Mental Imagery in Worries about Health
Research type
Research Study
Full title
An Investigation of Mental Imagery in Worries about Health
IRAS ID
291384
Contact name
Bahar Pourghobad
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Oxford Health NHS Found
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 8 months, 7 days
Research summary
Everyone experiences some anxiety about health from time to time. This is often not a problem, as following medical investigation people feel reassured and their anxiety minimises. However, for some anxiety persists despite medical evidence indicating that there is no reason to be concerned. These individuals can be diagnosed with illness anxiety disorder. Research shows that individuals with illness anxiety disorder negatively misinterpret health related information such as normal bodily changes, which can result in anxiety. We also know from research that our thoughts can directly influence our emotions such as anxiety. However, thoughts can also be experienced in the format of mental pictures, and these pictures can result in stronger emotional reactions. Individuals with illness anxiety disorder often experience unwanted mental pictures about future illness and health problems. This study aims to find out whether such mental pictures are driving illness anxiety disorder. This is important to investigate, as it will develop our understanding of illness anxiety disorder and how we can make psychological treatment more effective.
We will recruit adults from NHS services in Oxfordshire and Berkshire and via charities and social media. We will be recruiting individuals with illness anxiety orders, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and community sample who are not seeking treatment. Individuals will be asked to think about the mental pictures/imagine future illness and health problems. When they have this mental picture in mind we then ask them to tell us how it makes them feel, think and urged to behave. Their responses will be compared to the effect of mental pictures about a general future negative event (such as partner having an accident). Comparing the effects to another image across the groups will allow us to understand whether the effects of future illness mental images are specific to individuals with illness anxiety disorder.
REC name
North West - Liverpool Central Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
21/NW/0252
Date of REC Opinion
11 Oct 2021
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion