| Our study aims to examine whether emotions trigger symptoms in patients with fibromyalgia and whether emotion regulation styles modulate this relationship. A descriptive, predictive, and experimental research question will be addressed. The study consists of a questionnaire study in 200 female patients with fibromyalgia and 100 matched healthy research participants, and an experimental study in 64 patients and 64 healthy participants. A first, descriptive, question is to examine whether patients with fibromyalgia are characterized by specific emotion regulation styles and whether these styles are related to general health and symptoms. It is hypothesized that poor health and more severe symptoms are observed in patients who have difficulty identifying and expressing emotions and who tend to inhibit the outward signs of inner feelings. A second, predictive, question is to examine whether fluctuations of daily symptoms are predicted by the emotions anger, tension, and depression, and whether this depends on individual differences in emotion regulation styles. It is expected that especially an increase of anger and tension will augment pain, while depression may especially trigger fatigue. Emotions are expected to be intertwined with emotion regulation styles, which will be taken account of. A third, experimental, question is to examine whether anger leads to an increase of norepinephrine and pain in patients and if this depends on emotion regulation styles. It is hypothesized that patients with fibromyalgia will show a larger physiological response and pain during an anger-provoking movie than during a neutral movie. This will especially be the case in patients who tend to inhibit the outward signs of inner feelings. Patients will differ from healthy subjects in which anger and the noradrenergic response are expected to reduce pain severity. If it could be established that emotions trigger symptoms of patients with fibromyalgia in their natural situation and that emotion regulation modulates these relationships, this provides indications for improved interventions for this group as has been done to reduce emotional inhibition in coronary heart disease and to encourage emotional expression in various clinical populations. |
