The effectiveness of a mindfulness-based stress reduction program on emotional alexithymia and rumination in female patients with fibromyalgia

Authors
zahra Amir Azdi
Soheila rahmani
parisa kolahi
Abstract
Fibromyalgia is a widespread chronic pain disorder that is associated with fatigue, sleep disturbance, and cognitive problems and is associated with high levels of alexithymia and rumination. Given the role of psychological factors in the exacerbation of symptoms, mindfulness-based interventions have been considered as a complementary approach. The present study aimed to determine the effectiveness of a mindfulness-based stress reduction program on alexithymia and rumination in female patients with fibromyalgia. Method: This quasi-experimental study was conducted with a pretest-posttest design with a control group. The statistical population included all female patients with fibromyalgia who referred to Sina Hospital in Tehran during June and July 2025. Among the eligible individuals, 30 individuals were selected through purposive sampling and randomly assigned to two experimental (n=15) and control (n=15) groups. The experimental group participated in 8 90-minute sessions of a mindfulness-based stress reduction program, while the control group did not receive any intervention. The research instruments included the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20) and the Rumination Scale. The data were analyzed using repeated measures analysis of variance. Findings: The results showed that after controlling for pre-test scores, there was a significant difference between the two groups in the variables of alexithymia and rumination (P < 0.001). So that the mean scores of the experimental group in both variables were significantly reduced. The effect size calculation showed that the mindfulness intervention had a significant effect on reducing rumination and a moderate effect on reducing emotional alexithymia. Conclusion: The findings of the study indicate that the mindfulness-based stress reduction program can be used as an effective psychological intervention in improving emotional alexithymia and reducing rumination in female patients with fibromyalgia. It is suggested that this approach be used as a complementary treatment in chronic pain treatment centers.
Keywords
Mindfulness-based stress reduction program
emotional alexithymia
Rumination
Fibromyalgia
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