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Gilbert P, Basran JK, Plowright P, Gilbert H. Energizing compassion: using music and community focus to stimulate compassion drive and sense of connectedness. Front Psychol 2023; 14:1150592. [PMID: 37868612 PMCID: PMC10586219 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1150592] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2023] [Accepted: 06/23/2023] [Indexed: 10/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Objectives The last 20 years have seen considerable research on the nature and biopsychosocial impacts of compassion training on self and others. This training is usually focused on calming and slowing the mind and body and on individual imagery practices and mantras. This study explored the effects of three variations: 1. The impact of using energizing music to generate activation and "drive" for compassion; 2. To focus on imagining "breathing in and breathing out a white light or mist of compassion" to bring compassion to the world; and 3. While listening to energizing music, participants were guided to imagining connecting to the compassion (Sangha) community, imagining oneself as linking with others as part of communities seeking to help the world. Methods From approximately 1,600 members of the Compassionate Mind discussion list, participants were invited to take part in a new energizing focused self-practice study. The study involved listening to recorded guidance on the evolutionary model of compassion and the need to address the potentially harmful side of our nature. This was followed by a 4 1/2-min tonglen-informed guided practice of breathing in and breathing out compassion accompanied by energizing music. Forty-three participants completed several self-report scales measuring compassion orientation, wellbeing, social safeness, and positive affect before and following 2 weeks of practice. Participant experiences were recorded from 6 open explorative questions. Results Self-report measures taken before and following 2 weeks of practice revealed significant increases in self-compassion, compassion to others, openness to compassion from others, activated positive affect, safe positive affect, social safeness, and wellbeing, with the largest effect size relating to compassion for the self (d = -0.76). In addition, qualitative data revealed that the participants had experienced the practice as energizing, inspiring, and felt socially connected and that it had significant impacts on other aspects of their lives. Some participants noted that engaging with suffering also stimulated sadness. Conclusion This study found that pairing energizing music with breathing practices and specific compassion visualizations, focusing on the desire to bring compassion to the world and be part of a compassionate community, was well-accepted and had a range of significant positive impacts. This study indicates the potential value of exploring energizing in comparison to the more standard soothing and settling practices as ways of stimulating the biopsychosocial processes of compassion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paul Gilbert
- Centre for Compassion Research and Training, College of Health, Psychology and Social Care, University of Derby, Derby, United Kingdom
- The Compassionate Mind Foundation, Derby, United Kingdom
| | - Jaskaran Kaur Basran
- Centre for Compassion Research and Training, College of Health, Psychology and Social Care, University of Derby, Derby, United Kingdom
- The Compassionate Mind Foundation, Derby, United Kingdom
| | | | - Hannah Gilbert
- The Compassionate Mind Foundation, Derby, United Kingdom
- University of Roehampton, London, United Kingdom
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Matos M, McEwan K, Kanovský M, Halamová J, Steindl SR, Ferreira N, Linharelhos M, Rijo D, Asano K, Vilas SP, Márquez MG, Gregório S, Brito-Pons G, Lucena-Santos P, da Silva Oliveira M, de Souza EL, Llobenes L, Gumiy N, Costa MI, Habib N, Hakem R, Khrad H, Alzahrani A, Cheli S, Petrocchi N, Tholouli E, Issari P, Simos G, Lunding-Gregersen V, Elklit A, Kolts R, Kelly AC, Bortolon C, Delamillieure P, Paucsik M, Wahl JE, Zieba M, Zatorski M, Komendziński T, Zhang S, Basran J, Kagialis A, Kirby J, Gilbert P. Improvements in Compassion and Fears of Compassion throughout the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Multinational Study. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2023; 20:1845. [PMID: 36767212 PMCID: PMC9915071 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph20031845] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/27/2022] [Revised: 01/13/2023] [Accepted: 01/17/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
During large-scale disasters, social support, caring behaviours, and compassion are shown to protect against poor mental health outcomes. This multi-national study aimed to assess the fluctuations in compassion over time during the COVID-19 pandemic. Respondents (Time 1 n = 4156, Time 2 n = 980, Time 3 n = 825) from 23 countries completed online self-report questionnaires measuring the flows of compassion (i.e., Compassionate Engagement and Action Scales) and fears of compassion toward self and others and from others (i.e., Fears of Compassion Scales) and mental health at three time-points during a 10-month period. The results for the flows of compassion showed that self-compassion increased at Time 3. Compassion for others increased at Time 2 and 3 for the general population, but in contrast, it decreased in health professionals, possibly linked to burnout. Compassion from others did not change in Time 2, but it did increase significantly in Time 3. For fears of compassion, fears of self-compassion reduced over time, fears of compassion for others showed more variation, reducing for the general public but increasing for health professionals, whilst fears of compassion from others did not change over time. Health professionals, those with compassion training, older adults, and women showed greater flows of compassion and lower fears of compassion compared with the general population, those without compassion training, younger adults, and men. These findings highlight that, in a period of shared suffering, people from multiple countries and nationalities show a cumulative improvement in compassion and reduction in fears of compassion, suggesting that, when there is intense suffering, people become more compassionate to self and others and less afraid of, and resistant to, compassion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marcela Matos
- University of Coimbra, Center for Research in Neuropsychology and Cognitive Behavioral Intervention (CINEICC), 3004-531 Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Kirsten McEwan
- Centre for Compassion Research and Training, College of Health, Psychology and Social Care, University of Derby, Derby DE22 1G, UK
| | - Martin Kanovský
- Institute of Social Anthropology, Faculty of Social and Economic Sciences, Comenius University, 814 99 Bratislava, Slovakia
| | - Júlia Halamová
- Institute of Applied Psychology, Faculty of Social and Economic Sciences, Comenius University, 814 99 Bratislava, Slovakia
| | - Stanley R. Steindl
- Compassionate Mind Research Group, School of Psychology, University of Queensland, Brisbane 4072, Australia
| | - Nuno Ferreira
- Department of Social Sciences, University of Nicosia, Nicosia 2417, Cyprus
| | - Mariana Linharelhos
- University of Coimbra, Center for Research in Neuropsychology and Cognitive Behavioral Intervention (CINEICC), 3004-531 Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Daniel Rijo
- University of Coimbra, Center for Research in Neuropsychology and Cognitive Behavioral Intervention (CINEICC), 3004-531 Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Kenichi Asano
- Department of Psychological Counseling, Faculty of Psychology, Mejiro University, Tokyo 161-0032, Japan
| | - Sara P. Vilas
- Behavior, Emotions, and Health Research Group, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Universidad Europea de Madrid, 28670 Madrid, Spain
| | - Margarita G. Márquez
- Behavior, Emotions, and Health Research Group, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Universidad Europea de Madrid, 28670 Madrid, Spain
| | - Sónia Gregório
- University of Coimbra, Center for Research in Neuropsychology and Cognitive Behavioral Intervention (CINEICC), 3004-531 Coimbra, Portugal
- Behavior, Emotions, and Health Research Group, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Universidad Europea de Madrid, 28670 Madrid, Spain
| | - Gonzalo Brito-Pons
- Escuela de Psicología, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago 8331150, Chile
| | - Paola Lucena-Santos
- University of Coimbra, Center for Research in Neuropsychology and Cognitive Behavioral Intervention (CINEICC), 3004-531 Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Margareth da Silva Oliveira
- Evaluation and Treatment in Cognitive and Behavioral Psychotherapies—Research Group (GAAPCC), Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre 90619-900, Brazil
| | | | | | - Natali Gumiy
- Motivación Compasiva, Buenos Aires C1001, Argentina
| | | | - Noor Habib
- Neuroscience Department, Section of Psychiatry and Psychology, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre (KFSH&RC), Jeddah 11564, Saudi Arabia
| | - Reham Hakem
- Neuroscience Department, Section of Psychiatry and Psychology, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre (KFSH&RC), Jeddah 11564, Saudi Arabia
| | - Hussain Khrad
- Neuroscience Department, Section of Psychiatry and Psychology, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre (KFSH&RC), Jeddah 11564, Saudi Arabia
| | - Ahmad Alzahrani
- Neuroscience Department, Section of Psychiatry and Psychology, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre (KFSH&RC), Jeddah 11564, Saudi Arabia
| | - Simone Cheli
- School of Human Health Sciences, University of Florence, 50121 Florence, Italy
| | - Nicola Petrocchi
- Department of Economics and Social Sciences, John Cabot University, 00165 Rome, Italy
| | - Elli Tholouli
- Center for Qualitative Research in Psychology and Psychosocial Well-Being, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 157 72 Athens, Greece
| | - Philia Issari
- Center for Qualitative Research in Psychology and Psychosocial Well-Being, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 157 72 Athens, Greece
| | - Gregoris Simos
- Department of Educational and Social Policy, University of Macedonia, 546 36 Thessaloniki, Greece
| | | | - Ask Elklit
- Department of Psychology, University of Southern Denmark, 5230 Odense, Denmark
| | - Russell Kolts
- Department of Psychology, Eastern Washington University, Cheney, WA 99004, USA
| | - Allison C. Kelly
- Department of Psychology, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1, Canada
| | - Catherine Bortolon
- Laboratoire Inter-Universitaire de Psychologie: Personnalité, Cognition et Changement Social, Grenoble Alpes University, 38400 Grenoble, France
- Centre Hospitalier Alpes Isère, C3R—Réhabilitation Psychosociale et Remédiation Cognitive, 38100 Grenoble, France
| | - Pascal Delamillieure
- CHU de Caen, Service de Psychiatrie Adulte, 14000 Caen, France
- UNICAEN, ISTS, GIP Cyceron, University of Normandy, 76000 Caen, France
| | - Marine Paucsik
- Laboratoire Inter-Universitaire de Psychologie: Personnalité, Cognition et Changement Social, Grenoble Alpes University, 38400 Grenoble, France
| | - Julia E. Wahl
- The Mind Institute Poland, 33-332 Warsaw, Poland
- Institute of Psychology, Department of General Psychology, SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities, 03-815 Warsaw, Poland
| | - Mariusz Zieba
- Institute of Psychology, Department of General Psychology, SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities, 03-815 Warsaw, Poland
| | - Mateusz Zatorski
- Institute of Psychology, Department of General Psychology, SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities, 03-815 Warsaw, Poland
| | - Tomasz Komendziński
- Department of Cognitive Science, Nicolaus Copernicus University, 87-100 Torún, Poland
- Neurocognitive Laboratory, Centre for Modern Interdisciplinary Technologies, Nicolaus Copernicus University, 87-100 Torún, Poland
| | - Shuge Zhang
- School of Human Sciences, University of Derby, Derby DE22 1G, UK
| | - Jaskaran Basran
- Centre for Compassion Research and Training, College of Health, Psychology and Social Care, University of Derby, Derby DE22 1G, UK
| | - Antonios Kagialis
- Department of Social Sciences, University of Nicosia, Nicosia 2417, Cyprus
| | - James Kirby
- Compassionate Mind Research Group, School of Psychology, University of Queensland, Brisbane 4072, Australia
| | - Paul Gilbert
- Centre for Compassion Research and Training, College of Health, Psychology and Social Care, University of Derby, Derby DE22 1G, UK
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Zhang H, Jasim SA, Suksatan W, Hashim Alghazali TA, Doewes RI, Jalil AT, Patra I, Singer N, Failoc-Rojas VE, Marhoon HA, Mustafa YF, Ramírez-Coronel AA, Abdollahi A. Moderating role of compassion in the link between fear of Coronavirus disease and mental health among undergraduate students. Front Psychiatry 2022; 13:990678. [PMID: 36147995 PMCID: PMC9486091 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2022.990678] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2022] [Accepted: 08/12/2022] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Background The societal challenges presented by fear related to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic may present unique challenges for an individual's mental health. However, the moderating role of compassion in the relationship between fear of COVID-19 and mental health has not been well-studied. The present study aimed to explore the association between fear of COVID-19 and mental health, as well as test the buffering role of compassion in this relationship. Methods The participants in this study were 325 Iranian undergraduate students (228 females), aged 18-25 years, who completed questionnaires posted on social networks via a web-based platform. Results The results showed that fear of COVID-19 was positively related with physical symptoms, social function, depressive symptoms, and anxiety symptoms. The results also showed that compassion was negatively associated with physical symptoms, social function, depressive symptoms, and anxiety symptoms. The interaction-moderation analysis revealed that compassion moderated the relationship between fear of COVID-19 and subscale of mental health. Conclusion Results highlight the important role of compassion in diminishing the effect of fear of COVID-19 on the mental health (physical symptoms, social function, depressive symptoms, and anxiety symptoms) of undergraduate students.
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Affiliation(s)
- Huichun Zhang
- Student Work Department of the Party Committee and Student Work Department, Inner Mongolia University of Technology, Hohhot, Inner Mongolia, China
| | - Saade Abdalkareem Jasim
- Medical Laboratory Techniques Department, Al-Maarif University College, Al-Anbar-Ramadi, Iraq
| | - Wanich Suksatan
- Faculty of Nursing, HRH Princess Chulabhorn College of Medical Science, Chulabhorn Royal Academy, Bangkok, Thailand
| | | | - Rumi Iqbal Doewes
- Faculty of Sport, Universitas Sebelas Maret, Kentingan, Surakarta, Indonesia
| | - Abduladheem Turki Jalil
- Medical Laboratories Techniques Department, Al-Mustaqbal University College, Babylon, Hilla, Iraq
| | - Indrajit Patra
- Independent Researcher, NIT Durgapur, West Bengal, India
| | - Nermeen Singer
- Media and Children's Culture, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt
| | - Virgilio E. Failoc-Rojas
- Centro de Investigación en Medicina Traslacional, Universidad Privada Norbert Wiener, Lima, Peru
| | - Haydar Abdulameer Marhoon
- Information and Communication Technology Research Group, Scientific Research Center, Al-Ayen University, Thi-Qar, Iraq
| | - Yasser Fakri Mustafa
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, College of Pharmacy, University of Mosul, Mosul, Iraq
| | - Andrés Alexis Ramírez-Coronel
- Laboratory of Psychometrics and Ethology and Health and Behavior Research Group, Universidad Católica de Cuenca, Ecuador
- Universidad CES, Medellín, Colombia
- Universidad Nacional del EcuadorCuenca, Ecuador
- Universidad dePalermo, Argentina
| | - Abbas Abdollahi
- Department of Counseling, Faculty of Education and Psychology, Alzahra University, Tehran, Iran
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