People living with mental and chronic illnesses often face forms of discrimination related to their conditions. Self-stigma is a phenomenon when negative stereotypes related to stigmatized identities are self-reinforced by those individuals with illnesses, which can often lead to feelings of shame, low self-esteem, and inadequacy. Self-stigmas cause undue stress on individuals and can also lead to decreased life satisfaction and well-being.
Current models of self-stigma propose that the phenomenon is comprised of two components, the content (negative thoughts) and the process (frequency and repetition of these thoughts). Mindfulness and self-compassion have been theorized to disrupt the maladaptive repetition of negative thoughts and emotions for patients with chronic or mental illnesses, who are particularly susceptible to psychosocial distress.
In this study, Yang and her team explored the potential moderating role of self-compassion and mindfulness to self-stigmas and well-being in two clinical samples in Hong Kong, China. The first clinical sample comprised of 169 patients currently living with mental health disorders, ranging from schizophrenia, depression, and bipolar disorder, in which 92% of the participants were actively using psychotropic medications as treatment. The second sample consists of 291 patients living with HIV; 87% of the participants were receiving anti-retroviral therapy at the time of the study.
All participants were issued a series of questionnaires comprised of five scales that assessed for mindfulness (FFMQ), self-compassion (SCS-SF), the content of self-stigmas (SSS- cognitive subscale), the frequency and repetition of self-stigmas (STARS), and life satisfaction (SLS).
Interestingly, the results indicated that mindfulness and self-compassion were positively associated with life satisfaction. In other words, patients who viewed themselves as more mindful and self-compassionate also tended to report a higher sense of life satisfaction. Conversely, those who scored higher on self-stigmatizing content and frequency of these negative thoughts were more likely to score lower on life-satisfaction, indicating a negative correlation.
“Interestingly, the results indicated that mindfulness and self-compassion were positively associated with life satisfaction.”
Yang and her team confirmed their hypothesis that the moderating effects of mindfulness and self-compassion were group specific. For the clinical sample with mental health issues, mindfulness in particular buffered against the negative association between the frequency of self-stigmas and well-being.
However, for the sample of participants with HIV, results indicated that the content of their self-stigma was significantly related to subjective well-being and that self-compassion specifically moderated this relationship.
These results, although only correlational, provide an intriguing line of investigation that invites a closer examination of the group-specific moderating effects of mindfulness and self-compassion on self-stigma. Furthermore, the study authors suggest an experimental design to establish the causal relationship between mindfulness, self-compassion, and self-stigma.
With the ever-expanding application of mindfulness-based interventions for various clinical populations, there seems to be ripe opportunity for the development of interventions or the integration of components that specifically target self-stigma in clinical population to increase well-being and life satisfaction.
Michael is the Founder & Chief Editor of the Science of Mindfulness.
“Even if they felt excluded, those who had greater levels of self-compassion exhibited less depression because they tended to use positive coping mechanisms. “
The study also highlighted how emotional well-being and self-compassion act as mediators, bridging the gap between mental toughness and aggression to strengthen the protective impact of mental toughness against aggression.
The research highlights the importance to encourage self-compassion and forgiveness to improve older people’s mental health
Recent studies investigating the relationship between loneliness and poor sleep quality in teenagers discovered a significant correlation between higher loneliness and poorer sleep quality.
By providing an immersive, engrossing, and controlled visual and auditory experience in which participants can practice mindfulness techniques, Virtual Reality (VR) systems can create immersive, ecologically valid, first-person experiences that can even tap into physiological reactions that align with real-world experiences.
The researchers were interested in understanding if forgiveness acts as a mechanism by which mindfulness relates to relationship satisfaction. They speculated that being mindful would allow individuals to be aware of their own and their partners’ emotions in a non-judgmental and non-reactive way. The increased awareness would make people more forgiving of partner transgressions, thereby enhancing relationship satisfaction.
Emerging studies are highlighting the effectiveness of mindfulness, gratitude and hopefulness as positive psychological tools in helping people cope with anxiety and stress. These practices have also been considered beneficial in enhancing psychological health and well-being.
Despite growing knowledge that mindfulness meditation can enhance emotional wellbeing, very little is known about how it all works. How exactly does the act of meditation help us deal with the emotional rollercoaster of everyday life? Is mindfulness training actually “transferrable” to real world situations? What’s going on in the brain? Can we even measure it?
How does self-compassion protect depressed adolescents? Quieting the self may be the key.
A study led by Alexandra Martelli investigated whether more mindful individuals (based on self-report measure scores) would respond to social rejection with less distress and if certain neurological mechanisms in the brain’s prefrontal cortex can potentially explain the role of mindfulness in reduced social distress.
A research team from Valencia, Spain recently investigated the effects of a brief mindfulness-based intervention on both mood and biological markers on a sample of health professional students.
A new study by Kim and colleagues explored how compassion-based training can affect two self-regulatory styles and its relationship to neural, physiological, and behavioral responses.
Torre and colleagues recruited 70 HCWs from two hospitals in Rome, Italy for a 4-week course in yoga and mindfulness.
A team of researchers based in the perceived epicenter of the virus, Wuhan, China, recently tested whether a brief mindfulness intervention delivered through an app could be effective for reducing anxiety and protecting nightly sleep during the unfolding pandemic.
Mindfulness practices can enhance a therapist’s ability to intentionally and flexibly regulate attention as well as emotional reactivity which has been demonstrated to influence burnout.
A new study investigated whether a brief mindfulness training designed to reduce physician burnout could be delivered through a smartphone app.
The current study reviewed the wider scientific literature for the role of yoga and mindfulness interventions in the treatment of severe mental illness.
The amount of research involving mindfulness interventions has grown exponentially; however, only in the last decade has mindfulness research involving adolescents rapidly increased.
There is promising evidence that 70% of smokers would like to quit but less than 5% of unassisted attempts at quitting are actually successful.
In a recent pilot study by Suzette Glasner, Ph.D. and her team at the Integrated Substance Abuse Programs at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, they evaluated the effects of Mindfulness-Based Relapse Prevention (MBRP) on reducing relapse susceptibility among stimulant-dependent adults receiving a contingency management (CM) intervention.
A major implication of the study suggests the distal effects of intensive retreat practice on respiration rates, a benefit not necessarily conferred by a brief, but full-day meditation session.
Researchers are exploring mindfulness-based interventions as a long-term treatment options to address the multitude of symptoms after cancer has been treated.
While the scientific study of mindfulness has exponentially increased over the past few decades, only recently has the scientific community focused on the effects of meditation training on biological aging.
Tell us about your idea. Nearly any subject related to the science of mindfulness is fair game.