Welcome to another episode of Gut Heroes!

In this episode, I look at the fascinating relationship between rumination, catastrophising, and chronic pain. I explore the latest research and share personal insights on how our mental states and relationships could affect our pain management journey, including:

✔️ The role of stress in chronic pain (and how our thought processes and social interactions can influence pain levels)
✔️ The concept of “distress contagion” and a social media tip
✔️ The power of social support in reducing pain intensity and promoting positive pain adaptation
✔️The complex relationship between social validation, self-sufficiency, and pain management
✔️ Key findings from studies on pain catastrophising in rheumatic diseases like AS and rheumatoid arthritis
✔️ The importance of finding a supportive, positive “tribe”

Show Notes:

🔗 You can also view a transcript of this episode here – view transcript

Studies Discussed in this Podcast:

📘 “Social media comes with good and bad sides, doesn’t it?” – view study
📘 “Social pain and physical pain: shared paths to resilience” – view study
📘 “Assessing Beliefs Underlying Rumination About Pain: Development and Validation of the Pain Metacognitions Questionnaire” – view study
📘 “Stopping Worst-Case Thinking” – Arthritis.org article” – view article

Other Links:

🔗 “Pain and Catastrophizing in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis: A prospective observational cohort study” – view study