Table 4

Complete List of Positive and Negative Items by Level of Endorsement* Sorted by Psychometric Domains

Item**

# of Applies or Best Applies

(max n = 34)

Whole Person Negative

I felt drained. (W - Phy - E)

20

I was overwhelmed. (W)

19

I was in pain. (W -- Phy)

18

I felt unbalanced. (W)

15

I was suffering (W)

15

I muddled through my days. (W)

14

I felt powerless. (W - Emp)

13

Every day was a struggle. (W)

13

I was miserable (W-A)

12

I was really stuck in some parts of my life. (W)

12

I felt numb. (W - Phy)

12

I felt shattered. (W - A)

11

I put all my energy into survival. (W - Phy)*

11

I was judgmental. (W)

10

I felt like I was sinking in quick sand. (W)

10

I felt alone. (W - So - Sp)

10

I was hanging on for dear life. (W - A)

10

My life was a mess. (W)

10

I was scared that my life might never get better. (W -- A)

8

I felt out of control. (W - Emp)

8

I felt defined by my illness. (W)

7

I just kept doing the same thing over and over. (W)

7

I was desperate. (W - A)

7

I lost myself. (W)

6

I didn't bounce back. (W)

6

Nothing gave me pleasure. (W)

5

There was no laughter in my life. (W - A)

5

I lost trust in my body. (W - Phy)

5

I was unforgiving. (W)

5

I felt like I was being punished. (W - Sp)

4

I was not resilient. (W)

3

I had tried everything and nothing worked. (W - Phy)

2

Whole Person Positive

I am on a path towards health and wellness. (W -Phy)

22

My life has meaning. (W)

20

I take life's obstacles in stride. (W)

20

I am forgiving. (W)

20

I am able to forgive. (W)

20

I feel alive. (W - E)

19

I am able to let go. (W)

19

I am resilient. (W)

19

I feel empowered. (W - Emp)

19

I'm trying things I never tried before. (W)

18

I am awake. (W -- E)

17

I am aware. (W - Cog)

16

I feel vitalized. (W - E)

15

I am in control of things that I can control. (W - Emp)

15

My life is balanced. (W)

14

I am restored. (W - E)

14

I bounce back. (W)

13

I trust my body. (W -- Phy)

13

I'm feeling great. (W)

13

I am living my life to the fullest. (W)

13

I am nonjudgmental. (W)

10

Life is good. (W)

10

I feel complete. (W)

9

Life is not a struggle. (W)

9

Physical Negative

I was tired/I had no energy/I was exhausted. (Phy - E)

20

I was depleted. (Phy - E)

18

I didn't sleep well. (Phy)

17

My senses felt dull. (Phy)

16

I have had improvements in my health I did not expect. (W - Phy)

15

I kept getting the same kinds of symptoms. (Phy)

13

It felt like my body was breaking down. (Phy)

12

My body recovered slowly. (Phy - Fxn)

8

Physical Positive

My body recovers quickly (Phy - Fxn)

22

I am in tune with my body. (Phy)

18

I am better able to carry out daily activities. (Phy - Fxn)

18

My senses are vibrant. (Phy)

16

I sleep well. (Phy - E)

13

I do things now I hadn't been able to do before the [treatment/study] began. (Phy - Fxn)

12

I wake up rested and refreshed. (Phy - E)

11

I have abundant energy. (Phy - E)

6

I don't have symptoms any more. (Phy)

3

I have abundant energy to do what I want to do. (Phy - E - Fxn)

1

Cognitive Negative

I couldn't think clearly. (Cog)

15

I was unable to focus. (Cog - W)

13

I felt like nothing I could do would help. (Cog - Emp)

7

Cognitive Positive

I have learned new things about myself. (Cog - Sp)

21

I am able to deal with life's difficulties. (Cog)

20

I am better able to make decisions about my health and well-being. (Cog)

20

I am focused. (Cog)

17

My life is not defined by my illness. (Cog)

15

Emotional/Affective Negative

I was stressed. (A)

20

I was scared. (A)

18

I am not afraid of the future. (A)

14

I was depressed. (A)

13

I was anxious about the future. (A)

11

I had an overwhelming sense of loss. (A)

11

I was so angry. (A)

9

Life was not worth living. (A)

8

All I could see was what I had lost. (A)

5

Emotional/Affective Positive

I am able to love. (A - So)

21

I laugh. (A)

21

I find pleasure in life. (A)

21

I am joyful. (A)

21

I am happy. (A)

19

I am content. (A)

17

Spiritual Negative

I had no hope. (Sp)

7

I felt far from God. (Sp)

6

I had lost my faith. (Sp)

4

Spiritual Positive

I am using my inner resources to heal myself. (Sp)

21

I am hopeful. (Sp)

21

I have faith. (Sp)

20

I have hope. (Sp)

20

I feel spiritual. (Sp)

20

I am on a spiritual path. (Sp)

18

I feel closer to God. (Sp)

13

Social Negative

I couldn't/wouldn't take suggestions from others. (So)

8

Social Positive

I feel connected. (So - Sp)

18

* "Endorsement" means categorizing the item as "applies" or "best applies."

** Abbreviations in parentheses after each item reflect the following domains:

W = Whole Person; Phy = Physical; Emp = Empowerment; E = Energy; Fxn = Functional;

Sp = Spiritual; Cog = Cognitive; A = Emotional/Affective; So = Social

Ritenbaugh et al. BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine 2011 11:135   doi:10.1186/1472-6882-11-135

Open Data