The Effect of Daily Meditative Practices Based on Mindfulness and Self-Compassion on Emotional Distress under Stressful Conditions: A Randomized Controlled Trial.
María Elena Gutiérrez-hernández, Luisa Fernanda Fanjul Rodríguez, Alicia Díaz Megolla, Cristián Oyanadel, Wenceslao Peñate Castro
European journal of investigation in health, psychology and education April 10, 2023 DOI: 10.3390/ejihpe13040058 via PubMed
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractAn online self-compassion intervention during the first ten weeks of COVID-19 lockdowns increased self-compassion and reduced anxiety, depression, and stress in a non-clinical sample. Sixty-one participants completed at least two thirds of the sessions, which included guided meditations and inquiry, while 65 people formed a waiting-list control group. The control group showed no significant changes. Emotional improvements in the intervention group were linked to increased self-compassion. However, at follow-up, distress scores returned to pre-intervention levels, suggesting that benefits may require regular practice to be maintained, especially under ongoing high stress.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Randomized controlled trial Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 126 |
| Population | Non-clinical sample in lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic |
| Duration | 10-week intervention, follow-up |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Mental health Self-compassion |
| Citations | 4 |
| Key finding | The online self-compassion intervention increased self-compassion and decreased anxiety, depression, and stress during lockdown, but improvements were not maintained at follow-up. |
Abstract
Intervention programs based on self-compassion have demonstrated their efficacy both in reducing psychological distress and increasing well-being. The goal of this study was to test the efficacy of an online intervention to increase mindfulness and self-compassion levels in a non-clinical sample in a highly stressful context: the ten weeks of lockdown imposed in the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. The intervention sessions consisted of thirty-minute guided meditations followed by thirty minutes of inquiry. Sixty-one participants completed two thirds of the sessions or more, and 65 individuals participated in a waiting-list (WL) control group. Self-compassion, anxiety, depression and stress levels were assessed. The analysis of pre-post results suggests that the interventions increased self-compassion levels and decreased anxiety, depression and stress levels, whereas the WL group did not show any significant changes. The emotional changes in the intervention group were associated with the increase in self-compassion. However, at follow-up, the scores of emotional distress variables returned to the initial pre-intervention scores. These data can be interpreted in line with previous results that have shown the efficacy of self-compassion-based intervention programs. Given that this efficacy was not maintained at follow-up, data are discussed according to the pervasive role of a highly stressful context and-as described in other studies-the need for regular practice to maintain the benefits obtained.