimed to test the longitudinal (1 year) predictive role of psychosocial factors on post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, and depressive symptoms in SARS-CoV-2 survivors ( = 209 at T1; = 61; attrition rate 70.83%), through Pearson's correlation analyses and longitudinal multiple regression analyses.
Background: Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) entails physical, psychological, and social burden and holds a significant impact on quality of life. Experiential avoidance, cognitive fusion, shame, and self-criticism have been identified as possible therapeutic targets for improving mental health in people with IBD. Traditional face-to-face psychological therapy continues to provide obstacles for patients seeking assistance.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: This study tested the acceptability and efficacy of an Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and compassion-based intervention (LIFEwithIBD) in people with IBD through a two-arm RCT.
Methods: Participants were recruited at the Gastroenterology Department of the Coimbra University Hospital between June and September 2019. Of the 355 patients screened, those who accepted to participate were randomly assigned to one of two conditions: experimental group (LIFEwithIBD; = 25) or control group (waitlist; = 29).
Front Psychiatry
January 2024
Am J Gastroenterol
January 2024
Introduction: This study focused on defining the global prevalence of clinically relevant levels of psychological distress and somatic symptoms and the prevalence of coexistence between these symptoms and disorders of gut-brain interaction (DGBI). We also analyzed how clinically relevant psychological distress and somatic symptoms and coexistent DGBI are associated with health-related outcomes.
Methods: We included a representative sample of 54,127 adult participants (49.
J Clin Psychol Med Settings
December 2023
The aim of this longitudinal study was to examine changes in COVID-19 and illness-related perceptions, gastrointestinal symptoms, coping, catastrophising, psychological distress, and QoL during the COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 831 adults with a gastrointestinal condition completed an online questionnaire at baseline (May-October 2020). Of those, 270 (32.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: This study aimed to investigate the associations between the different abuse types, and gastrointestinal (GI) and extraintestinal symptom severity in irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), and possible mediators of these relationships.
Methods: We assessed sexual and physical abuse in childhood and adulthood with the Drossman and Leserman abuse questionnaire, whereas GI and extraintestinal symptoms were assessed with the Gastrointestinal Symptom Rating Scale and the Symptom Check List-90 Revised. General linear models with bootstrapping tested the mediating role of depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, and GI-specific anxiety and rectal pain threshold.
Background: Although several studies have reported the impact of fears relating to coronavirus-19 on several chronic illnesses, there are few studies focused on gastrointestinal conditions. Therefore, the aim of this study was to compare the fear of coronavirus-19 in patients with inflammatory bowel disease to other gastrointestinal conditions and how the fear of COVID-19 manifests across different demographical backgrounds among inflammatory bowel disease respondents.
Methods: Participants with gastrointestinal conditions (age ≥ 18) were recruited from 27 countries.
Background: This pilot study aims to test the usability of the iACTwithPain platform, an online ACT-based intervention for people with chronic pain, to obtain information on which intervention and usability aspects need improvement and on expected retention rates.
Methods: Seventy-three Portuguese women with chronic pain were invited to complete the first three sessions of the iACTwithPain intervention assess their quality, usefulness and the platform's usability. Twenty-one accepted the invitation.
[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2021.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFUnited European Gastroenterol J
September 2022
Background: Irritable bowel syndrome patients report reduced disease-specific quality of life (IBSQOL). Factors of potential relevance for QOL include gastrointestinal (GI), psychological, and somatic symptoms, demographics, and GI motor and sensory abnormalities.
Objective: The aim of our study was to evaluate the relative importance of these factors on the different IBSQOL dimensions.
Background: Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) negatively influences mental and physical quality of life (QoL), but factors that explain this impact are still unclear. Increasing evidence has associated IBS severity, psychological distress, somatic symptoms, and gastrointestinal (GI)-specific anxiety with QoL in IBS. The aim of this study is to further explore these associations and to analyze potential mediating factors.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2021.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Clin Psychol Med Settings
June 2022
This study aimed to examine the role of decentering and committed action as mediators of the link of external and internal shame with psychological health, in people with a chronic disease diagnosis (n = 223) and without chronic disease (n = 230). Participants with chronic disease presented higher levels of both external and internal shame. Path analysis results showed that these variables seem to be negatively linked to psychological health and that their effects on this outcome seem to be reduced by the mechanisms of decentering and committed action.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: Evidence shows that Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is an empirically supported psychological approach for chronic pain (CP) management. Although self-compassion is not explicitly a target of ACT, it seems to be one mechanism of change in ACT for CP. However, research is lacking on the benefits of including explicit self-compassionate exercises in ACT for CP.
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