What does the pain catastrophizing scale measure?

What does the pain catastrophizing scale measure?

What it measures: The Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS) assesses the extent of catastrophic thinking due to low back pain according to 3 components: rumination, magnification, and helplessness. It is a 13-item scale, with a total range of 0 to 52. Higher scores are associated with higher amounts of pain catastrophizing.

Who created the pain catastrophizing scale?

The pain catastrophizing scale is a 13-item self-report scale to measure pain catastrophizing created by Michael J. L. Sullivan, Scott R. Bishop and Jayne Pivik.

Is catastrophizing a coping mechanism?

It’s unclear what exactly causes catastrophizing. It could be a coping mechanism learned from family or other important people in a person’s life. It could be a result of an experience, or could be related to brain chemistry.

How do you stop catastrophizing pain?

Counselling to deal with anxiety and depression can help to reduce the feelings of helplessness that come with pain catastrophizing, and put you in a better mental state to begin other therapies directed towards your catastrophizing as explained here. CBT helps you to change how you think about your pain.

How do you measure catastrophizing?

Catastrophizing Measures The Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS)49 consists of 13 items rated on a 5-point scale ranging from 0 (not at all) to 4 (all the time). Participants are instructed to indicate the degree to which he/she has specific thoughts and feelings when experiencing pain.

What causes pain catastrophizing?

Subsequently, health psychologists recognized catastrophizing as a general pattern of emotional thoughts/beliefs in which chronic pain patients overestimate the degree of emotional distress and discomfort that may be caused by a stressful experience, such as being injured, and then overly focus on the negative aspects …

Which statement is an example of catastrophizing?

Here are some examples of catastrophizing: “If I fail this test, I will never pass school, and I will be a total failure in life.” “If I don’t recover quickly from this procedure, I will never get better, and I will be disabled my entire life.”

How do you deal with catastrophizing CBT?

The following five techniques can help shift your thinking—not into complacency, but into hope and health, which will help you move toward action.

  1. Don’t exaggerate. Stay specific.
  2. Sleep. Yes, sleep.
  3. Understand that thoughts do not define you.
  4. Don’t conflate the present (or the past) with the future.
  5. Get physical.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ck4oGvj1BxU

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