Mindfulness-based stress reduction for chronic pain: Enhancing psychological well-being without altering attentional biases towards pain faces.
European journal of pain (London, England) February 1, 2025 Elena Robles, Iván Blanco, Gustavo Díez et al. 4 citations
A Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program improved depression, anxiety, stress, pain acceptance, well-being, and life satisfaction in people with chronic pain. Thirty-two participants with no prior mindfulness experience were randomly assigned to an MBSR group or a waiting list. Before the program, participants showed attentional biases toward pain-related stimuli. After MBSR, psychological symptoms improved, but attentional patterns changed little; only gaze duration across all stimuli increased. The limited attentional change raises questions about the mechanisms behind the psychological benefits. This was the first study to use eye-tracking to examine MBSR's effect on attention in chronic back pain.