Coping Strategies in Thyroid Diseases

In the present study, we aimed at evaluating the relationship between the cognitive coping strategies of people with thyroid diseases and the level of stress experienced by them. During the present study we evaluated the coping strategies with Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire, and the level of stress experienced by them with Holmes and Rahe stress scale. All patients attended an endocrinology outpatient clinic between may-august 2019. 42 thyroid patients (31 with hypothyroidism and 11 with hyperthyroidism), aged 33-69 were selected for this study. The coping strategies used predominantly by thyroid patients are: rumination, positive reappraisal, catastrophizing. The rumination and the level of stress experienced correlated positively. 295 *, p = .044, statistically significant (p<0.05). 58.13% of patients presented stressful events in the year prior onset of thyroid pathology. This finding is important because restructuring less proactive coping strategies through psychotherapies can be an effective alternative or adjuvant way of treating thyroid diseases.