The relative benefits of nonattachment to self and self-compassion for psychological distress and psychological well-being for those with and without symptoms of depression.
mindfulness
nonattachment
self-compassion
self-concept
well-being
Journal
Psychology and psychotherapy
ISSN: 2044-8341
Titre abrégé: Psychol Psychother
Pays: England
ID NLM: 101135751
Informations de publication
Date de publication:
09 2021
09 2021
Historique:
pubmed:
23
3
2021
medline:
29
10
2021
entrez:
22
3
2021
Statut:
ppublish
Résumé
Self-compassion represents a way of interacting with the self involving kindness and a balanced approach to negative self-related stimuli that has shown to contribute to reduced depression, anxiety and stress, and increased psychological well-being. Due to the potential barriers towards self-compassion for people with depressive symptoms, the objective of the present study what to investigate whether the emerging construct of 'nonattachment to self', which reflects a flexible and balanced approach to all self-related stimuli, may be more beneficial for positive psychological outcomes than self-compassion, for individuals with depressive symptoms. A sample 388 participants (consisting of 71 men, 317 women) aged from 18 to 77 (M = 35.33, SD = 10.81) completed an online questionnaire measuring levels of self-compassion, nonattachment to self, depressive symptoms, and well-being. Higher levels of both nonattachment to self and self-compassion were related to reduced psychological distress and increased psychological well-being. However, for people with at least mild depressive symptoms, nonattachment to self was found to be a stronger predictor of reduced psychological distress and increased psychological well-being than self-compassion. In conclusion, the present study suggests both nonattachment to self and self-compassion are associated with better mental health in non-clinical populations. Further, for individuals experiencing at least mild symptoms of depression, self-compassion may be less beneficial than taking a more nonattached stance towards the self. The findings have implications for the way we conceptualize self-focused attention and suggest assisting individuals to let go of their fixated, self-focused attention may be especially beneficial for individuals with depressive symptoms. The notion of letting of attachment to the separate static self lies at the core of Buddhist psychological teachings and recent research suggests it can have a positive impact on individuals psychological well-being and ill-being Given the barriers to self-compassion experienced by individuals with depressive symptoms, nonattachment to self may represent a healthy interaction with the self than is met with less resistance than self-compassion. Due to the balanced stance of nonattachment to self towards positive and negative self-related stimuli, it may be prove to be a valuable approach to treating individuals who feel conflict with taking any form of positive or kind stance towards the self.
Types de publication
Journal Article
Langues
eng
Sous-ensembles de citation
IM
Pagination
573-586Informations de copyright
© 2021 The British Psychological Society.
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