Sleep Lab » News (tag [WITHIN])

New paper on mental defeat as a predictor of future suicide risk

Wed, 15 Jan 2025 09:33:00 GMT

Suicide risk is double in people experiencing chronic pain. What can be done to reduce this risk?

Our lab followed up people experiencing chronic pain for a year, and found those who feel most mentally defeated by pain (at the start) showed the greatest risk of suicidal thoughts and behaviour (at the end of the year). Existing symptoms of depression didn’t explain everything, instead they amplified the mental defeat-->suicide risk link. Implication: Mental defeat may be a worthy new treatment target for those struggling to cope with chronic pain.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ejp.4779

New paper on self-compassion and chronic pain

Mon, 13 Jan 2025 10:00:06 GMT

Hot off the press. A new paper - brilliantly led by @jennalgillett.bsky.social and Arman Rakhimov - validates the use of the Self-Compassion Scale Short-Form in chronic pain and exploring its initial relationships with pain outcomes.

🧪Open access: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/20494637241312070

Airing Pain #147: Person-Centred Care

Thu, 05 Dec 2024 12:05:57 GMT

We were intereviewed by Airing Pain's Paul Evans at the 2024 British Pain Society meeting, giving an update on our WITHIN study. The episode is out now.

Time Stamps:

[00:00] Introduction by Paul Evans
Overview of Pain Concern’s work and the British Pain Society’s Annual Scientific Meeting 2024 as the context for the interviews.

[00:45] Professor Nicole Tang on Mental Defeat
She explains how chronic pain impacts identity and self-perception, drawing analogies from animal behavior. Discusses mental defeat as a predictor of distress and its relationship with suicidal behavior.

[02:27] Vicky Sandy-Davis on Person-Centred Care
She explains diagnostic overshadowing and highlights the importance of personalized care for individuals with learning disabilities and chronic pain. Shares challenges in supporting offenders with learning disabilities in the criminal justice system.

[16:26] Ian Taverner and Sarah Harrisson discuss Patient Involvement in Research
They discuss the value of integrating lived experiences of chronic pain sufferers into research.
They highlight the gap in representation of individuals with severe pain in public involvement initiatives. and advocate for meaningful participation of patients in shaping research.

[19:25] Nicole Tang and Jenna Gillett discuss the Warwick Mental Defeat Study and how mental defeat impacts pain management and affects levels of suicidal behaviour.

[30:00] Nicole Tang and Jenna Gillett discuss challenges in communicating research outcomes – the importance of making tools and findings accessible to clinicians and researchers. They talk about plans to share the mental defeat questionnaire for broader use in healthcare.

Congratulations to Dr Gillett!

Fri, 29 Nov 2024 11:57:00 GMT

Jenna Gillett our PhD student from WITHIN passed her viva yesterday and is now Dr Gillett. We are very proud of you! Many thanks to Frankie Maratos, Gemma Gray, and Michaela Gummerum for being such amazing examiners!

Jenna Gillett won the Best PhD Student Paper Prize (Open Science)

Thu, 23 May 2024 08:33:00 GMT

Following rigorous evaluations by an independent committee, her paper has been awarded the accolade "Best PhD Student Open Science Paper in 2023". Very well deserved!

Gillett, Jenna L., Karadag, Paige, Themelis, Kristy, Li, Yu-Mei, Lemola, Sakari, Balasubramanian, Shyam, Singh, Swaran P. and Tang, Nicole K. Y. (2023) Investigating mental defeat in patients with chronic pain : protocol for a longitudinal experience sampling study. BMJ Open, 13 . e066577. doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2022-066577 ISSN 2044-6055.

New JCM paper on Pain Management

Tue, 07 Nov 2023 15:11:00 GMT

The Management of Chronic Pain: Re-Centring Person-Centred Care

J. Clin. Med. 2023, 12(22), 6957; https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm12226957

The drive for a more person-centred approach in the broader field of clinical medicine is also gaining traction in chronic pain treatment. Despite current advances, a further departure from ‘business as usual’ is required to ensure that the care offered or received is not only effective but also considers personal values, goals, abilities, and day-to-day realities. Existing work typically focuses on explaining pain symptoms and the development of standardised interventions, at the risk of overlooking the broader consequences of pain in individuals’ lives and individual differences in pain responses. This review underscores the importance of considering additional factors, such as the influence of chronic pain on an individual’s sense of self. It explores innovative approaches to chronic pain management that have the potential to optimise effectiveness and offer person-centred care. Furthermore, it delves into research applying hybrid and individual formulations, along with self-monitoring technologies, to enhance pain assessment and the tailoring of management strategies. In conclusion, this review advocates for chronic pain management approaches that align with an individual’s priorities and realities while fostering their active involvement in self-monitoring and self-management.

Visit by Dr Martin Cheatle

Fri, 27 Oct 2023 09:41:00 GMT

We are pleased to have Dr Martin Cheatle from U Penn visiting us. His talk was informative and entertaining. A hit for our audience!

Mental defeat predicts suicide risk

Mon, 31 Jul 2023 16:56:00 GMT

Check out our new paper published in the Journal of Pain on mental defeat and suicidality. This is our first publication based on data collected for the WITHIN study. We thank our staff and research participants for their invaluable contribution!

Results from this prospective cohort study suggest that mental defeat is a significant predictor of increased suicide risk among patients with chronic pain, along with depression, perceived stress, head pain, and active smoking status. These findings offer a novel avenue for assessment and preventative intervention before risk escalates.

1 of 4 best posters at the British Pain Society conference 2023

Tue, 09 May 2023 22:25:00 GMT

Congratulations to our fellow, @KristyThemelis who is shortlisted for 'best poster' and gave a fantastic presentation on our predictors of suicidality in #ChronicPain findings as part of the WITHIN study #BPSASM2023 pic.twitter.com/rTuP1yOOjC
— WITHIN Study (@StudyWithin) May 9, 2023

Very well done to @JennaLGillett and @KristyThemelis from the WITHIN team who have two posters at the @BritishPainSoc ASM in Glasgow! #BPSASM2023 pic.twitter.com/HRNUbd8ACz
— WITHIN Study (@StudyWithin) May 9, 2023

Within tracking study protocol is published!

Mon, 06 Feb 2023 16:32:00 GMT

Check out our study protocol published in the BMJ Open. Free access to all. Link: https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/13/2/e066577