Comparison of Mood States, Distress Tolerance, Self-Compassion, and Perceived Social Support in People with Migraine

This study aimed to examine and compare mood states, distress tolerance, self-compassion, and perceived social support between individuals experiencing migraines and those without.

The research employed a causal-comparative methodology, targeting all migraine patients in Shiraz City (sourced from neurology clinics) and individuals without migraine (typically accompanying patients) during the first quarter of 2012. The sample includes two groups of 50 people with migraine and healthy people, who were selected by convenience sampling. The tools used in this research included the distress tolerance questionnaires of Simmons and Gaher, Reiss et al.'s self-compassion, Zimmet et al.'s social support, and Lin et al.'s mood states.

The results showed that results of variance analysis showed that there is a significant difference between the two groups in the components of tension, vitality, fatigue, confusion, and happiness (mood states). However, there was no significant difference between the two groups in the components of depression, anger, and relaxation. There is a significant difference between the two groups in the components of tolerance, evaluation, and the total score of distress tolerance, self-kindness, and common human experiences.  Individuals without migraines exhibit higher mean scores compared to those with migraines. In addition, a significant disparity between the two groups is evident solely in the friends' support component within the social support variable.  No significant difference was observed in other components.

The study's findings hold promise as a foundation for future investigations and the development of preventative and therapeutic interventions tailored to individuals suffering from migraines.