Somatic symptoms of helplessness and hopelessness

Abstract

Helplessness and hopelessness are transdiagnostic and aggravating factors of mental ill health, but their relation with somatization is not well documented. The main objectives were to identify somatic symptoms that are particularly associated with helplessness, referred to as somatic symptoms of helplessness (SS‐He), and hopelessness, referred to as somatic symptoms of hopelessness (SS‐Ho), determine increased risk of helplessness and hopelessness if having these symptoms and a certain number of these symptoms, and determine sensitivity and specificity in identifying helplessness and hopelessness based on number of these symptoms in a general Swedish sample. Population‐based data from validated questionnaire instruments were used from 3,210 participants who constituted case groups of helplessness and hopelessness, and corresponding reference groups. Among 15 common somatic symptoms, five SS‐He (e.g., feeling tired/having low energy) and five SS‐Ho (e.g., dizziness) were identified, showing increased risk of helplessness and hopelessness that ranged from the factor 1.73 to 2.58 and from 1.44 to 1.92, respectively, which decreased considerably when controlled for depression and anxiety. The risk of helplessness increased by the factor 1.49 for each additional SS‐He, and by 1.38 for each SS‐Ho. A cutoff of two/three or more SS‐He showed a sensitivity of 81.7/63.7% and a specificity of 40.6/61.4% in identifying helplessness, and 77.4/54.6% and 40.4/66.1%, respectively, in identifying hopelessness based on two/three or more SS‐Ho. Primary care clinicians may consider further investigation of helplessness and hopelessness as well as depression and anxiety if presenting with these symptoms.

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“…Sleep problems are associated with lower self-esteem (Lemola et al, 2013), supporting covariance between items 8 and 9. Feeling hopeless was related to somatic symptoms (Ejdemyr et al, 2021), supporting the covariance between items 3 and 7.…”

Demoralization in acute coronary syndrome: Treatment and predictive factors associated with its persistence

“…Drawing from the evidence in the field, due to the traumatic nature of the ACS and its potential for ongoing physical discomfort and disability, these patients become more aware of potential triggers that might worsen their symptoms ( Gostoli et al., 2023b ) or increase the risk of future cardiac events ( Ganz et al., 2022 ). Therefore, experiencing somatization might affect their motivation to engage in healthy behaviors and result in increased morbidity and mortality ( Ejdemyr et al., 2021 ).…”

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“…Feelings of helplessness is an emotional state where one perceives a lack of control over current life events and involve a lack of efforts to escape from uncontrolled stress ( Grant, 1978 ; Ejdemyr et al, 2021 ; Song and Vilares, 2021 ). This differs from hopelessness, which is marked by a negative outlook on future outcomes ( Ejdemyr et al, 2021 ).…”

“…Feelings of helplessness is an emotional state where one perceives a lack of control over current life events and involve a lack of efforts to escape from uncontrolled stress ( Grant, 1978 ; Ejdemyr et al, 2021 ; Song and Vilares, 2021 ). This differs from hopelessness, which is marked by a negative outlook on future outcomes ( Ejdemyr et al, 2021 ). Feelings of helplessness are intimately linked to the psychological model of ‘learned helplessness’ as a framework for understanding depression, and exhibit high face, construct, and predictive validity in animal models of depression ( Vollmayr and Gass, 2013 ).…”