This qualitative study sought to answer: How may I, as an artist, use art for my own transformation and healing? I am an artist and teacher living with chronic pain and fatigue and wanted to find healing through art and inspire others to do the same. During the three month study, I made artwork, reflected in my journal, and practiced guided imagery. The journal was used to reflect on my health, the creative process, and to record ideas generated through guided imagery. Findings showed that short term relief was provided during the act of creation, but no long-term relief was achieved. The primary conclusion was that I was able to use art for healing and transformation, but only after experimentation and reflection. By adapting the creative process to accommodate for my illness, I was able to include art making as part of a healthy life.

Bakgrund: Från början klassades fibromyalgi som en reumatisk sjukdom, men nu vet man att det är en störning i centrala nervsystemet (CNS). Symtomen är diffusa, men de vanligaste är konstant värk och fatigue. Det finns inga specifika diagnosmarkörer och heller ingen tillfredsställande medicinering. Sjukdomen syns inte fysiskt och många upplever en misstro från vårdpersonal och närstående, vilket har en negativ påverkan på deras välbefinnande. Syfte: Syftet med studien är att beskriva hur fibromyalgi påverkar patienten och dennes familj. Metod: En litteraturbaserad studie användes för att identifiera den redan kända kunskapen i det valda ämnet. Resultat: Fibromyalgi är en osynlig sjukdom som påverkar individen och dennes familj avsevärt. På grund av svårigheten att fastställa en diagnos och det faktum att fibromyalgi inte går att se utanpå kroppen, möts dessa patienter ofta av en misstro från både vårdpersonal och familj. Informationsbristen är påtaglig, vilket kan förvärra sjukdomen. Fyra huvudkategorier framkom, Det förändrade livet, att bli misstrodd, förändrade roller och den vaga kunskapen. Slutsats: Sjuksköterskor har en viktig funktion i att lyssna till, samt informera individer med fibromyalgi, samt deras närstående. För att kunna informera krävs en ökad kunskap och förståelse. Att få information kan vara skillnaden mellan att hantera sjukdomen, och inte. / Background: From the beginning fibromyalgia was classified as rheumatism, but now we know it is caused by central nervous system (CNS) disorder. The symptoms are diffuse but most common are constant pain and fatigue. There are no specific tests to establish the diagnose and no satisfying medication. The disease is not visible outside the body and many experiences misbelieve from care staff and relatives, which affects their wellbeing negatively. Aim: The aim of this study is to describe how patients and their family are affected by fibromyalgia. Method: A literature based study was used to identify the knowledge that already existed in the topic. Results: Fibromyalgia is an invisible disease that affects the individual and their family significantly. Because the complicity of establishing the diagnose and the fact that fibromyalgia can not be seen outside the body, these patients are often met with distrust from both doctors and acquaintances. The lack of information is apparent, which can affect the disease negatively. Four main themes emerged, The changed lift, To be misbelieved, Changed rolls and the vague knowledge. Conclusion: Nurses have an important function, to listen to and inform individuals with fibromyalgia, and their relatives. To be able to inform, a higher knowledge and understanding is necessary. To get information can be the difference between coping with the disease, or not.

Tez (Tıpta Uzmanlık) - Süleyman Demirel Üniversitesi, Tıp Fakültesi, Fiziksel Tıp ve Rehabilitasyon Anabilim Dalı, 2005. / Bibliyografya var.

Diss. (sammanfattning) Linköping :Univ., 2004. / Härtill 5 uppsatser.

Thesis (MSc. (Faculty of Health Sciences))--University of Pretoria, 2005. / Summary in English Includes bibliographical references.

Fibromyalgia Syndrome (FMS) is a disease of unknown etiology that affects up to 3 million Canadians, or 2-10% of the general population (Carruthers & van de Sande, 2005). Acceptance-based behavioural therapy (ABBT) is a relatively recent approach to treating human suffering in general and chronic pain in particular (Hayes, Strosahl, & Wilson, 1999; McCracken, 2005). ABBT treatments have been shown to effectively treat pain, pain-related anxiety, depression, and other behavioural measures of disability (McCracken, 2005; McCracken, Vowles, Gregg, & Almada, 2010; Pear & Simister, 2016, p. 160). In-person treatments can place significant burden on patients and the overall health-care system. Outcomes for online programs can be similar to those for in-person treatment while allowing for increased flexibility for both patients and professionals (Ritterband & Tate, 2009; Strecher, 2007). The current study extended a pilot study (Shay, Tkachuk, Simister, Bailly, & Skrabek, 2011), modifying the previous treatment to a 6 unit program that could be delivered online. Sixty-one participants completed the study, being randomly assigned to an online ABBT plus treatment-as-usual (online ABBT + TAU) group or a treatment-as-usual alone (TAU) group. All participants completed a series of self-report measures at baseline, at post-treatment, and at a 3-month follow-up. Linear mixed modelling supported significant differences between the groups in favour of the ABBT + TAU treatment group on the primary outcome measure (Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire-Revised (FIQ-R); F (2, 52.82) = 20.10, p < .0001) following treatment. The online ABBT + TAU group also had significantly greater improvements in depression, pain, acceptance, perceived helplessness, and kinesiophobia. Increased acceptance mediated the effects of treatment on improvements in FMS quality of life and FMS impact, while reduced helplessness mediated the effects of treatment on improvements in level of reported pain. Comments and subjective ratings of improvement were consistent with the quantitative results. Participants rated mindfulness (contact with present moment experience) as the most useful treatment unit. / February 2016

abstract: Fibromyalgia (FM) is a chronic musculoskeletal disorder characterized by widespread pain, fatigue, and a variety of other comorbid physiological and psychological characteristics, including a deficit of positive affect. Recently, the focus of research on the pathophysiology of FM has considered the role of a number of genomic variants. In the current manuscript, case-control analyses did not support the hypothesis that FM patients would differ from other chronic pain groups in catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) and mu-opioid receptor (OPRM1) genotype. However, evidence is provided in support of the hypothesis that functional single nucleotide polymorphisms on the COMT and OPRM1 genes would be associated with risk and resilience, respectively, in a dual processing model of pain-related positive affective regulation in FM. Forty-six female patients with a physician-confirmed diagnosis of FM completed an electronic diary that included once-daily assessments of positive affect and soft tissue pain. Multilevel modeling yielded a significant gene X environment interaction, such that individuals with met/met genotype on COMT experienced a greater decline in positive affect as daily pain increased than did either val/met or val/val individuals. A gene X environment interaction for OPRM1 also emerged, indicating that individuals with at least one asp allele were more resilient to elevations in daily pain than those homozygous for the asn allele. In sum, the findings offer researchers ample reason to further investigate the contribution of the catecholamine and opioid systems, and their associated genomic variants, to the still poorly understood experience of FM. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Psychology 2011

Made available in DSpace on 2015-07-22T20:50:35Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2010-08-25 / Introdução: A dor musculoesquelética idiopática (DMEI) tem um impacto negativo na qualidade de vida dos pacientes e dos familiares. Muitos pacientes são avaliados do ponto de vista físico e não se dá a ênfase adequada aos aspectos psicológicos, especialmente estresse, depressão e alterações cognitivas entre outros. Objetivos: 1) avaliar o funcionamento da memória e 2) investigar aspectos como sono, estresse, depressão, comportamento e qualidade de vida em uma amostra de adolescentes com DMEI. Métodos: foram avaliados 19 adolescentes com DMEI e 20 controles pareados, aparentemente saudáveis através de escalas investigativas de alterações de humor, sono, estresse e qualidade de vida, além de uma bateria de testes neuropsicológicos.Resultados: A amostra do estudo foi composta predominantemente por meninas (84%) não havendo diferenças quanto ao nível socioeconômico - classe B2. A ocorrência de sintomas de depressão e dificuldades atencionais não diferiu entre os grupos, sendo que 26% dos pacientes com DMEI apresentaram escores indicativos de depressão, ocorrendo o mesmo com 30% do grupo controle. Em relação a qualidade de vida, sono e estresse, os pacientes demonstram piores escores em relação ao grupo controle, sendo que 78,9% dos adolescentes do grupo DMEI apresentavam critérios para diagnóstico de estresse, ao que apenas 35% ocorria nos adolescentes do grupo controle. Em ambos os grupos, os escores observados classificam os adolescentes como na fase de resistência (intermediária) e na fase de exaustão (fase patológica) do estresse, sendo que o grupo DMEI apresentou maiores queixas sintomáticas no âmbito físico e emocional. Na avaliação neurocognitiva,prejuízos significativos na memória não foram demonstrados.Conclusões: Adolescentes com DMEI não apresentarem prejuízos cognitivos como os evidenciados em adultos com dor musculoesquelética. Contudo, nossos achados sugerem um quadro intermediário-avançado de estresse vivenciado por estes adolescentes e com conseqüente prejuízo na qualidade de vida. Intervenções biopsicossociais são de grande importância para a minimização do impacto da dor crônica na qualidade de vida e melhora do prognóstico. / Introduction: Idiopathic musculoskeletal pain(IMP) had a negative impact on the quality of life of patients and relatives. Many patients are assessed from physical aspect, and proper attention is not given anymore to psychological aspects, specially stress, depression, and cognitive changes, among other characteristics. Objectives: 1) to assess memory functioning, and 2) to investigate aspects such as sleep, stress, depression, behavior, and quality of life in a sample of adolescents with idiopathic musculoskeletal pain.Methods: Nineteen adolescents with idiopathic musculoskeletal pain and twenty apparently healthy controls were assessed through investigative scales for humor, sleep, stress, and quality of life, in addition to a neuropsychological test battery. Results: The study sample consisted of girls (84%) predominantly, having not differences regarding socioeconomic status – level B2. The occurrence of depression symptoms and attention difficulties were not different between groups, where 26% of IMP patients had indicating scores for depression, the same for 30% of control group. Regarding quality of life, sleep, and stress, patients have demonstrated worse scores in relation to control group, and 78.95% of IMP adolescents had criteria for stress diagnosis, whereas only 35% occurred in control group adolescents. In both groups, observed scores classify adolescents as in resistance phase (intermediate) and exhaustion phase (pathological) of stress, and IMP group had more frequently symptomatic complaints in physical and emotional aspect. In the neurocognitive assessment, significant impairments on memory were not demonstrated. Conclusion: Adolescents with idiopathic musculoskeletal pain had not cognitive impairments as those noted in adults with musculoskeletal pain. However, our findings suggest intermediate to advanced stress experienced by these adolescents, with subsequent impairment on quality of life. Biopsychosocial interventions are of great importance to minimize chronic pain impact on quality of life and prognosis improvement. / TEDE / BV UNIFESP: Teses e dissertações

Bakgrund: Fibromyalgi är en livslång sjukdom med en okänd bakgrund. Smärtan bedöms som ett av de grundläggande symtomen vid fibromyalgi som påverkar rörelseförmågan och patienten får svårigheter i att röra kroppen. Sjukdomen drabbar cirka två procent av världens befolkning och 75–85 procent av de drabbade är kvinnor. Etiologin bakom sjukdomen är inte helt känd. Det är svår att diagnostisera fibromyalgi och patienterna går igenom många undersökningar och vilket kan ta upp till fem år innan diagnosen fastställs. Syfte: Syftet var att beskriva kvinnors upplevelse av att leva med fibromyalgi. Metod: En litteraturöversikt som baseras på åtta kvalitativa studier som är hämtade från databaserna PubMed och CHINAL. Resultat: Fyra huvudkategorier identifierade: upplevelsen av smärta och trötthet. Upplevelsen av total förändring i dagligalivet med tillhörande underkategorier: Begränsad i dagliga arbeten, begränsad i sociala livet, begränsad i arbetslivet. Den tredje är upplevelse av att förlora identitet. Den fjärde är att bli misstrodd med tillhörande underkategorier: Att bli misstrodd av sin omgivning, att bli misstrodd av sjukvården.   Diskussion: Diskussionen påbörjas med en metoddiskussion där författaren diskuterade studiens svagheter och styrkor. I resultatdiskussionen diskuterades resultatenen med hjälp av Katie Erikssons omvårdnadsteori. Fibromyalgi har en stor påverkan på kvinnornas liv. Smärta och trötthet har beskrivits som grunden till alla begränsningar. Utifrån Katie Erikssons teori kan detta definieras som att kvinnorna har fått olika former av lidande där bland annat livslidande, sjukdomslidande och vårdlidande. / Background: Fibromyalgia is a lifelong disease. The exact cause is unknown, but pain is one of the fundamental symptoms that affects the mobility of the patient. The disease affects about two percent of the world's population and 75-85 percent are women. The etiology behind the disease is not entirely known. It is difficult to diagnose fibromyalgia and patients go through many medical examinations. It usually takes up to five years to receive a diagnosis. Aim: The purpose was to describe women’s experience of living with fibromyalgia. Method: A literature review based on eight qualitative studies from the databases PubMed and CINAHL. Results: Four main categories were identified: The experience of pain and fatigue, experience of total change in the daily life with three subcategories: Limitation in daily routines, limitations in social life and limitations at work. The third main category is the experience of losing identity. The fourth is to be mistrusted with the associated subcategories: To be mistrusted by the surrounding, to be mistrusted by the medical care. Discussion: The discussion contains of a method discussion where the weaknesses and strengths of the review are discussed. In the result discussion, the results were discussed using Katie Eriksson's Nursing Theory. Fibromyalgia has a major impact on women’s lives. Pain and fatigue have been described as the basis for all limitations. According to Katie Eriksson theory this can be defined as different kinds of suffering that the woman living with fibromyalgia have experienced.

Objetivo: avaliar a percepção da dor na fibromialgia por meio de técnica metodológica quantitativa e qualitativa. Métodos: 30 clientes foram avaliadas por meio de uma entrevista analisada através de análise de conteúdo temática e do Instrumento de Descritores de Dor, sendo que para os dados resultantes foram calculados a média aritmética e o desvio padrão para determinar quais descritores caracterizam melhor a dor na fibromialgia. Resultados e discussão: a análise de conteúdo resultou na construção de categorias de análise referentes às percepções de: diagnóstico, motivações, doença, sentimentos, pensamentos e repercussões na qualidade de vida. Já o Instrumento de Descritores de Dor revelou que os descritores de maior atribuição na caracterização da dor foram incômoda, que espalha, latejante, desconfortável e persistente e os de menor atribuição foram desgraçada, demoníaca, maldita, aterrorizante e assustadora. Os dois instrumentos mostraram tendência das clientes em perceber e relatar a dor, principalmente relacionada às características sensorialdiscriminativas. Além disso apresentaram dados relativos à importância do papel da família e do profissional de saúde no manejo da dor. Conclusão: percebeu-se a necessidade de estimular a percepção e a expressão das clientes com relação à dor, abarcando sua multidimensionalidade e que, o manejo da dor deve ser realizado levando-se em conta a tríade equipe de saúde - cliente - família, face à complexidade do fenômeno. / Objective: Evaluate the perception of pain in the fibromyalgia through the quantitative and qualitative methodological technique. Method: A total of 30 clients were assessed through an interview analyzed by the thematic content and through the instrument Descriptors of Pain. Arithmetic mean and standard error were used to determine which descriptors better characterize the pain in the fibromyalgia. Results and Discussion: The result of the content analysis was the construction of categories of analysis regarding the perceptions of: diagnosis, motivation, disease, feelings, thoughts and repercussions on the quality of life. The Descriptors of Pain instrument revealed the descriptors of higher attribution in the characterization of pain were inconvenient, spreading, pulsating, uncomfortable and persistent and the descriptors with the lower attribution were miserable, demoniac, cursed, terrifying and frightening. The two instruments showed the clients\' tendency in perceiving and reporting the pain regarding to the sensorialdiscriminating characteristics. In addition, data related to the importance of the family\'s and the health professional\'s roles in managing the pain were presented. Conclusion: The need to stimulate the perception and expression of clients regarding the pain in its multidimensionality was perceived. It is concluded that the management of pain must be performed considering the complexity of the phenomenon in terms of the triad health team - client - family.