At the mercy of myself: A thematic analysis of beliefs about losing control.

Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell Country of Publication: England NLM ID: 101135751 Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 2044-8341 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 14760835 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Psychol Psychother Subsets: MEDLINE

Publication: 2011- : West Sussex, England : Wiley-Blackwell
Original Publication: Leicester, UK : British Psychological Society, c2002-

Anxiety Disorders*/psychology; Humans ; Female ; Male ; Adult ; Young Adult ; Emotions ; Middle Aged ; Self-Control/psychology ; Self Concept

Purpose: Concerns about the likelihood, consequences, and meaning of losing control are commonplace across anxiety-related disorders. However, several experimental studies have suggested that individuals without a diagnosis of a mental disorder also believe that they can and will lose control under the right circumstances. Understanding the range of beliefs about the nature and consequences of losing control can help us to better understand the continuum of negative beliefs about losing control.
Methods: The present study used thematic analysis to identify common beliefs about losing control in an unselected sample. Twenty-one participants, half of whom met criteria for at least one anxiety-related disorder, were interviewed about their beliefs about losing control.
Results: All 21 participants reported that losing control was possible. Losses of control were defined as multifaceted cognitive-behavioural processes and were seen as negative considering the perceived consequences of the losses. Commonly described consequences were harm to oneself or others, powerlessness, and unpleasant emotions during (e.g., sadness, frustration, and anxiety) and following (e.g., regret, shame, and humiliation) a loss of control.
Conclusions: These results suggest that perceived losses of control are common and that negative beliefs about losing may only become problematic when the losses are personally significant. Further, they offer important insight into what is common among clinical and non-clinical beliefs about losing control and inform how these beliefs might be worth targeting in cognitive and behavioural interventions.
(© 2023 The Authors. Psychology and Psychotherapy: Theory, Research and Practice published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of The British Psychological Society.)

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Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada

Keywords: losing control; phenomenology; qualitative; transdiagnostic

Date Created: 20231222 Date Completed: 20240509 Latest Revision: 20240509

20240509

10.1111/papt.12515

38131416