Mindfulness och smärta: Patienters perspektiv på mindfulness som metod för smärtbehandling.

Sammanfattning

The purpose of the study was to investigate how patients with long-term pain experience mindfulness as part of their treatment. By highlighting patients' experiences and perspectives, the study aimed to explore what opportunities the use of mindfulness offers for patients with long-term pain. We conducted a qualitative study using semi-structured interviews with six patients suffering from long-term pain who had undergone a mindfulness-based treatment. The interview material was analysed using thematic analysis and the theoretical framework of the biopsychosocial model. Three major themes were identified in the data: predominantly positive attitude towards mindfulness, indirect pain relief, and implementing mindfulness in everyday life. The participants mainly had a positive attitude toward mindfulness and experienced it as helpful in managing their pain. They perceived that mindfulness had helped them to learn to relax, reduce their experience of stress, and offered a valuable reprieve from their pain. Through practicing mindfulness, they could rediscover aspects of their identity not related to their pain. The findings indicate that when practicing mindfulness, patients do not experience that their pain disappears. Rather, the treatment has an indirect impact on the experiences of pain by targeting related psychological factors such as stress, self-image, and general life quality.