Emotional distress and pain tolerance in obsessive-compulsive disorder

Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry
Dianne M HezelRichard J McNally

Abstract

Physical pain can reduce emotional distress, perhaps especially the psychic pain of guilt. This implies that people who continually experience guilt may exhibit greater tolerance for pain relative to people who do not. To test this hypothesis, we administered a pressure algometer procedure to assess pain tolerance in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) plagued by moral obsessions (e.g., concerns about harming others, violating religious values), in patients with OCD with non-moral obsessions (e.g., regarding contamination and symmetry), and in healthy comparison subjects. The results indicated that the OCD groups did not differ in levels of guilt, emotional distress tolerance, or in pain endurance. However, when we collapsed across subtypes, OCD subjects endured pain significantly longer than did healthy subjects. Limitations included small sample size and use of a sample with complex OCD symptoms that were, in some instances, difficult to categorize. The results suggest that individuals with severe OCD might be willing to endure physical pain as a distraction from emotional distress, an expression of negative self-worth, or as a means to gain control over some aspect of suffering.

References

Nov 1, 1989·Archives of General Psychiatry·W K GoodmanD S Charney
Mar 1, 1989·International Journal of Psychophysiology : Official Journal of the International Organization of Psychophysiology·M Kopp, J Gruzelier
Oct 1, 1968·Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology·K S Bowers
Feb 1, 1993·Behaviour Research and Therapy·S Rachman
Jan 1, 1996·The Journals of Gerontology. Series B, Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences·W J RejeskiS Shumaker
Oct 1, 1998·Pain·Jennifer A HaythornthwaiteMichael R Clark
Mar 30, 2001·Schizophrenia Research·J M Hooley, M L Delgado
Nov 19, 2003·Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology·Jonathan S AbramowitzJami M Furr
Jun 9, 2004·Annals of Behavioral Medicine : a Publication of the Society of Behavioral Medicine·John W BurnsCynthia Caceres
Jun 24, 2004·Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry·R Shafran, S Rachman
Sep 24, 2005·Current Pharmaceutical Design·Flaminia Coluzzi, Consalvo Mattia
Mar 28, 2006·Journal of Anxiety Disorders·Norman B SchmidtKathleen Kara Fitzpatrick
Mar 14, 2007·Psychological Medicine·Elizabeth E Lloyd-RichardsonMary L Kelley
Apr 26, 2008·Journal of Anxiety Disorders·Richard MouldingMaja Nedeljkovic
May 21, 2008·Journal of Abnormal Psychology·Orna Reuven-MagrilNira Liberman
Jun 2, 2009·Frontiers in Bioscience (Landmark Edition)·Vladimir Maletic, Charles L Raison
Jul 15, 2009·Behaviour Research and Therapy·Milton Z BrownAlexander L Chapman
Feb 18, 2010·Current Directions in Psychological Science·Matthew K Nock
Jan 20, 2011·Psychological Science·Brock BastianFabio Fasoli
May 11, 2011·Journal of Family Psychology : JFP : Journal of the Division of Family Psychology of the American Psychological Association (Division 43)·S Evelyn StewartDavid L Pauls
Jun 18, 2011·Depression and Anxiety·Jesse R CougleKirsten A Hawkins
Jul 1, 2010·Personality Disorders·Jill M HooleyAmanda Lockshin

❮ Previous
Next ❯

Citations

Jun 27, 2015·Pain Medicine : the Official Journal of the American Academy of Pain Medicine·Timothy Y MarianoBenjamin D Greenberg
Jan 28, 2016·Pain Medicine : the Official Journal of the American Academy of Pain Medicine·Timothy Y MarianoBenjamin D Greenberg
Jul 23, 2013·Journal of Psychiatric Research·Richard J MacateeJesse R Cougle
Nov 16, 2017·Journal of Clinical Psychology·Lauryn E GarnerJason A Elias
Jan 31, 2019·European Journal of Pain : EJP·Claire ThorntonAndrew Baird
Dec 8, 2015·Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy·Shannon M BlakeyJonathan S Abramowitz
Apr 11, 2014·Pain Medicine : the Official Journal of the American Academy of Pain Medicine·Aneesha NilakantanSean Mackey
Feb 23, 2020·Current Psychiatry Reports·Aurora Szentágotai-TătarAndrei C Miu
Oct 4, 2019·Pain Medicine : the Official Journal of the American Academy of Pain Medicine·Johannes AchenbachMatthias Karst
Aug 12, 2019·The Journal of Pain : Official Journal of the American Pain Society·Yael LahavRuth Defrin
Aug 5, 2021·Bulletin of the Menninger Clinic·Caitlin M PinciottiBradley C Riemann
Aug 7, 2021·Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews·Rebecca BrewerGeoffrey Bird
Oct 31, 2019·Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics·Giovanni A FavaJenny Guidi
Aug 12, 2020·Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics·Tom Sensky

❮ Previous
Next ❯

Related Concepts

Related Feeds

Anxiety Disorders

Discover the latest research on anxiety disorders including agoraphobia, panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder here.

© 2021 Meta ULC. All rights reserved